When countries make plans to fight climate change, they often focus heavily on energy efficiency—making buildings, appliances, and vehicles use less energy. But a new study suggests this approach might be missing the bigger picture. Affiliates of the Rutgers Climate and Energy Institute, Clinton Andrews, Distinguished Professor at the Bloustein School of Planning and Public […]
Research
Empowering Young Innovators to Lead the Way to a Sustainable Future
What if the key to solving our planet’s biggest challenges lies with young people? A new study shows that empowering youth to develop innovative solutions could accelerate progress toward global sustainability goals—but only if we give them the right support and opportunities. Wendy Purcell, professor at Rutgers School of Public Health and affiliate of the Rutgers […]
Turning Liquid Fuel into Clean Energy: A New Cobalt Catalyst Could Help Power the Future
A new study has found a better way to turn a common liquid chemical into clean energy, and it could help us move away from fossil fuels. Kate Waldie, associate professor in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Rutgers University and an affiliate of the Rutgers Climate and Energy Institute, is a co-author on […]
Plant Biologist Elected to National Academy of Inventors, Receives Highest Honor for His Work
The Rutgers plant biologist was elected to the 2025 Class of the National Academy of Inventors When basil crops across the United States began collapsing 15 years ago, farmers were desperate. A mysterious strain of downy mildew began wiping out crops with no treatments, no way to stop the disease from spreading and no basil […]
Scientists Map Genome of Hybrid Oyster to Advance Sustainable Aquaculture
Oysters are one of the world’s most important seafood products, with farms producing about seven million metric tons each year. Now, researchers have unlocked the complete genetic code of a special hybrid oyster, providing a valuable tool that could help improve how these shellfish are farmed. The study, published in Scientific Data, presents the first […]
Large Ice Sheets Existed Much Earlier Than Scientists Thought
Scientists have long reconstructed the extent of ancient ice sheets by analyzing chemical signatures in seafloor sediments. The traditional view held that the Northern Hemisphere ice sheets started small about 3 million years ago and gradually grew larger over time, reaching their maximum extent only in the last 800,000 years. This progression seemed to explain […]
Amino Acid Shortage Disrupts Vitamin A Distribution, Rutgers Study Finds
Groundbreaking PNAS research reveals a new pathway regulating vitamin A mobilization from the liver—independent of vitamin A status. Researchers at Rutgers University have discovered that amino acid scarcity—whether caused by diet or chemotherapy—impairs the liver’s ability to release vitamin A into the bloodstream, revealing a previously unrecognized mechanism for controlling vitamin A availability in the […]
Climate Intervention Techniques Could Reduce the Nutritional Value of Crops, New Study Finds
A new study published in the journal, Environmental Research Letters, reports that cooling the planet by injecting sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere—a proposed climate intervention technique—could reduce the nutritional value of the world’s crops. Scientists at Rutgers University used global climate and crop models to estimate how stratospheric aerosol intervention (SAI), one type of solar […]
Cultural Perspectives Key to Climate Resilience and Health in Immigrant Communities
A new study published in Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health reveals how cultural values and community ties shape the health, resilience, and well-being of immigrant communities—especially when facing natural disasters that are becoming more frequent and intense due to climate change. Victoria Ramenzoni, associate professor in the Department of Human Ecology and an affiliate […]
How Plants Remember Stress: A Key to Surviving Heat Waves
As global temperatures rise and heat waves become more common, farmers and gardeners face a growing challenge: how to keep plants healthy when it’s scorching hot. A new study offers hope by showing that plants can actually “remember” past stressful experiences and use that memory to better handle future heat. Bingru Huang, Distinguished Professor in […]
