Plants are remarkably good at adjusting how they capture sunlight and produce food through photosynthesis. A new computer model helps scientists better understand these adjustments by looking at what happens at different heights within a plant canopy, from the sun-drenched leaves at the top to the shaded leaves near the ground. Chi Chen, assistant professor […]
Does Framing Climate Change as a Racial Issue Backfire?
New research finds that news stories about who is most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change can have very different effects — depending on whether they focus on race or income. Climate change doesn’t harm everyone equally. Flooding, heat waves, and other extreme weather events tend to hit lower-income communities and communities of color […]
Teaching Robots to Fly Like Birds
A bird banking in a crosswind doesn’t rely on spinning blades. Its wings flex, twist and respond instantly to its environment. Engineers at Rutgers University have taken a major step toward building bird-like drones that move the same way, flapping their wings like real birds, using electricity-driven materials instead of conventional electromagnetic motors to power […]
New Jersey Kids Care About the Planet — But Don’t Connect It to What’s on Their Plates
Ask a New Jersey middle schooler what they think about when choosing what to eat, and you’ll probably hear: taste, texture, and whether it’ll upset their stomach. Ask them what they do to help the planet, and they’ll mention picking up litter or recycling. What most won’t mention? The connection between the two. A new […]
Coral Killer: Scientists Uncover New Clues About a Disease Devastating Caribbean Reefs
A mysterious disease has been quietly destroying coral reefs across the Caribbean for over a decade. Stony coral tissue loss disease, or SCTLD, causes coral tissue to simply fall away, killing entire colonies — and no one has been able to pinpoint exactly what causes it. Now, new research is offering some of the clearest […]
Rutgers Gardens Student Horticulturists and Rutgers Alumni Celebrate an Award-Winning Collaboration at the North Jersey Orchid Society Show
The North Jersey Orchid Society show returned to the Douglass Student Center on the Rutgers–New Brunswick campus this January, featuring a dynamic botanical display that showcased some of the plants growing at the Floriculture Greenhouse. Held January 16–18, the free annual event welcomed hobbyist growers, commercial producers and plant enthusiasts to enjoy and connect over this […]
When Drought Hits, Do Dams and Groundwater Soften the Blow?
Droughts are the world’s most widespread natural disaster, and climate change is making them longer, more intense, and possibly more frequent. But how much do droughts actually hurt local economies and can water storage help cushion that blow? A new study tackles these questions on a global scale. Hilary Sigman, affiliate of the Rutgers Climate and […]
Wind Turbines and Fish: Can the East Coast Have Both?
Miles off the coast of New Jersey and New England, two major forces are converging: the rapid expansion of offshore wind energy and some of the most valuable fisheries in the United States. A new editorial published in Fisheries Oceanography takes stock of what we know — and what we urgently need to find out […]
China’s Green City Gap: Why Some Urban Areas Are Racing Ahead While Others Fall Behind
Cities across China are transforming to become more environmentally sustainable, but this “green transition” is happening very unevenly—and new research reveals that the biggest gaps aren’t between provinces, but between cities within the same province. A study published in the journal Habitat International examined nearly 300 Chinese cities from 2004 to 2021 to understand why […]
One Size Fits All? Testing Coating Thickness for Solar Panels
As the world races to reduce fossil fuel use and combat climate change, solar energy has become the fastest-growing renewable energy source globally. But not all solar panels are set up the same way. Some are fixed in place, tilted toward the sun. Others track the sun’s movement throughout the day. And a newer type, […]
