Life

Briefing: Scientists race to decode data from Europe’s vanishing glaciers

Strategic angle: Glacier ice contains valuable information about the climates of the past. Researchers are scrambling to study it before it's too late.

editorial-staff Mar 18

Briefing: The Supreme Court takes up a Guam munitions case with high stakes for CHamoru lands

Strategic angle: The ruling won't just dictate the fate of a CHamoru beach. It could set a major precedent for Indigenous rights and federal power across U.S. territories.

editorial-staff Mar 18

Briefing: Government to lift paywall from large parts of the Land Registry

Strategic angle: Finding out who owns land will become simpler under plans to make the best use of green spaces and hit net zero targets.

editorial-staff Mar 18

Briefing: Australia’s environment minister wants to ban fishers and drillers from more ocean – and avoid a culture war

Strategic angle: Conservationists hope Murray Watt’s review of national marine parks will ‘right the wrongs’ of previous downgrade of protection.

editorial-staff Mar 17

Briefing: Saving the pint: behind the race to climate-proof beer in the US

Strategic angle: Water shortages and rising heat are putting pressure on beer ingredients, but US brewers and farmers are adapting.

editorial-staff Mar 17

Briefing: Reduced physical activity due to global heating will lead to rise in health issues, study says

Strategic angle: Researchers project that reduced activity could contribute to half a million additional premature deaths annually by 2050.

Briefing: Realtime pollution alerts needed on Windermere, campaigners say after boy nearly dies

Strategic angle: Campaigners urge for immediate pollution alerts following a serious health incident involving a young boy.

Briefing: Replacing 1m petrol cars with EVs could cut Australia’s reliance on foreign fuel by 1bn litres a year

Strategic angle: Electric vehicles reduce exposure to global oil price shocks and shift energy consumption to electricity largely produced domestically, expert says.

Briefing: 4 ways Trump is sabotaging climate action around the world

Strategic angle: In just the last year, the Trump administration has derailed an international carbon tax, boosted forecasts for oil and gas, and sought to silence an island nation’s climate campaign.

Briefing: Species slowdown: Is nature’s ability to self-repair stalling?

Strategic angle: Recent analysis reveals a concerning trend in the rate of species turnover within ecosystems.

editorial-staff Mar 15

Briefing: Germany misses climate targets as emissions barely fall in 2025

Strategic angle: Greenhouse gases dropped just 0.1% last year as environment minister criticises lack of improvement.

Briefing: Mining Rush for Critical Minerals Threatens Amazon Land Reform Settlements

Strategic angle: A survey reveals a surge in mining requests for critical minerals in Brazil's Carajás region, endangering land reform settlements.

Briefing: Fetuses likely have more ‘forever chemicals’ in blood than thought – report

Strategic angle: New research reveals alarming levels of PFAS compounds in fetal blood samples.

Briefing: Some top US lobbying firms are working both sides of the Pfas issue at the same time

Strategic angle: Review from non-profit finds range of scenarios of firms simultaneously lobbying for and against Pfas regulations.

Briefing: ‘Drinking from a fetid pond’: superbug-creating genes found in UK’s largest lake

Strategic angle: Genes capable of creating antibiotic-resistant superbugs have been detected in Lough Neagh, which supplies drinking water for 40% of Northern Ireland.

Briefing: EPA Chief Meets Bayer CEO Over Supreme Court Fight

Strategic angle: Top US regulators discuss litigation issues regarding glyphosate weed killer.

Briefing: Trump EPA moves to repeal regulation of cancer-linked chemical ethylene oxide

Strategic angle: The repeal loosens standards for roughly 90 sterilization facilities that emit the toxic chemical in neighborhoods across the country.

Briefing: Q&A: How climate change and war threaten Iran’s water supplies

Strategic angle: Climate change, war and mismanagement are putting Iran’s water supply under major strain, experts warn.

Briefing: Who are the key figures in the sewage crisis, and where are they now?

Strategic angle: With anger stoked by Channel 4’s drama Dirty Business, we look at what has happened to some of the main players.