Environment

If corals are going to survive on today's ecologically stressed reefs, they've gotta be tough. Scientists have therefore been developing a special "turbo-charged" coral, which has recently been found to be reproducing on the Great Barrier Reef.

It's possible that someday in the future, sunlight-powered robots may be able to swim across marine oil spills, soaking up the oil as they go. A tiny prototype has already been created, and it was inspired by both the steam engine and an insect.

An indestructible "black box" for the Earth is set to be built in Australia, and will be tasked with documenting our civilization's descent into climate chaos. Or better yet, inspire urgent action to turn the slow-motion train wreck around.

Although a great number of wild animals were killed by Australia's recent bushfires, many more now have nowhere to hide from predators. New biodegradable "habitat pods," however, could give smaller creatures such hiding places.

A research team has begun an €11-million (US$12.9-million) project with the hopes of collecting the oldest continuous ice core in Antarctica, providing a record of the climate spanning some 1.5 million years.

Along with benefits such as air purification, "living walls" are also said to help regulate the temperature within new buildings which they're built into. A study now indicates that they have the same effect when added to older, existing structures.

Scientists in Korea have turned their attention to the effects of microplastics on mammals by exploring the threat these particles pose to mouse brains and human cells, where they were found to act as toxic substances.

You've no doubt heard about the horrors of lost commercial fishing nets, which drift through the ocean killing a multitude of sea creatures. Well, the Farallon Buoy is designed to help, by allowing fishers to track the whereabouts of those nets.

Expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam is a problematic material, in that it's cheap and lightweight but also non-biodegradable and difficult to recycle. German scientists have developed a possible alternative, though – foam made out of popcorn.

Although insects may ruin crops, the use of traditional pesticides can definitely harm the environment. Spanish scientists have now developed a possible alternative to those chemicals, in the form of plants that produce insect-confusing pheromones.

Scientists working to improve crop yields in the face of climate change continue to demonstrate how CRISPR could be pivotal, and a new study shows how the technology can be used to produce a mutant species of barley that sprouts at the right time.

The largest XPrize competition ever conducted has given out its first prize money, with 23 student teams receiving cash injections to further technologies that take aim at the problem of mounting carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.