Microplastic waste has become so prevalent in the environment that it is being picked up and transported by the wind and the rain. We linked plastic fallout rates with air-mass movements to understand where plastics are coming from, how far they are travelling, and how much of them is raining out of the sky.

Many people are now aware of the danger microplastics pose to oceanic wildlife. However, textile fibers released from fabrics we use every day have been overlooked until recently. The vast majority of these tiny thread-like particles - which have long been assumed to be plastic - are actually natural fibers like cotton and wool.

Earth’s orbits are filling with satellites and space junk. Left unchecked, collisions between space junk could propagate out of control, and humanity will lose access to a valuable resource. Just as we pay to maintain parks and nature reserves, we need to start charging orbit users for using orbital space. Orbital-use fees will preserve orbital space and make the space industry more profitable.

Coral reefs are in rapid decline due to climate change, which causes marine heat waves. We cultured the microalgae that live inside the coral tissue under high temperature for four years. When we reintroduced the heat-evolved microalgae into coral, some of these “designer” corals showed increased tolerance to heat. Such coral may be used to help coral reefs survive until climate warming is halted.

Almost 20 years after the invention of vaping, it is clear that it has detrimental effects on users’ health, including a higher risk of COVID19 infection. But how does vaping affect the population of beneficial bacteria that live in our mouths? Study show the effects of vaping are more severe than the effects of smoking.

Einstein’s theory of relativity predicts that rotating bodies twist the space-time around them. PSR J1141-6545 is a neutron star in orbit around a white dwarf star. Our two decade long observations reveal that its orbit is tumbling in space. This is, at least in part, due to the white dwarf’s rotation twisting the space-time in its vicinity causing the neutron star's orbit to be dragged around.