News Archive - Environment

Positive Interactions Dominate Among Marine Microbes, Six-Year Study Reveals

A new study from Scripps Institution of Oceanography scientists finds that marine microbes had mostly positive interactions with one another during a six-year study. These positive interactions became even more common during times of environmental stress.

Farm-to-Table via Supercomputer

Across California, researchers, farmers, technologists and universities are launching a bold vision for the future of farming: “precision agriculture,” an approach that uses advanced sensors, networking and artificial intelligence to help growers make more informed decisions.

Electric Cars Won’t Fix Sitting: The Health Costs of Designing Cities Around Cars

Walkability pioneer, UC San Diego urban planning professor Lawrence Frank revisits two decades of evidence linking car dependence and chronic disease – and explains why cleaner cars won’t make us healthier.

Atmospheric River Research Flights Go Global

Atmospheric rivers may be associated with wet winter storms on the West Coast of North America, but these ribbons of water vapor in the sky are a global phenomenon. Now, a new international effort will study and forecast these storms on a global scale. a

Spray-on Antibacterial Coating Offers New Protection for Plants Against Disease and Drought

Engineers have developed a spray-on polymer coating that could help plants resist harmful bacterial infections and survive drought. Interestingly, spraying just part of a leaf results in bacterial immunity and improved drought tolerance for the entire plant.

UC San Diego Launches Soil Health Center to Advance Climate Solutions, Food Security

Experts across UC San Diego have united to launch the Soil Health Center at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Established in fall 2025, the center brings together an interdisciplinary team that’s digging — sometimes literally — into research on building and maintaining healthy soils.

‘Why Ecosystems Matter’ Authored by Biological Sciences Professor Wins Book of the Year

School of Biological Sciences Professor Christopher Wills’ book describing ecosystem insights from across the globe, “Why Ecosystems Matter, Preserving the Key to Our Survival,” has been honored with the 2025 Marsh Book of the Year Award from the British Ecological Society.