Alaska’s top-heavy glaciers are approaching an irreversible tipping point

The melting of one of North America’s largest icefields has accelerated and could soon reach an irreversible tipping point. That’s the conclusion of new research colleagues and I have published on the Juneau Icefield, which straddles the Alaska-Canada border near the Alaskan capital of Juneau.

In the summer of 2022, I skied across the flat, smooth and white plateau of the icefield, accompanied by other researchers, sliding in the tracks of the person in front of me under a hot sun. From that plateau, around 40 huge, interconnected glaciers descend towards the sea, with hundreds of smaller glaciers on the mountain peaks all around.

Read the full article here!

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Nature’s Pharmacy, Our Treasure Chest: Why We Must Conserve Our Natural Heritage

Medicinal plants grow naturally around us. Over centuries, cultures around the world have learned how to use plants to fight illness and maintain health. These readily available and culturally important traditional medicines form the basis of an accessible and affordable health-care regime and are an important source of livelihood for indigenous and rural populations. Increasingly, medicinal species that reside in natural areas have received scientific and commercial attention. In the United States, of the top 150 prescription drugs, at least 118 are based on natural sources. A child suffering from leukemia in 1960 faced a 10 percent chance of remission; by 1997, the likelihood of remission had been increased to 95 percent thanks to two drugs derived from a wild plant native to Madagascar. But we still know little about the treasure trove inhabiting our wild places. As of 1995, less than 1 percent of all tropical plant species had been screened for potential pharmaceutical applications

Water and carbon cycling

Looking for a quick yet detailed overview of the water and carbon cycles? Look no more! A fantastic resource provided by the RGS to support your studies. It can be accessed here!

Achievements, Gaps, and Emerging Challenges in Controlling Malaria in Ethiopia

Controlling malaria is one of the top health sector priorities in Ethiopia. The concrete prevention, control, and treatment interventions undertaken in the past two decades have substantially reduced the morbidity and mortality attributable to malaria. Emboldened by these past achievements, Ethiopia envisages to eliminate malaria by 2030. Realizing this ambition, however, needs to further strengthen the financial, technical, and institutional capacities to address the current as well as emerging challenges. It particularly needs to step up measures pertaining to diagnosis, domestic resource mobilization, vector surveillance, and seasonal weather forecasting. Read the full article here!

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