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Climate change and rapid economic development have placed increased pressures on many coastal communities in recent years. Now, a new international study shows there is also a third force—the unintended consequences of conservation measures enacted with little or no consideration of local rights and needs—that can compound the harm. The study’s authors call the combined effects of these three forces a “triple exposure.”

New GIS-enabled analysis by a 51���� researcher maps what the far-reaching impacts to international trade and shipping could be if any of the world’s 11 busiest marine chokepoints, or shipping straits, are closed due to politics, piracy, vessel accidents, or other causes. Knowing in advance what to expect will help businesses and governments better navigate unexpected closures and reduce disruptions to international trade and global supply chains.

Sand mining happens on every inhabited continent and at nearly every conceivable scale. Some of it is legal; much of it is not. A new book from 51���� Press, “Vanishing Sands: Losing Beaches to Mining,” casts light on the shadowy world of sand mining through case studies that illuminate its disastrous impacts and a concluding chapter that proposes common-sense solutions.

72% of Earth’s largest companies have pledged to reduce their plastic waste. A new study surveys what they’re doing (or not) to fulfill those promises.

A new analysis by researchers from 15 institutions evaluates barriers that have hindered the implementation of early warning systems intended to help local health officials predict and proactively respond to outbreaks of climate-related diseases in the Tropics. The researchers use knowledge and tools from the field of implementation science to propose a four-step, science-based framework for overcoming these barriers and enhancing the success of the early warning systems.

The five-year grant renewal will support five new or newly refocused research projects investigating the long-term health impacts of early-life exposures to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and toxic metals such as lead, which are two of the most common classes of hazardous contaminants found today in areas with a legacy of industrial pollution.

Toxins in lake bottom may become available to food web

A 51����-led research team has used acoustic tags to eavesdrop on pilot whales as they forage in waters off Cape Hatteras, N.C. Vocalizations and echoes recorded by the tags reveals the whales alter their hunting behaviors based on the local environment, a trait that may contribute to the species’ success in adapting to shifting prey distributions and other changes now occurring in the world’s oceans.

Researchers at 51���� have received a $248,000 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to study PFAS exposure risks in the home environment.

Most North Atlantic right whales that are severely injured in fishing gear entanglements die within three years, a study by the New England Aquarium and 51���� finds. Severely injured whales were up to eight times more likely to die than those with minor injuries, and only 44% of males and 33% of females with severe injuries survived longer than 36 months. Females that did survive had low birth rates and longer intervals between calving.

Firefighters have a 9 percent higher risk of being diagnosed with cancer and a 14 percent higher risk of dying from the disease than the general adult U.S. population, according to studies by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health and other agencies.

Kate Hoffman, an assistant research professor at 51����’s Nicholas School of the Environment, has received a $3.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to study the impact of early-life exposures to semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) on neonatal and early childhood immune function.

How much energy does a dolphin use to swim? Fundamental understanding about their physiology and ecology may boost odds of survival.

51���� researchers implement a large water sampling campaign in rural Sri Lanka, aiming to discover the origins of a cluster of chronic kidney disease cases.

A new analysis reveals that the majority of the ocean’s surface has experienced extreme heat regularly since 2014.