Horizon Magazine Blog

Understanding why trees are dying may be key to locking up carbon

July 24, 2020 by Horizon Magazine

Rising tree mortality could be affecting existing and new forests' ability to store carbon. Image credit - Daniele Castagneri

by Gareth Willmer Rising tree deaths may be reducing the ability of many forests worldwide to lock up carbon by pulling in greenhouse gases from the air. To properly grasp what this means for carbon budgets, scientists need to solve the puzzle of why trees are dying – and how they respond to change. ‘There are … Read more

Lab grown and do-it-yourself: two emerging routes to an artificial pancreas

July 23, 2020 by Horizon Magazine

One placenta yields enough material to grow 25 pancreases which could be a cheaper and easier form of transplant to help people with Type 1 diabetes. Image credit - E. Berishvili

by Steve Gillman A ‘bio-artificial’ pancreas grown in a lab with the aid of placental stem cells, and a DIY insulin-monitoring and release system are being developed to give people with insulin-dependent diabetes an alternative to waiting for a pancreas transplant. The human body has cells within the pancreas that regulate the level of sugar in … Read more

‘Four times more toxic’: How wildfire smoke ages over time

July 22, 2020 by Richard Gray

Smoke from wildfires can rise many kilometres into the stratosphere and cause air pollution in areas far away from where the flames actually were. Image credit - Pixabay/Saiho, licenced under Pixabay licence

Enormous plumes of smoke thrown into the atmosphere by uncontrolled wildfires may be affecting the health of people living hundreds of miles away. Every year, thousands of fires engulf forests, grasslands and moors across Europe. In 2018, more than 204,861 hectares of land were left burnt in Europe and other countries around the Mediterranean, while the previous … Read more

Dairy waste is being turned into bioplastics and plant food

July 22, 2020July 22, 2020 by Horizon Magazine

Dairies generate a substantial amount of organic waste, including wastewater and whey, which are now being used to create products like bioplastics. Image credit - Keith Weller/USDA/Wikimedia, public domain

Sarah Wild Dairies in Europe are major economic drivers in rural areas, but they produce significant waste from cleaning and processing. Wastewater and milk residue, which are typically disposed of, are now being turned into new products such as phosphate-rich fertiliser and bioplastics. The EU produced 172.2 million tonnes of raw milk in 2018 and demand for milk is … Read more

Six innovations to tackle coronavirus

July 14, 2020 by Horizon Magazine

Single-patient isolation pods can help protect air ambulance crews from infection, allowing coronavirus patients to be transported to areas with higher intensive care capacity. Image credit - EpiGuard

by Chris Pate From bioluminescent testing kits to disinfecting robots, Horizon examines six innovations and technologies currently being developed to tackle the coronavirus. 1. Coronavirus-popping surface coating An anti-microbial coating that destroys the coronavirus on impact could help to decontaminate commonly used surfaces, according to scientists from the UK. The coating, which can be dipped or … Read more

Air pollution affects brain development – but when does the damage start?

July 13, 2020July 13, 2020 by Horizon Magazine

90% of brain development happens by the age of four, so scientists want to understand the effects of air pollution at the earliest stages of life. Image credit - Unsplash/Pixabay, licenced under Unsplash licence

by Ian Le Guillou The emergency rooms in Barcelona were collapsing under the pressure. Hundreds of patients were arriving in desperate need as they struggled to breathe, while intensive care units struggled to cope with the sudden influx of respiratory problems. Epidemiologists scrambled to trace the source of the outbreak. This epidemic in the 1980s might … Read more