Articles

Gold has a vital role in human society and the global economy, but its production currently causes high levels of environmental pollution. This work reports an approach that can effectively produce gold from both primary and secondary resources without the use of toxic substances such as mercury or cyanide.

Extreme weather events will require resilient and adaptive critical infrastructure. This study models adaptive transitions in collective travel behaviour during flood events across different cities to quantify recovery and adaptive learning from failures and reveal adaptation drivers.

Irrigation is an important component of agricultural productivity, but its influence on health and nutritional outcomes—especially those of children—remains unclear. This study examines the links between irrigation expansion and child diet diversity across 26 countries in the global south.

Over exploitation of the Colorado River system, a critical water supply for North America, has resulted in a steep decline in the health of native fish species. Developing strategic water markets in the Colorado River headwaters can restore habitat while conserving water resources.

Human population growth over the past few decades has had detrimental impacts on biodiversity; however, several countries, such as Japan, are experiencing below-replacement human fertility leading to depopulation. This study examines the impact of human depopulation on biodiversity levels across Japan.

Developing nontoxic high-performance bio-based adhesives is of great interest from a sustainability perspective. This paper reports a high-performance, reusable, biocompatible hot-melt adhesive that is produced from xylan, a byproduct of pulp industry.

This work shows an iron molecular catalyst for water oxidation, a critical reaction for renewable energy technologies. The excellent performance of the catalyst is attributed to an intermediate dinuclear structure formed via spin crossover.

Net-zero policies can put pressure on land use, which can conflict with preserving natural landscapes, cultural sites and agricultural areas. Now a study integrates national energy models with proactive and collaborative planning to design net-zero pathways that conserve natural capital and address diverse concerns.

Powering electric vehicles hinges on the availability to extract lithium from reserves. Modelling now shows the likely number of new lithium deposit openings required by 2050 if the demand for larger battery packs continues and suggests moderating battery size and improving recycling to reduce mine openings.

Despite pressure to improve the circularity of polysulfone plastic waste, upcycling polysulfones remains technically challenging. This study presents a photocatalytic method that can upcycle various polysulfones into valuable chemicals at ambient conditions.

Decarbonizing the steel industry is essential for achieving sustainable development. Here the authors propose a decarbonization strategy for the steel industry that could substantially reduce carbon emissions and is easily adaptable to existing facilities.

Marine and freshwater fisheries around the world have had stagnating stocks due to increased demands in food from a growing human population. Authors here assess how biodiversity levels of fisheries around the world can be leveraged to maximize nutrients provided with less biomass.

The phenol industry faces a pressing sustainability challenge from the production of acetone as a by-product at a level far beyond its market. Here the authors develop an electro-biosystem that can efficiently convert such surplus acetone into valuable long-chain commodity chemicals.

The benefits and risks of nature to human health have been studied, however, robust empirical research on forest biodiversity and health outcomes is still lacking. Here the authors use a unique dataset from 164 European forest stands to explore the associations between forest types and well-being.

Dry-season groundwater irrigation in southern Asia increases annual agricultural productivity while monsoon rains recharge aquifers. However, groundwater irrigation rates in the Ganges–Brahmaputra–Meghna delta exceed monsoonal recharge rates, reduce available surface freshwater and increase the risk of saltwater intrusion.

Seawater is the most abundant source of uranium. This work shows a bipolar electrochemical mining process from seawater at ultra-low voltages, ensuring maximized extraction efficiency and minimized energy consumption.

Crude oil is a mixture of different hydrocarbons, and their separation remains challenging. Here this work shows a molecular sieve that allows for direct, selective and sustainable isolation of valuable components.

Natural rubber is a widely used biopolymer and further improving its resistance to crack growth will extend its service life. Here the authors show a strategy to amplify the resistance to crack growth in natural rubber by forming a tanglemer.

The transition to sustainable diets is challenging for countries that face malnutrition and limited resources. Now a study explores how various dietary transformations in China can improve public health, make food affordable and reduce environmental impacts, while evaluating the feasibility of the diet changes.

Active radiant cooling is an emerging technology that consumes less energy than traditional air conditioning. This work demonstrates an outdoor radiant cooling structure incorporating infrared-reflective surfaces that delivers enhanced thermal comfort.