The Conversation: Ferns and Flowers Bribe Helpful Ant Defenders with Nectar, but Ferns Developed This Ability Much Later – Our Study Shows Why
Understanding how plants defend themselves against predators is a critical challenge.
The Conversation: Losing Winter Ice is Changing the Great Lakes Food Web – Here’s How Light Is Shaping Life Underwater
Microbes are crucial to the Great Lakes’ health as they clean the water of pollutants and are the first step in the complex food web.
The Conversation: E-bike Incentives are a Costly Way to Cut Carbon Emissions, but They Also Promote Health, Equity and Cleaner Air
Transportation is the largest source of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Electrifying as much of it as possible is an important strategy for slowing climate change.
The Conversation: Potato Plant Radiation Sensors Could One Day Monitor Radiation in Areas Surrounding Power Plants
Potato plants can survive 10 times the amount of radiation that would kill a human.
The Conversation: Carbon Offsets Bring New Investment to Appalachia’s Coal Fields, but Most Appalachians Aren’t Benefiting
Many rural residents believe that the government helps corporations profit at the expense of people.
The Conversation: Murderous Mice Attack and Kill Nesting Albatrosses on Midway Atoll − Scientists Struggle to Stop This Gruesome New Behavior
As mouse attacks on nesting seabirds escalated from 2015 on, it was clear something needed to be done – and fast.
Baker School Partners with TVA for New Distinguished Professorship Endowment
The partnership represents continued shared goals of advancing knowledge through practical solutions and progress toward a better future.
UT, City of Knoxville Receive $4.3 Million to Plant Trees in Urban Areas
UT’s grant will increase tree canopy coverage, reduce stormwater runoff, mitigate extreme heat and bring ecosystem services to underserved communities in East Knoxville.
The Conversation: AI Can Help Forecast Air Quality, but Freak Events Like 2023’s Summer of Wildfire Smoke Require Traditional Methods Too
Predicting air quality is not a simple task.
The Conversation: Global Shipping Is under Pressure to Stop Its Heavy Fuel Oil Use Fast—That’s Not Simple, but Changes Are Coming
Shipping companies have billions invested in fleets that were built to last decades. Now the U.S. is calling for zero emissions by 2050, and the EU is raising the cost of fossil fuel use.
The Conversation: Chickadees, Titmice and Nuthatches Flocking Together Benefit from a Diversity Bonus – So Do Other Animals, Including Humans
Scientists are learning that diversity has many perks – whether in multispecies groups of animals or human society.
The Conversation: How Has the Inside of the Earth Stayed as Hot as the Sun’s Surface for Billions of Years?
Starting at the surface, you would have to dig nearly 2,000 miles before reaching Earth’s core. No one could survive that trip – and the 10,000-degree Fahrenheit heat once there would vaporize you anyway.