Environmental impact articles from across Nature Portfolio

Dietary shifts remain challenging to achieve. A modelling study explores uncertainty around behavioural change, showing that region-specific approaches can foster more effective dietary transitions than focusing solely on achieving global targets, with positive implications for food system sustainability.

Food systems encompass broad socioeconomic contexts involving several actors and sectors of society. Now, seven types of transition and six socioeconomic drivers have been identified that can facilitate or hinder sustainable food system transformations.

Minerals in drinking water are valued for taste and nutrition, yet their roles during enteric infection remain poorly understood. A mouse model study shows that magnesium can worsen Salmonella-induced inflammation by reshaping gut microbiota.

The uplift of the Altaid Plateau during the Late Triassic drove major climatic shifts that triggered glaciation, stronger monsoons, and ultimately the collapse of regional alpine and terrestrial ecosystems, according to tectonic, sedimentological, and biogeochemical analyses.

In-flight observations show that the use of lean-burn combustion succeeds in reducing soot emissions from aircraft—yet contrail ice crystals still form and nucleate on volatile particles.

While blue space has been linked to metabolic health, research has primarily focused on water quantity rather than quality. This study finds that lower water coverage and higher exposure to black-odorous water increase risk of metabolic syndrome.

Over 90% of the biomass burning-related black carbon in Southeast Asia is char, leading to models overestimating absorption, according to thermal-optical analysis and radiocarbon source attribution of black carbon particles in Southeast Asia.

From the early 2010s to 2021, fine particles and fossil-fuel carbon dioxide in two Chinese cities declined, showing national clean-air policies improved both climate and air quality, according to tree-ring radiocarbon and urban air pollutant datasets

Adhesives are hard to see when in use, but they force most products to reside in landfills for centuries. Ongoing research is creating opportunities in materials design and market impact, thereby helping society move towards a more sustainable future.

Dietary shifts remain challenging to achieve. A modelling study explores uncertainty around behavioural change, showing that region-specific approaches can foster more effective dietary transitions than focusing solely on achieving global targets, with positive implications for food system sustainability.

As cities heat up, climate shelters are increasingly vital for protecting people from extreme heat. Beyond temporary emergency stopgaps, Spain’s pioneering experience shows how climate, health and governance align to turn these spaces into enduring infrastructures of care and resilience.

Food systems encompass broad socioeconomic contexts involving several actors and sectors of society. Now, seven types of transition and six socioeconomic drivers have been identified that can facilitate or hinder sustainable food system transformations.

Ecohydraulics sits at the dynamic intersection of fluid mechanics and ecological function. As the impacts of climate change, urbanization, and industrial expansion intensify, this emerging discipline offers powerful tools for restoring and managing rivers, lakes, and coastal zones through nature-based, science-driven solutions. By integrating hydrodynamic principles with ecological objectives, ecohydraulics enables the design and assessment of interventions that not only rehabilitate degraded systems but also enhance long-term environmental resilience and sustainability. This Scientific Reports Collection highlights recent advances across experimental, modeling, and artificial-intelligence (AI)-driven approaches—from turbulence-based habitat design to coastal wave attenuation and fish-migration modeling—demonstrating how ecohydraulics connects scientific innovation with practical restoration and sustainable water management.

The chronic water crisis in Iran stems from decades of water-intensive development, fragmented governance and national priorities that sidelined environmental protection. Without major governance reform and reprioritization, technical solutions alone cannot stop worsening water and environmental degradation.