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Climate Crisis

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Climate Crisis

The challenge

The world faces an escalating climate crisis, with rising temperatures, extreme weather events, and biodiversity loss. Urgent action is needed to reduce emissions, adapt to changing ecosystems, and develop sustainable policies that benefit both people and the planet.

What UCL is doing

UCL’s Grand Challenge of Climate Crisis leverages its global expertise across disciplines to research, innovate, and collaborate on practical solutions. From developing green technologies to creating policies for climate adaptation and mitigation, UCL is leading efforts to drive impactful changes. UCL's Grand Challenge of Climate Crisis facilitates collaboration between researchers, communities, industry, and policymakers to ensure the solutions address both local and global needs.

Who is involved?

  • UCL Researches from all UCL Faculties
  • Public Policy
  • Industry Partners
  • Community Organisations
  • Policymakers and Governmental Bodies
  • NGOs

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Non-contact exposure to dinotefuran disrupts honey bee homing by altering MagR and Cry2 gene expression

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  Non-contact exposure to dinotefuran disrupts honey bee homing by altering  MagR  and  Cry2  gene expression Dinotefuran is known to negatively affect honeybee ( Apis mellifera ) behavior, but the underlying mechanism remains unclear. The magnetoreceptor ( MagR , which responds to magnetic fields) and cryptochrome ( Cry2 , which is sensitive to light) genes are considered to play important roles in honey bees’ homing and localization behaviors. Our study found that dinotefuran, even without direct contact, can act like a magnet, significantly altering  MagR  expression in honeybees. This non-contact exposure reduced the bees’ homing rate. In further experiments, we exposed foragers to light and magnetic fields, the  MagR  gene responded to magnetic fields only in the presence of light, with  Cry 2 playing a key switching role in the magnetic field receptor mechanism ( MagR–Cry2 ). Yeast two-hybrid and BiFc assays confirmed an interactio...
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“Global honey crisis”: Testing technology and local sourcing soars amid fraud and tampering concerns

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  “Global honey crisis”: Testing technology and local sourcing soars amid fraud and tampering concerns The World Beekeeping Awards will not grant a prize for honey next year due to the “inability” to thoroughly test honey for adulteration. The announcement comes amid the rise of honey fraud in the EU, where a 2023 investigation found that 46% of 147 honey samples tested were likely contaminated with low-cost plant syrups.  Apimondia, the International Federation of Beekeepers’ Associations, organizes the event at its Congress, whose 49th edition will be held in Copenhagen, Denmark, in September 2025. The conference brings together beekeepers, scientists and other stakeholders. “We will celebrate honey in many ways at the Congress, but honey will no longer be a category, and thus, there will be no honey judging in the World Beekeeping Awards. The lessons learned from Canada 2019 and Chile 2023 were that adequate testing was impossible if we are to award winning honey at the Con...
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Unveiling the Canopy's Secrets: New Bee Species Discovered in the Pacific

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  Unveiling the Canopy's Secrets: New Bee Species Discovered in the Pacific In an exciting development for environmentalists and beekeeping experts, researchers have discovered eight new species of masked bees in the Pacific Islands, shining a light on the rich biodiversity hidden within the forest canopy. This discovery underscores the critical role bees play in our ecosystems and the pressing need for conservation efforts to protect these vital pollinators. A New Frontier in Bee Research By exploring the forest canopy, scientists have opened a new frontier in bee research, revealing species that have adapted to life high above the ground. These discoveries are crucial for understanding the complex relationships between bees, flora, and the broader ecosystem. The new species of masked bees, characterized by their striking black bodies with yellow or white highlights, particularly on their faces, rely exclusively on the forest canopy for survival. The Importance of Bee Conservation...
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Bee attack claims life of newspaper distributor

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  Bee attack claims life of newspaper distributor Newspaper distributor Pushparaja Shetty (45), who sustained severe injuries in a bee attack, succumbed to his injuries on Thursday at a hospital in Mangaluru. Pushparaja was attacked by a swarm of bees on Wednesday morning while walking at Kenjaru Taangadi under Bajpe town panchayat limits. He was immediately admitted to a hospital for treatment but could not survive the ordeal. Fondly known as ‘Boggu’ in the Porkodi area, Pushparaja was well-known for his dedication to delivering newspapers on foot to every household. He was admired for his generosity, as he often distributed sweets to schoolchildren on Independence Day using his own earnings and contributed part of his income to the betterment of society. Pushparaja was unmarried and is survived by three brothers and one sister.
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New Report – Interlocked: Midwives and the Climate Crisis

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New Report – Interlocked: Midwives and the Climate Crisis Earlier this year, midwives from 41 countries shared their experiences of working in communities affected by climate change through our survey, Midwives’ Experiences and Perspectives on Climate Change. Their voices shaped our new report, Interlocked: Midwives and the Climate Crisis , which highlights how midwives are already responding to the health impacts of climate disasters like floods, wildfires, and extreme heat—and why they must be included in climate action plans. What did we learn?Climate change is damaging community health: 75% of midwives reported that climate change is harming the communities they serve, with rising rates of preterm births, food insecurity, and restricted access to care during disasters like floods. Midwives are critical first responders: Midwives are often the first and only healthcare providers on the ground in crises, delivering care during wildfires, floods, and extreme heat. Midwives face signi...
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Start the New Year Humming Like a Bee

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  Start the New Year Humming Like a Bee There are lots of opportunities to be as busy as a bee during these winter holidays. As we hustle toward the dawn of the New Year, it can be hard to notice that the natural world is actually suggesting something different for us right now. We’re past the solstice, but the winter still stretches ahead, the days are still short and the nights long. We’re being invited into a quieter, more inner-focused time. The ancient yogis were all about this inner focus. In India, for example, the Upanishads, the Sanskrit writings that accompanied the development of Hinduism — and alongside it, yoga — beginning around 800 B.C.E., went deeper than earlier texts had into philosophy and questions of being. With the goals of increased inner awareness and higher consciousness, yoga was at that time not yet as focused on the body or on asanas, as it now can tend to be. But the yogis did develop many practices to try to open the way to those goals. They discovered...
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The largest “killer hornets” in the world were exterminated in the US

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  The largest “killer hornets” in the world were exterminated in the US The US informed that it had exterminated the worldʼs largest hornets, nicknamed "killer hornets" — they are capable of occupying a hive of honey bees in just 90 minutes, decapitating all its inhabitants and feeding their offspring to their own. This  was reported  by the Department of Agriculture in Washington. The hornets, which can reach five centimeters in length, were previously called Asian giant hornets, but in 2019 they were also spotted in Washington state near the Canadian border. In China, these insects killed 42 people and seriously injured 1,675. A dead northern giant hornet (below) next to a native bald hornet. According to experts, the hornets could have entered North America in plant pots or shipping containers. The hornet can sting through most beekeeper suits because it produces nearly seven times more venom than a honeybee and stings multiple times. Thatʼs why the Washington Departme...
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Why the Caraways are proud to “bee” farmers

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Why the Caraways are proud to “bee” farmers  Bees play a vital role in our ecosystem by spreading nutrients to crops, produce, and other plants. Ron and Diane Caraway are reminded of that each day on the homestead, Boggy Branch Farms, that’s been in their family for three generations. While Ron cared for the land as a teenager, he followed in his father’s footsteps and joined the U.S. Air Force after graduating high school. He managed airplanes for 45 years as an air traffic controller. Now, Ron manages flying insects as a beekeeper—or, as he puts it, a ‘bee partner.’ “They allow me to work alongside with them and to help them in some cases, with the case of parasites or diseases and I’m able to enjoy that fruit that they provide,” explained Ron. Along with raising their handful of hives, the Caraways grow hay and produce. Above all, they want to raise awareness for the bees’ essential role in making things grow. “One of the things that I think that we overlook is—in the Wiregrass ...
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Climate Crisis Claims Glacier's Vital Climate Data Archive

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  Climate Crisis Claims Glacier's Vital Climate Data Archive A recent study published in Nature Geoscience reveals a distressing consequence of global warming: the irreversible loss of valuable climate data stored in alpine glaciers. The research, conducted by a team led by Margit Schwikowski from the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), underscores the alarming rate at which glaciers are melting and highlights the implications for climate research. The study focuses on the Corbassière glacier at Grand Combin in Switzerland, where ice cores drilled in 2018 and 2020 were intended to serve as vital climate archives. However, comparing the two sets of ice cores reveals a grim reality—global warming has rendered the glacier unsuitable as a reliable climate archive. Glaciers, renowned as climate archives, encapsulate valuable information about past climatic conditions and atmospheric compositions. The fluctuating concentrations of trace substances in ice layers provide insights into historica...
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German election: Climate and environment take a back seat

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  German election: Climate and environment take a back seat When the coalition government comprising the center-left  Social Democratic Party (SPD) ,  Greens  and neoliberal  Free Democratic Party (FDP)  emerged after the last German federal election in the fall of 2021, then-incoming Chancellor  Olaf Scholz  (SPD) did not object to being called the "climate chancellor." That was no surprise: the climate crisis had been a top issue during the election campaign. The new government made the fight against climate change a task for the Economy Ministry and appointed Vice Chancellor  Robert Habeck  from the Greens as its head. Three and a half years later, campaign speeches barely mention climate protection. The dominant issues are how to curb irregular immigration and how to boost Germany's sluggish economy. Skeptical view of renewable energy The head of the center-right  Christian Democratic Union (CDU) ,  Friedrich Merz ...
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