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The novel coronavirus was more than twice as contagious at the start of the pandemic than first thought, according to a new study from ÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½.

China’s surprise pledge last week to cut its net carbon emissions to zero within 40 years has reignited hopes of limiting global climate change to tolerable levels. The country is the world’s largest producer of carbon dioxide (CO2), accounting for 28% of global emissions, and its move may inspire other countries to follow suit. But observers warn that China faces daunting challenges in reaching its goals. Kicking its coal habit will be particularly hard.

Levasseur, a doctoral student in environmental health at ÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½â€™s Nicholas School of the Environment, has been named to the 2020 cohort of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Health Policy Research Scholars leadership program.

Groundwater depletion in parts of the High Plains is so extreme that peak grain production in some states has ended and production is now declining, a new ÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½-led study by a team of international scientists finds.

A team of researchers from multiple universities and organizations received the Gold Award and top prize of $200,000 in the Artisanal Mining Grand Challenge. Duke faculty members Alex Pfaff and William Pan were among the researchers on the team, led by Mercer University.

Peak grain has already passed for several High Plains states, according to a new survey of groundwater depletion across the region.

Steward Pickett, widely recognized as one of the pioneers of urban ecology, will present the 2020 Henry J. Oosting Memorial Lecture in Ecology at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 22.

The stringent lockdown imposed by the Chinese government to slow the spread of COVID-19 early this year significantly eased the strain on hospitals there. Admissions due to non-COVID respiratory illnesses decreased by nearly 5,000, a new study by an international team of scientists shows.

The events of the next several millennia hinge on actions that will be taken by the time today’s toddlers reach adulthood.