It’s well known that polar bears are the top predator in the Arctic, each one killing a seal every three to five days.
What hasn’t been well understood is just how much carrion the estimated 26,000 polar bears…

It’s well known that polar bears are the top predator in the Arctic, each one killing a seal every three to five days.
What hasn’t been well understood is just how much carrion the estimated 26,000 polar bears…

12 January 2026
Plantain (the pasture herb Plantago lanceolata) looks like a practical tool to help cut nitrogen losses from pasture – but it isn’t a silver bullet. That was the message from a recent webinar jointly hosted by the Teagasc Climate Centre and New Zealand’s Ag Emissions Centre.
The webinar featured presentations by Dr Cecile de Klein from Bioeconomy Science Institute on plantain research in New Zealand, followed by Dr Dominika Krol from Teagasc, who gave the Irish context. The findings presented, drawn from glasshouse mesocosms, lysimeter work and field trials, and in New Zealand and Ireland, demonstrate a clear plant/sward effect: increasing plantain proportion in swards can reduce N2O emission factors (field plots reported reductions up to ~40%), although lysimeter studies produced mixed outcomes depending on soil type and wetness. Persistence of plantain and other species in multispecies swards can be an issue and this requires further research to identify more persistent varieties and low cost management practices to maintain species persistence.
On Irish soils and farms, multispecies swards that include plantain (often with chicory, clovers and two grasses) consistently lowered emission intensity i.e. N2O per tonne of grass or per unit of nitrogen in the crop. The key findings were:
Taken together, these findings suggest that plantain can deliver environmental gains across a wide range of conditions, with a broad operating space that does not rely on exact species proportions. Ongoing research and modelling efforts will build on this momentum to better define plantain’s contribution within future grassland systems.
Watch the full webinar below:
Click here to learn more about the Teagasc Climate Centre.
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Analysis: From a return to the moon to telescope launches, there’s plenty of exciting events to expect from space this year
It’s 2026 and we’re fully into the era of New Space where space agencies like NASA no longer…

Shingles vaccination reduced new diagnoses of mild cognitive impairment in study, writes Dr Catherine Conlon
…
In Spain’s Valencia region, an innovative type of permeable ceramic paving is being developed to help cities better manage heavy rainfall and reduce urban flooding risks. The solution was created in response to increasingly frequent extreme weather events linked to climate change.
The system redesigns traditional footpaths by placing ceramic tiles on their sides with gaps between them, allowing rainwater to infiltrate the ground instead of running off into drainage systems. Supported by layers of gravel, the structure enables water filtration while also improving water quality.
The concept was initially developed through an EU-supported project coordinated by the Institute of Ceramic Technology in Castellón and tested in the municipality of Benicàssim. A follow-up initiative, Drainker, has further refined and industrialised the solution, with an experimental site in Castellón demonstrating absorption rates of up to 10 000 litres per square metre per hour.
Supported with EU support from the European Regional Development Fund, alongside regional funding from the Valencian Government, the project also opens new economic opportunities for the local ceramic industry. The paving is now being prepared for wider use in urban spaces, with interest from municipalities and design professionals in Spain and beyond.
Could this ceramic paving be a game-changer in curbing urban floods? | Euronews

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