Stories by Umair Irfan

Research presented at the American Chemical Society's annual meeting highlight improved components, better performance and easier production

Two researchers argue that governments need to coordinate a legal framework to allow for geoengineering experiments

An analysis of influenza patterns show that warmer-than-average winters coincided with more severe outbreaks, bad news for a warming world

Concentrated solar power may surpass photovoltaics as the solar technology of choice because the sun's heat is more easily stored

A record of changing climate in the Olduvai Gorge suggests early humans had to adapt to shifting ecosystems

A solar-powered boat sailed around the world this year, now a team of Swiss technologists hope to fly across the U.S. powered strictly by sunshine

As A123 heads to bankruptcy auction, the Department of Energy touts its new battery research center

Longer pollen season and wider ragweed exposure will affect more people

Carbon-based photovoltaic devices might one day replace silicon solar cells

What are the long-term effects of a catastrophic hurricane?

So-called enhanced oil recovery using CO2 might seed a market for captured greenhouse gas emissions in future

Rooftops with reflective paint reduce temperatures in urban areas while cutting building energy costs, but in some development scenarios they might lead to a 4 percent decline in rainfall

Clouds are important in understanding how the atmosphere behaves. They reflect sunlight back into space, trap heat and carry moisture, all of which can have contradictory impacts

Heat waves exacerbated by climate change may be helping kick up the dust responsible for the fungal disease in humans

The goal is to repurpose greenhouse gas pollution and make money

Electric aircraft are breaking records and beginning to gain aviation industry interest

A new study suggests that certain types of the energy-saving lightbulbs can become damaged and then may hurt skin cells

A growing fleet of ocean gliders and other monitors need power, and a suite of scientists are seeking ways to generate it undersea

From footfalls to button pushes, scientists seek to generate current to power small devices

A new study suggests that human weight gain globally is not just bad for health but also bad for global warming

Researchers argue that public health concerns that will be made worse by global warming should get more focus

Climate change is helping make the U.S. more hospitable for diseases ranging from Chagas to dengue fever

Researchers are still struggling to improve these ubiquitous batteries in a bid to make electric vehicles more viable

A warming climate makes for a brutal allergy season in the U.S., which may become even worse in future