Science

Climate Change Fuels Rising Ocean Temperatures and Storm Risks

I-I Lin, a chair professor at National Taiwan University, presented research at the AGU's 2025 Annual Meeting indicating that ocean regions fueling the world's most powerful hurricanes and typhoons are heating up, with human-caused climate change responsible for up to 70% of this increase. The study highlights the expansion of hot spots in the North Atlantic and Western Pacific, raising concerns about the potential for Category '6' storms, which would include those with wind speeds exceeding 160 knots. This trend is underscored by the fact that 2025 was the second-hottest year on record, with average global temperatures reaching 1.47°C above pre-industrial levels.

New treatment restores sight in patients with hypotony

Researchers at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London have successfully restored sight in seven out of eight patients suffering from hypotony, a rare condition causing abnormally low eye pressure, through fortnightly injections of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC), a low-cost gel typically used in eye surgeries. The study, published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology, demonstrated that after 12 months of treatment, the gel not only restored the shape of the eye but also improved vision significantly, marking a potential advancement in the management of this condition, which affects about 100 individuals in the UK annually.