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Rising greenhouse gas levels are having a cooling effect on Antarctica’s atmosphere. Plus: what the far-flung Pitcairn Islands teach us about protecting the oceans.

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Negative greenhouse effect

Rising concentrations of methane and carbon dioxide have led to a “negative greenhouse effect” above parts of Antarctica. Greenhouse gases like CO2 and methane heat the planet by trapping radiation from its surface. However, in certain rare circumstances they can have a cooling effect, where the atmosphere radiates more heat out into space from its warm upper layers than it traps nearer to Earth’s surface. But this slight cooling effect could reverse as the air becomes more humid alongside rising temperatures . Read more

Restoring sight

The vision of mice with damaged optic nerves has been partly restored by generating new nerve cells in the eye to replace ones that died. The hope is this approach could help treat people with conditions that cause blindness by damaging the optic nerve, such as glaucoma. “We can regenerate those cells,” says Biraj Mahato at the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles in California. But more studies in larger animals will have to be done before trials in people can be considered, he says. Read more

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ROYAL NAVY

New Scientist staff writer Graham Lawton travelled to the remote Pitcairn Islands to understand how they are helping the UK exceed the global target of protecting 30 per cent of its ocean surface. The islands are at the centre of one of the world’s biggest, most successful marine protected areas, an oceanic nature reserve three-and-a-half times the size of the UK and a glittering example of how to do ocean conservation well. As you can see in this video, the sea there is stunningly blue - and you can read more in Graham’s column.

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Sam Wong

Assistant news editor, New Scientist
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