
The climate change issue
Storms. Drought. Fire. Flooding. Stifling heatwaves. Unseasonable cold snaps. Lakes vanish in some regions, while land washes away in others.
The effects of climate change may be uneven, but they are undeniably being felt around the world. In response, more and more biochemists are looking for ways to contribute their expertise to political and technical solutions.
The articles in this month’s special section explore a few of the many threads connecting biochemistry to the climate crisis.
Researchers are hard at work to understand how organisms respond to escalating heat stress on a molecular level, and how their responses may alter global biogeochemistry. They are exploring new ways to use environmental DNA to trace ecological shifts — and synthetic DNA to store our ever-increasing information archives at a lower energy cost. Industrial researchers are investigating approaches to make manufacturing more sustainable using enzymes. Meanwhile, educators work to raise public awareness of the climate crisis and to make biochemistry feel relevant to future students.
Even geologic carbon sequestration has a metagenomics story waiting to be heard.
Here are links to our eleven climate change articles. Read on.
What does biochemistry have to do with climate change?
Artists, technologists bring data storage to life
A probiotic for the environment’?
Bears, fungi and global warming
Regenerative agriculture: A boost for soil health
CALeDNA: Tracking biodiversity at the molecular level
‘Filling the void of the virosphere’
Enjoy reading ASBMB Today?
Become a member to receive the print edition monthly and the digital edition weekly.
Learn moreGet the latest from ASBMB Today
Enter your email address, and we’ll send you a weekly email with recent articles, interviews and more.
Latest in Opinions
Opinions highlights or most popular articles

Science will suffer
We wondered if laws targeting LGBTQIA+ rights were affecting the career decisions of our members. It wasn’t easy to get answers.

As microbiome science forges ahead, will some be left behind?
The FDA’s approval of the first fecal microbiota treatment was a watershed moment — and also a wakeup call.

Cystic fibrosis: current understanding and prospects
In observance of National Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month, we talked with researcher Neil Bradbury.

Those who care and engage
Being an ASBMB fellow isn’t just about hanging around together; it’s about engaging with others and moving together into the unknown.

An uncharted journey
These excerpts take us from Ilga Winicov Harrington’s childhood in Latvia and a German labor camp to her Ph.D. at the University of Pennsylvania.

Leveling up
The ASBMB fellows program recognizes the many ways members make a difference in our community. The society bestows the honorific, but the truth is these folks leveled up a long time ago.