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Categories: Biology: Marine, Space: Structures and Features
Published Geobiology: New placozoan habitat discovered
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Traces of DNA in the stomachs of predatory snails give a team og geobiologists new insights into the ecology of placozoans.
Published 3D mouth of an ancient jawless fish suggests they were filter-feeders, not scavengers or hunters
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Early jawless fish were likely to have used bony projections surrounding their mouths to modify the mouth's shape while they collected food. Experts have used CT scanning techniques to build up the first 3D pictures of these creatures, which are some of the earliest vertebrates (animals with backbones) in which the mouth is fossilized. Their aim was to answer questions about feeding in early vertebrates without jaws in the early Devonian epoch -- sometimes called the Age of Fishes -- around 400 million years ago.
Published Study shedding new light on Earth's global carbon cycle could help assess liveability of other planets
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Research has uncovered important new insights into the evolution of oxygen, carbon, and other vital elements over the entire history of Earth -- and it could help assess which other planets can develop life, ranging from plants to animals and humans.
Published Cold-affinity algae species are gradually being replaced by warm-affinity ones off the coast of Biscay
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A study has analyzed the impact of the rise in sea surface temperature on macroalgae communities over the last four decades. Points at various depths were investigated in a location off the coast of Biscay, and an increasing scarcity was observed in the number of cold-affinity structuring species, while small warm-affinity ones have proliferated. The researchers are warning that some ecological functions are in jeopardy as a result.
Published What's quieter than a fish? A school of them
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Swimming in schools makes fish surprisingly stealthy underwater, with a group able to sound like a single fish. Engineers working with a high-tech simulation of schooling mackerel offer new insight into why fish swim in schools and promise for the design and operation of much quieter submarines and autonomous undersea vehicles.
Published Impact of climate change on marine life much bigger than previously known
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Fish and invertebrate animals are far more affected by warmer and more acidic seawater than was previously known. The big gain of the new method is that more details become known about effects of climate change on species.
Published Inexplicable flying fox found in Hydra galaxy cluster
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source High sensitivity radio observations have discovered a cloud of magnetized plasma in the Hydra galaxy cluster. The odd location and shape of this plasma defy all conventional explanations. Dubbed the Flying Fox based on its silhouette, this plasma will remain a mystery until additional observations can provide more insight.
Published eDNA methods give a real-time look at coral reef health
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The study underscores the crucial role of microbes in maintaining coral reef health, akin to the human gut microbiome. Hurricanes and disease outbreaks affect coral reef water microbial communities, leading to changes that may support further reef decline. Microbial analysis enables prompt assessment of disturbances' impacts on coral reefs, facilitating timely interventions to support reef ecosystems. Environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis offers a noninvasive approach to study coral microbial communities and diagnose reef health.
Published Chemical reactions can scramble quantum information as well as black holes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A team of researchers has shown that molecules can be as formidable at scrambling quantum information as black holes by combining mathematical tools from black hole physics and chemical physics and testing their theory in chemical reactions.
Published Neutron stars are key to understanding elusive dark matter
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists may be one step closer to unlocking one of the great mysteries of the universe after calculating that neutron stars might hold a key to helping us understand elusive dark matter.
Published Astronomy: How do brown dwarfs form?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New observations provide insights into whether the birth of the giant planets takes a similar course to that of stars.
Published CHEOPS detects a 'rainbow' on an exoplanet
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The CHEOPS space telescope is providing new information on the mysterious exoplanet WASP-76b. This ultra-hot giant is characterized by an asymmetry between the amount of light observed on its eastern terminator -- the fictitious line that separates its night side from its day side -- and that observed on its western terminator. This peculiarity is thought to be due to a 'glory', a luminous phenomenon similar to a rainbow, which occurs if the light from the star -- the 'sun' around which the exoplanet orbits -- is reflected by clouds made up of a perfectly uniform substance. If this hypothesis is confirmed, this would be the first detection of this phenomenon outside our solar system.
Published Stellar collisions produce strange, zombie-like survivors
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Densely packed, fast-moving stars at the Milky Way's center can collide with each other. New research uses simulations to explore the outcomes of these collisions. Some collisions are more like 'violent high fives' while others are full-on mergers.
Published What four decades of canned salmon reveal about marine food webs
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have shown that levels of anisakid worms -- a common marine parasite -- rose in two salmon species in the Gulf of Alaska and Bristol Bay over a 42-year period. The team discovered this by studying salmon caught, killed and canned from 1979 to 2021. Since anisakid worms have a complex life cycle involving multiple types of hosts, the researchers interpret their rising numbers as a potential sign of ecosystem recovery, possibly driven by rising numbers of marine mammals thanks to the 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act.
Published First results from DESI make the most precise measurement of our expanding universe
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have used the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument to make the largest 3D map of our universe and world-leading measurements of dark energy, the mysterious cause of its accelerating expansion.
Published Shy sea anemones are more likely to survive heatwaves
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A study shows that sea anemones that react more slowly to change can survive a heatwave better than individuals that change their behavior quickly.
Published Adult fish struggle to bounce back in marine protected areas
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Many marine protected areas are falling short of their most basic purpose: to rebuild struggling fish populations. In a new study, scientists looked at the age breakdown of reef fish in marine protected areas for the first time. They discovered in almost all of them, adult fish populations -- vital to spawning the next generation -- have either flatlined or declined.
Published NASA's Webb probes an extreme starburst galaxy
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A team of astronomers has used NASA's James Webb Space Telescope to survey the starburst galaxy Messier 82 (M82). Located 12 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major, this galaxy is relatively compact in size but hosts a frenzy of star formation activity. For comparison, M82 is sprouting new stars 10 times faster than the Milky Way galaxy.
Published Evolution in action? New study finds possibility of nitrogen-fixing organelles
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study finds that UCYN-A, a species of nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria, may be evolving organelle-like characteristics.
Published Plant-based plastic releases nine times less microplastics than conventional plastic
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A newly developed plant-based plastic material releases nine times less microplastics than conventional plastic when exposed to sunlight and seawater, a new study has found.