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Categories: Ecology: Animals, Environmental: Water
Published Bottled water can contain hundreds of thousands of previously uncounted tiny plastic bits
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In recent years, there has been rising concern that tiny particles known as microplastics are showing up basically everywhere on Earth, from polar ice to soil, drinking water and food. Formed when plastics break down into progressively smaller bits, these particles are being consumed by humans and other creatures, with unknown potential health and ecosystem effects. One big focus of research: bottled water, which has been shown to contain tens of thousands of identifiable fragments in each container. Now, using newly refined technology, researchers have entered a whole new plastic world: the poorly known realm of nanoplastics, the spawn of microplastics that have broken down even further. For the first time, they counted and identified these minute particles in bottled water. They found that on average, a liter contained some 240,000 detectable plastic fragments -- 10 to 100 times greater than previous estimates, which were based mainly on larger sizes.
Published Some mosquitoes like it hot
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Certain populations of mosquitoes are more heat tolerant and better equipped to survive heat waves than others, according to new research.
Published Building on carbon dioxide
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The construction industry as a carbon dioxide sink? Researchers are working on this. By incorporating biochar into concrete, they are exploring the potential of CO2-neutral or even CO2-negative concrete. For optimal applicability, they process the biochar into pellets and use them to replace conventional aggregates.
Published Use of habitat for agricultural purposes puts primate infants at risk
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Frequent visits to oil palm plantations are leading to a sharp increase in mortality rates among infant southern pig-tailed macaques (Macaca nemestrina) in the wild, according to a new study. In addition to increased risk from predators and human encounters, exposure to harmful agricultural chemicals in this environment may negatively affect infant development.
Published Revolutionizing stable and efficient catalysts with Turing structures for hydrogen production
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Hydrogen energy has emerged as a promising alternative to fossil fuels, offering a clean and sustainable energy source. However, the development of low-cost and efficient catalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction remains a crucial challenge. Scientists have recently developed a novel strategy to engineer stable and efficient ultrathin nanosheet catalysts by forming Turing structures with multiple nanotwin crystals. This innovative discovery paves the way for enhanced catalyst performance for green hydrogen production.
Published Captive-bred birds able to improve their flight and migration performance
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Two types of experiences affect the behavioral skills of animals: the animal's environment during its early development and acquired experience. Researchers followed Egyptian vultures during migration, a critical and challenging period for them, and investigated how their flying skills developed by examining their performance using high resolution tracking.
Published No win-win? Input-efficient technologies might not be so efficient after all
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source To address natural resource scarcity, pollution, and other harmful effects of climate change, some scientists and policymakers emphasize the adoption of input-efficient technologies like water-saving devices and fuel-saving stoves. Proponents often refer to these input-efficient technologies as 'win-win,' for the benefits to their users and to the environment, and lament their low adoption rates by consumers, in what they call an 'efficiency paradox.' A new paper examines this paradox and finds that the benefits to consumers from input-efficiency adoption are, on average, negative.
Published Feathers from deceased birds help scientists understand new threat to avian populations
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Animal ecologists developed an analytical approach to better understand one of the latest threats to feathered creatures: the rise of wind and solar energy facilities.
Published Protected areas for elephants work best if they are connected
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The largest analysis yet of African savannah elephant populations shows that conservationists have successfully protected elephants in southern Africa for the last 25 years. However, the pattern varies regionally, with some elephant populations soaring and others still facing large declines. The key to long-term stability appears to be connecting large core areas with neighboring buffer zones, as opposed to well-protected but isolated protected areas known as 'fortress conservation.'
Published Monitoring the well-being of reservoir water through an uncrewed surface vehicle
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In a recent tragic incident, approximately 100 elephants in Africa perished due to inadequate access to water. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) issues a warning that around 2.5 billion people worldwide could face water scarcity by 2025. In the face of water shortages affecting not only human society but also the entire ecological community due to the climate crisis, it becomes crucial to adopt comprehensive measures for managing water quality and quantity to avert such pressing challenges.
Published Arctic cold snap transforms into a blessing
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists investigate the influence of Arctic cold air on carbon dioxide uptake of the east sea.
Published Advancing the generation of in-vivo chimeric lungs in mice using rat-derived stem cells
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Creating a functional lung using interspecies chimeric animals is an attractive albeit challenging option for lung transplantation, requiring more research on the viable conditions needed for organ generation. A new study uses reverse-blastocyst complementation and tetraploid-based organ complementation methods to first determine these conditions in lung-deficient mice and then to generate rat-derived lungs in these mice. It provides useful insights on the intrinsic species-specific barriers and factors associated with lung development in interspecies chimeric animals.
Published The snail or the egg?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Animals reproduce in one of two distinct ways: egg-laying or live birth. By studying an evolutionarily recent transition from egg-laying to live-bearing in a marine snail, collaborative research has shed new light on the genetic changes that allow organisms to make the switch.
Published Male southern elephant seals are picky eaters
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New research suggests these large marine mammals are extremely fussy and only eat their favorite foods.
Published Scientists solve mystery of how predatory bacteria recognizes prey
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A decades-old mystery of how natural antimicrobial predatory bacteria are able to recognize and kill other bacteria may have been solved, according to new research.
Published Conflict in full swing: Forest bats avoid large areas around fast-moving wind turbines
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Not only do many bats die at wind turbines, the turbines also displace some species from their habitats over large areas. When the turbines are in operation at relatively high wind speeds, the activity of bat species that hunt in structurally dense habitats such as forests drops by almost 80 per cent within a radius of 80 to 450 meters around the turbine.
Published Vitamin discovered in rivers may offer hope for salmon suffering from thiamine deficiency disease
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have discovered vitamin B1 produced by microbes in rivers, findings that may offer hope for vitamin-deficient salmon populations.
Published 'Giant' predator worms more than half a billion years old discovered in North Greenland
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Fossils of a new group of animal predators have been located in the Early Cambrian Sirius Passet fossil locality in North Greenland. These large worms may be some of the earliest carnivorous animals to have colonized the water column more than 518 million years ago, revealing a past dynasty of predators that scientists didn't know existed.
Published Early primates likely lived in pairs
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Primate social organization is more flexible than previously assumed. According to a new study, the first primates probably lived in pairs, while only around 15 percent of individuals were solitary.
Published Global warming intensifies typhoon-induced extreme precipitation over East Asia
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists use a 3km high-resolution climate model to reveal expanded extreme rainfall from typhoons.