Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Sea Life Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

New Rhizobia-diatom symbiosis solves long-standing marine mystery      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have discovered a new partnership between a marine diatom and a bacterium that can account for a large share of nitrogen fixation in vast regions of the ocean. The newly-discovered bacterial symbiont is closely related to the nitrogen-fixing Rhizobia which live in partnership with many crop plants and may open up new avenues to engineer nitrogen-fixing plants.

Biology: Marine Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: Water Geoscience: Oceanography Paleontology: Climate Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Human activity is making it harder for scientists to interpret oceans' past      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research shows human activity is significantly altering the ways in which marine organisms are preserved, with lasting effects that can both improve and impair the fossil record.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Marine Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Sea Life Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Marine bacteria team up to produce a vital vitamin      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Two species of marine bacteria from the North Sea have established an unusual and sometimes destructive relationship to produce the important vitamin B12. The team's experiments show that the two microbial species have developed a coordinated strategy to obtain the scarce but essential vitamin.

Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Sea Life
Published

DDT pollutants found in deep sea fish off Los Angeles coast      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

As the region reckons with its toxic history of offshore dumping off the California coast, new findings raise troubling questions about whether the banned pesticide remains a threat to wildlife and human health.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Marine Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Extinction Ecology: General Ecology: Research Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Stony coral tissue loss disease is shifting the ecological balance of Caribbean reefs      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study shows stony coral tissue loss disease is causing drastic changes in the Caribbean's population of corals, which is sure to disrupt the delicate balance of the ecosystem and threaten marine biodiversity and coastal economies.

Biology: Zoology Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geology Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: General
Published

Did a magnetic field collapse trigger the emergence of animals?      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers uncovered compelling evidence that Earth's magnetic field was in a highly unusual state when the macroscopic animals of the Ediacaran Period -- 635 to 541 million years ago -- diversified and thrived. Their study raises the question of whether these fluctuations in Earth's ancient magnetic field led to shifts in oxygen levels that may have been crucial to the proliferation of life forms millions of years ago.

Biology: Botany Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Marine Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Nature Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

For microscopic organisms, ocean currents act as 'expressway' to deeper depths      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Some of the ocean's tiniest organisms get swept into underwater currents that act as a conduit that shuttles them from the sunny surface to deeper, darker depths where they play a huge role in affecting the ocean's chemistry and ecosystem, according to new research.

Biology: Marine Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Human activity is causing toxic thallium to enter the Baltic sea, according to new study      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Human activities account for 20% to more than 60% of toxic thallium entering the Baltic Sea over the past eight decades, according to new research. Currently, the amount of thallium, which is considered the most toxic metal for mammals, remains low in Baltic seawater. Much of the thallium in the Baltic, which is the largest human-induced hypoxic area on Earth, has been accumulated in the sediment thanks to sulfide minerals.

Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
Published

75,000-year-old female Neanderthal from cave where species buried their dead      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new documentary has recreated the face of a 75,000-year-old female Neanderthal whose flattened skull was discovered and rebuilt from hundreds of bone fragments by a team of archaeologists and conservators.

Biology: Biochemistry Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: General
Published

The double-fanged adolescence of saber-toothed cats      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

How did North America's saber-toothed cats hunt without breaking their unwieldy saber-like canines, which are vulnerable to sideways bending stresses? A paleontologist provides mechanical evidence that during adolescence, when young cats were learning to hunt, their baby teeth remained in place for up to 30 months to laterally buttress the emerging permanent sabers. By the time the baby teeth fell out, presumably the adult cat knew how to protect its sabers during attacks.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: Sea Life Geoscience: Environmental Issues Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Fixin' to be flexitarian: Scrap fish and invasive species can liven up vegetables      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Greening the way we eat needn't mean going vegetarian. A healthy, more realistic solution is to adopt a flexitarian diet where seafoods add umami to 'boring' vegetables. A gastrophysicist puts mathematical equations to work in calculating the umami potential of everything from seaweed and shrimp paste to mussels and mackerel.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Sea Life
Published

Florida dolphin found with highly pathogenic avian flu      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Report details first-ever finding of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus in North American dolphin.

Anthropology: Cultures Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Biology: Biochemistry Ecology: Endangered Species Geoscience: Environmental Issues Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Fossils
Published

Ancient Maya blessed their ballcourts      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Using environmental DNA analysis, an international team of researchers identified a collection of plants used in ceremonial rituals in the ancient Maya city of Yaxnohcah in Mexico. The plants, known for their religious associations and medicinal properties, were discovered beneath a plaza floor where a ballcourt was built.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: Sea Life
Published

Could fishponds help with Hawaii's food sustainability?      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Indigenous aquaculture systems in Hawaii, known as loko i'a or fishponds, can increase the amount of fish and fisheries harvested both inside and outside of the pond. Today, aquaculture supplies less than 1% of Hawaii's 70 million pounds of locally available seafood, but revitalization of loko i'a has the potential to significantly increase locally available seafood.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: Sea Life
Published

Herring arrives earlier in the Wadden Sea due to climate change      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Due to the changing climate, young herring arrive in the Wadden Sea earlier and earlier in spring.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Scientists replace fishmeal in aquaculture with microbial protein derived from soybean processing wastewater      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have successfully replaced half of the fishmeal protein in the diets of farmed Asian seabass with a 'single cell protein' cultivated from microbes in soybean processing wastewater, paving the way for more sustainable fish farming practices.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Earth Science
Published

Unveiling the lionfish invasion in the Mediterranean Sea      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have published a comprehensive study on the invasion of lionfish in the Mediterranean Sea, highlighting a rapid spread and the potential ecological impacts. The research shows the lionfish species Pterois miles has significantly expanded its territory in the Mediterranean since the invasion began around ten years ago. The invasive species has established presence in the eastern Mediterranean, with observations now extending to colder waters previously thought to be unsuitable for the species.

Biology: General Ecology: Animals Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Fossils
Published

These giant, prehistoric salmon had tusk-like teeth      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Oncorhynchus rastrosus, a giant species of salmon that lived in the North American Pacific Northwest a few million years ago, sported a pair of front teeth that projected out from the sides of its mouth like tusks, according to a new study.