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Categories: Biology: Evolutionary, Environmental: Ecosystems

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Many hidden genetic variations can be detected with Chameleolyser, a new method. The information is already yielding new patient diagnoses and may also lead to the discovery of as yet unknown disease genes.

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A new paper revealed that human activities are making Earth's air, soil and freshwater saltier, which could pose an 'existential threat' if current trends continue. Geologic and hydrologic processes bring salts to Earth's surface over time, but human activities such as mining and land development are rapidly accelerating this natural 'salt cycle.'

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A team of scientists has revealed the mechanism a desert plant native to the United Arab Emirates uses to capture moisture from the desert air in order to survive.

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Deforestation in the Amazon causes land surfaces up to 100 kilometers away to get warmer, suggests a new study.   The research suggests that tropical forests play a critical role in cooling the land surface -- and that effect can play out over considerable distances. 

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The first widescale assessment of methylmercury in adult amphibians in the U.S. to date shows that, in amphibians, this toxic compound is common, widespread and, at least for some, can reach very high levels.

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A new approach to valuing the carbon storage potential of natural habitats aims to help restore faith in offset schemes, by enabling investors to directly compare carbon credit pricing across a wide range of projects.

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A groundbreaking scientific study conducted along the Southeast coast of India has unearthed a pressing environmental concern -- the increasing risk of invasive species colonization on marine debris. The research delves into the critical interplay between plastic pollution and the introduction of non-indigenous organisms into Indian waters.

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It is generally believed that, for millions of years, bats and the insects they hunt at night have adapted to each other in an evolutionary arms race to become better at finding or avoiding each other. Now, a new study shows that this may not be the case at all.

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How fast does a droplet flow along a fiber? It depends on the diameter of the fiber... and also on its substructure! These are the findings of a study conducted by researchers who are interested in microfluidics, especially water harvesting in arid/semi-arid regions of our planet.

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Cyanobacteria are a key species in Earth's history, as they introduced atmospheric oxygen for the first time. The analysis of their evolution therefore provides important insights into the formation of modern aerobic ecosystems. For a long time, a certain type of fossil lipid, so-called 2-methylhopanes, was considered to be an important biomarker for Cyanobacteria in sediments, some of which are hundreds of millions of years old. However, this came into doubt when it turned out that not only Cyanobacteria but also Alphaproteobacteria are genetically capable of producing these lipids.

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Noctilionoid bat species evolved wildly different faces as they adapted to exploit diverse food sources -- including insects, fruit, nectar, blood and fish. New research shows that those adaptations include dramatic, but also consistent, modifications to tooth number, size, shape and position.

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Researchers have made a significant discovery by identifying and characterizing three novel species within the Minorisa genus of marine picoplankton. Before this study, only one species of Minorisa was recognized. This finding reveals previously unseen diversity of Minorisa, thereby enhancing species identification and our understanding of its ecological functions in marine ecosystems.  

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The tropical wood type ipe is popular for building exclusive wooden decks, and in North America and Europe, the demand for the material has increased sharply. Now, a study shows that more than three-quarters of all ipe from the top producing region in Brazil could have been harvested illegally.

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Dyes widely used in the textile, food and pharmaceutical industries pose a pressing threat to plant, animal and human health, as well as natural environments around the world, a new study has found. Billions of tons of dye-containing wastewater enter water systems every year, and a group of researchers say that new sustainable technologies including new membrane-based nano-scale filtration are needed to solve the issue, adding that legislation is needed to compel industrial producers to eliminate colorants before they reach public sewage systems or waterways.

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Scientists have discovered that even among the sulfur-cycling microbes that are responsible for the 'rotten egg gas' smell in salt marsh air, diversity extends all the way to genomes and even to individual nucleotides.

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New research offers a way to build climate resilience into the designs of ocean and coastal areas intended to protect marine species. The researchers recommend establishing numerous marine protected areas across political borders, starting with the Southern California Bight.

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Existing air pollution regulations will reduce thousands of premature adult deaths in the UK, but even the most effective technically feasible actions, which will save thousands more lives, will do little to protect the country's sensitive ecosystems, find researchers.  

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Researchers report that a single, simplified model can predict population fluctuations in three unrelated realms: urban employment, human gut microbiomes and tropical forests. The model will help economists, ecologists, public health authorities and others predict and respond to variability in multiple domains.

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Scientists analyzed open-source data to track vegetation changes across North America since the end of the Pleistocene Epoch, and conclude that humans have had as much of an impact on the landscape as the retreat of the glaciers at the end of the Ice Age. 

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A new report finds that drastic changes are approaching if risks to our fundamental socioecological systems are not addressed.  The Interconnected Disaster Risks Report 2023 warns of six risk tipping points ahead of us: Accelerating extinctions; Groundwater depletion; Mountain glaciers melting; Space debris; Unbearable heat; and an Uninsurable future.