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Categories: Biology: Marine, Engineering: Graphene
Published If we can't untangle this mess, Norway's blue industry will never be green



For the first time, researchers have investigated how ropes and fishing lines are handled by the Norwegian commercial fishing industry. The fishing fleet loses almost 400 tons of rope in Norwegian waters every year.
Published Polar bears unlikely to adapt to longer summers



More time stranded on land means greater risk of starvation for polar bears, a new study indicates. During three summer weeks, 20 polar bears closely observed by scientists tried different strategies to maintain energy reserves, including resting, scavenging and foraging. Yet nearly all of them lost weight rapidly: on average around 1 kilogram, or 2.2 pounds, per day. Some have speculated that polar bears might adapt to the longer ice-free seasons due to climate warming by acting like their grizzly bear relatives and either rest or eat terrestrial food. The polar bears in this study tried versions of both strategies -- with little success.
Published Satellites unveil the size and nature of the world's coral reefs



New research has shown there is more coral reef area across the globe than previously thought, with detailed satellite mapping helping to conserve these vital ecosystems.
Published Compounds released by bleaching reefs promote bacteria, potentially stressing coral further



New research revealed that when coral bleaching occurs, corals release unique organic compounds into the surrounding water that not only promote bacterial growth overall, but select for opportunistic bacteria that may further stress reefs.
Published How ancient sea creatures can inform soft robotics



Fossils of a marine animal that lived 500 million years ago, combined with computer simulations, informed the design of a new soft robot.
Published Surprisingly vibrant color of 12-million-year-old snail shells



Snail shells are often colorful and strikingly patterned. This is due to pigments that are produced in special cells of the snail and stored in the shell in varying concentrations. Fossil shells, on the other hand, are usually pale and inconspicuous because the pigments are very sensitive and have already decomposed. Residues of ancient color patterns are therefore very rare. This makes a new discovery all the more astonishing: researchers found pigments in twelve-million-year-old fossilized snail shells.
Published Sensors made from 'frozen smoke' can detect toxic formaldehyde in homes and offices



Researchers have developed a sensor made from 'frozen smoke' that uses artificial intelligence techniques to detect formaldehyde in real time at concentrations as low as eight parts per billion, far beyond the sensitivity of most indoor air quality sensors.
Published Surprising behavior in one of the least studied mammals in the world



Beaked whales are among the least studied mammals in the world. Now, a new study reveals surprising information about the Baird's beaked whale species.
Published New adhesive tape picks up and sticks down 2D materials as easily as child's play



A research team has developed a tape that can be used to stick two-dimensional (2D) materials to many different surfaces, in an easy and user-friendly way. Their finding will aid research into and boost production of 2D materials for next-generation devices.
Published How kelp forests persisted through the large 2014-2016 Pacific marine heatwave



New research reveals that denser, and more sheltered, kelp forests can withstand serious stressors amid warming ocean temperatures.
Published Remarkable cellular architecture and phylogenetic position of the mysterious arm-swinging protist meteora sporadica



Researchers studied in detail the strange protist Meteora sporadica, which swings its two lateral arms back and forth. The results of the study indicated that M. sporadica has a complex cytoskeleton that is closely related to Hemimastigophora, a group of organisms considered to be one of the deepest branches of eukaryotes.
Published Number of shark bites consistent with recent trends, with small spike in fatalities



There was an increase in the number of unprovoked shark attacks worldwide and an uptick in fatalities in 2023 compared to the previous year. A scientific database of global shark attacks, confirmed 69 unprovoked bites in 2023. Although this is higher than the most recent five-year average of 63 attacks, the data remain consistent with long-term trends.
Published Small but mighty -- study highlights the abundance and importance of the ocean's tiniest inhabitants



New research sheds light on tiny plankton, which measure less than 0.02mm in diameter but can make up more than 70% of the plankton biomass found in the ocean.
Published Vitamin B12 adaptability in Antarctic algae has implications for climate change, life in the Southern Ocean



The algae P. antarctica has two forms of the enzyme that makes the amino acid methionine, one needing B12, and one that is slower, but doesn't need it. This means it has the ability to adapt and survive with low B12 availability. The presence of the MetE gene in P. antarctica gives the algae the ability to adapt to lower vitamin B12 availability, giving it a potential advantage to bloom in the early austral spring when bacterial production is low. P. antarctica takes in the CO2 and releases oxygen through photosynthesis. Understanding its ability to grow in environments with low vitamin B12 availability can help climate modelers make more accurate predictions.
Published Ultra-sensitive lead detector could significantly improve water quality monitoring



Engineers have developed an ultra-sensitive sensor made with graphene that can detect extraordinarily low concentrations of lead ions in water. The device achieves a record limit of detection of lead down to the femtomolar range, which is one million times more sensitive than previous technologies.
Published Clown anemonefish seem to be counting bars and laying down the law



We often think of fish as carefree swimmers in the ocean, reacting to the world around them without much forethought. However, new research suggests that our marine cousins may be more cognizant than we credit them for. Fish may be counting vertical bars on intruders to determine their threat level, and to inform the social hierarchy governing their sea anemone colonies.
Published Tidal landscapes a greater carbon sink than previously thought



Mangroves and saltmarshes sequester large amounts of carbon, mitigating the greenhouse effect. New research shows that these environments are perhaps twice as effective as previously thought.
Published Key dynamics of 2D nanomaterials: View to larger-scale production



A team of researchers mapped out how flecks of 2D materials move in liquid -- knowledge that could help scientists assemble macroscopic-scale materials with the same useful properties as their 2D counterparts.
Published Floating algae a raft for juvenile pelagic fish



Floating macroalgal acts as a raft that provides habitat for a diverse array of juvenile oceanic fish a new study has found. The study conducted in the Ningaloo Coast World Heritage Area, Western Australia, revealed that fish were more abundant around macroalgal rafts than in open water, with eleven species of juvenile fishes associated with Sargassum rafts, and one species of both juveniles and adults.
Published Machine learning guides carbon nanotechnology



Carbon nanostructures could become easier to design and synthesize thanks to a machine learning method that predicts how they grow on metal surfaces. The new approach will make it easier to exploit the unique chemical versatility of carbon nanotechnology.