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Categories: Environmental: Ecosystems, Offbeat: Space

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Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Marine Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
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Zombie cells in the sea: Viruses keep the most common marine bacteria in check      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Marine microbes control the flux of matter and energy essential for life in the oceans. Among them, the bacterial group SAR11 accounts for about a third of all the bacteria found in surface ocean waters. A study now reveals that at times nearly 20% of SAR11 cells are infected by viruses, significantly reducing total cell numbers. The viruses can also transform these once thriving bacteria into zombies, a phenomenon observed for the first time and widespread in the oceans.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
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Airborne technology brings new hope to map shallow aquifers in Earth's most arid deserts      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The new technique will map the top of the aquifer, called the 'water table,' spanning areas as large as hundreds of kilometers using a radar mounted on a high-altitude aircraft. According to the researchers, Desert-SEA will measure the variabilities in the depth of the water table on a large scale, allowing water scientists to assess the sustainability of these aquifers without the limitations associated with in-situ mapping in harsh and inaccessible environments.

Biology: General Biology: Marine Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
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Otters, especially females, use tools to survive a changing world      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Sea otters are one of the few animals that use tools to access their food, and a new study has found that individual sea otters that use tools -- most of whom are female -- are able to eat larger prey and reduce tooth damage when their preferred prey becomes depleted.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Geochemistry
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From roots to resilience: investigating the vital role of microbes in coastal plant health      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Understanding how salt marsh grass stays healthy is of crucial ecological importance, and studying the ways bacteria interact with these plants is key. Thanks to recent advances in genomic technology, biologists have begun to reveal never-before-seen ecological processes.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
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Hubble views the dawn of a sun-like star      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Looking like a glittering cosmic geode, a trio of dazzling stars blaze from the hollowed-out cavity of a reflection nebula in a new image from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. The triple-star system is made up of the variable star HP Tau, HP Tau G2, and HP Tau G3. HP Tau is known as a T Tauri star, a type of young variable star that hasn't begun nuclear fusion yet but is beginning to evolve into a hydrogen-fueled star similar to our Sun.

Engineering: Robotics Research Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Exploration Space: General Space: The Solar System
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Robotic 'SuperLimbs' could help moonwalkers recover from falls      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

SuperLimbs, a system of wearable robotic limbs, can physically support an astronaut and lift them back on their feet after a fall, helping them conserve energy for other essential tasks.

Biology: Biochemistry Ecology: Nature Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
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Scientists want to know how the smells of nature benefit our health      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Spending time in nature is good for us. And knowing more about nature's effects on our bodies could not only help our well-being, but could also improve how we care for land, preserve ecosystems and design cities, homes and parks. Many studies have focused on how seeing nature affects us. A team of scientists from around the world wants to understand what the nose knows. They are calling for more research into how odors and scents from natural settings impact our health and well-being.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
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Detection of an Earth-sized exoplanet orbiting the ultracool dwarf star SPECULOOS-3      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Astronomers have just discovered a new Earth-sized exoplanet around SPECULOOS-3, an 'ultracool dwarf' star as small as Jupiter, twice as cold as our Sun, and located 55 light-years from Earth. After the famous TRAPPIST-1, SPECULOOS 3 is the second planetary system discovered around this type of star.

Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues
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Climate change is most prominent threat to pollinators      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new article has found that climate change is the most prominent threat to pollinators -- such as bumblebees, wasps, and butterflies -- who are essential for biodiversity conservation, crop yields and food security. The research suggests that many of the threats to pollinators result from human activities.

Ecology: General Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Environmental Issues
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Penalties for dropping out of ecosystem services incentive programs should equal lost environmental benefits      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

PES programs are currently structured in ways that could limit their participation or create incentives to drop out before the full environmental benefits are realized.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Trees Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Geography
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Meet the new insect killing Utah's fir trees      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The balsam woolly adelgid, a tiny nonnative flightless insect, is spreading across the American West killing subalpine fir in northern Utah's recreation-heavy mountain ranges and canyons. Rsearchers document a close association between the pest's spread and warming temperatures.

Ecology: General Ecology: Research Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Geochemistry
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Mosaic grassland landscapes are the most beneficial      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Grassland provides many services for humans, animals and nature, such as feed production, carbon storage and recreation. Researchers spent two years investigating permanent grassland, its utilization, soils and plant communities in order to quantify the resulting ecosystem services. Grassland performs best when different types of use such as meadows, pastures and unfertilized extensive grassland exist together in a mosaic landscape.

Ecology: Nature Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Environmental: Wildfires Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
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How wildfires change soil chemistry      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Severe wildfires can drive chemical changes in soil that affect ecosystem recovery and risks to human health. A new study finds broader surveillance and modeling of these changes could inform strategies for protecting lives, property and natural resources, and managing wildlife.

Ecology: General Environmental: Ecosystems Mathematics: General Mathematics: Modeling Mathematics: Statistics
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Century of statistical ecology reviewed      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A special review examines highly-cited papers in statistical ecology. The review, which covers a century of research, details how models and concepts have evolved alongside increasing computational power.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: General Space: Structures and Features
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Researchers discover the universe's oldest stars in our own galactic backyard      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Astronomers discovered three of the oldest stars in the universe, and they live in our own galactic neighborhood. The stars are in the Milky Way's 'halo' -- the cloud of stars that envelopes the entire main galactic disk -- and they appear to have formed between 12 and 13 billion years ago, when the very first galaxies were taking shape.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science
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Island birds more adaptable than previously thought      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The researchers found that birds were more evolutionarily similar on smaller, more isolated islands than on larger, less remote places. The team had expected to find that forested areas had more numerous and more varied species of birds compared to farmland areas. But they were surprised to find that the opposite was true: Areas with farms and human settlements had more species of birds and greater diversity than forested areas.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Engineering: Nanotechnology Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Geochemistry
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Research explores ways to mitigate the environmental toxicity of ubiquitous silver nanoparticles      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have taken a key step toward closing the silver nanoparticles knowledge gap with a study that indicates the particles' shape and surface chemistry play key roles in how they affect aquatic ecosystems.