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Categories: Environmental: Ecosystems, Offbeat: General
Published New research sheds light on relationships between plants and insects in forest ecosystems
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have published new findings on how leaf-eating insects affect forest ecosystems worldwide. Researchers are aware of how large herbivores cycle nutrients in forests. They know much less, however, about how leaf-eating insects impact forest carbon and nutrient cycling.
Published Combined effects of plastic pollution and seawater flooding amplify threats to coastal plant species
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study highlights how a combination of environmental stressors -- namely plastic pollution and seawater flooding -- can increase the threats faced by plants in some of the planet's critical ecosystems. It showed that both stressors had some effects on the species tested, but being exposed to both microplastics and flooding together -- a threat likely to increase as a result of climate change and plastic use -- had a more pronounced impact on their resource allocation.
Published When it comes to DNA replication, humans and baker's yeast are more alike than different
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Humans and baker's yeast have more in common than meets the eye, including an important mechanism that helps ensure DNA is copied correctly, reports a pair of studies. The findings visualize for the first time a molecular complex -- called CTF18-RFC in humans and Ctf18-RFC in yeast -- that loads a 'clamp' onto DNA to keep parts of the replication machinery from falling off the DNA strand.
Published Half a billion-year-old spiny slug reveals the origins of mollusks
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Exceptional fossils with preserved soft parts reveal that the earliest mollusks were flat, armored slugs without shells. The new species, Shishania aculeata, was covered with hollow, organic, cone-shaped spines. The fossils preserve exceptionally rare detailed features which reveal that these spines were produced using a sophisticated secretion system that is shared with annelids (earthworms and relatives).
Published Climate change may lead to shifts in vital Pacific Arctic fisheries
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Commercially important marine fish and invertebrate species will likely shift northwards under a warmer climate, according to new research.
Published Key to rapid planet formation
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have developed a new model to explain the formation of giant planets such as Jupiter, which furnishes deeper insights into the processes of planet formation and could expand our understanding of planetary systems.
Published Modern behavior explains prehistoric economies
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source What if the 'Market Economy' always existed? Archaeologists tried to answer this question by researching how much Bronze Age people used to spend to sustain their daily lives. Their results show that, starting at least 3,500 years ago, the spending habits of prehistoric Europeans were not substantially different from what they are today.
Published Warming stops tiny organisms working together
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Hotter conditions prevent two tiny organisms working together for mutual benefit, new research shows.
Published 3D models provide unprecedented look at corals' response to bleaching events
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Marine biologists are providing a glimpse into coral 'bleaching' responses to stress, using imaging technology to pinpoint coral survival rates following multiple bleaching events off the island of Maui. Using a time series of coral reef 3D models from Maui, the researchers tracked the bleaching response of 1,832 coral colonies from 2014 to 2021. The seven-year data set provided detailed imagery of the reefs year-by-year, allowing the team to identify patterns of coral growth and survivorship through sequential bleaching events that occurred in 2015 and 2019.
Published Smell reports reveal the need to expand urban air quality monitoring, say researchers
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have uncovered surprising insights into the Vancouver region's 'smellscape' using data from the Smell Vancouver app. Analyzing 549 reports from one year of app data, they discovered that 'rotten' and 'chemical' odours dominated, making up about 65 per cent of submissions. These unpleasant smells were linked to self-reported health issues like headaches and anxiety, leading some residents to change their behaviours, like closing windows even in stifling-hot weather.
Published Scientists devise method to secure Earth's biodiversity on the moon
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New research led proposes a plan to safeguard Earth's imperiled biodiversity by cryogenically preserving biological material on the moon. The moon's permanently shadowed craters are cold enough for cryogenic preservation without the need for electricity or liquid nitrogen.
Published The rotation of a nearby star stuns astronomers
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Astronomers have found that the rotational profile of a nearby star, V889 Herculis, differs considerably from that of the Sun. The observation provides insights into the fundamental stellar astrophysics and helps us understand the activity of the Sun, its spot structures and eruptions.
Published What's the weather like in the deep sea?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study has revealed how even the deepest seafloors are affected by the daily back-and-forth of the tides, and the change of the seasons, and that currents at the bottom of the ocean are far more complicated than previously thought. These findings are helping us understand the deep-sea pathways of nutrients that support important deep-sea ecosystems, assess where microplastics and other pollutants accumulate in the ocean, and reconstruct past climate change.
Published Bright prospects for engineering quantum light
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Computers benefit greatly from being connected to the internet, so we might ask: What good is a quantum computer without a quantum internet?
Published Scientists discover entirely new wood type that could be highly efficient at carbon storage
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers undertaking an evolutionary survey of the microscopic structure of wood from some of the world's most iconic trees and shrubs have discovered an entirely new type of wood.
Published Super-black wood can improve telescopes, optical devices and consumer goods
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Thanks to an accidental discovery, researchers have created a new super-black material that absorbs almost all light, opening potential applications in fine jewelry, solar cells and precision optical devices.
Published Injury dressings in first-aid kits provide a new technique to reveal shark species after bite incidents
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have revealed that injury dressings found in first-aid kits can reliably be used to identify shark species involved in bite incidents by deploying medical gauze to gather DNA samples from aquatic equipment, such as surfboards.
Published What no one has seen before -- simulation of gravitational waves from failing warp drive
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Physicists have been exploring the theoretical possibility of spaceships driven by compressing the four-dimensional spacetime for decades. Although this so-called 'warp drive' originates from the realm of science fiction, it is based on concrete descriptions in general relativity. A new study takes things a step further -- simulating the gravitational waves such a drive might emit if it broke down.
Published North Sea oil and gas extraction spikes pollution by 10,000 percent, study finds
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source North Sea oil and gas extraction can cause pollution to spike by more than 10,000 percent within half a kilometer around off-shore sites, a study has found. The research has uncovered the true impact on Britain's seabed life -- with the number of species plummeting nearly 30 percent near platforms.
Published Breaking MAD: Generative AI could break the internet, researchers find
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have found that training successive generations of generative artificial intelligence models on synthetic data gives rise to self-consuming feedback loops.