Most recent 40 articles: PHYS.ORG - Biology
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Chemists stabilize ethylene on silver in search for better ethylene purification technology - PHYS.ORG - Biology (Apr 15) |
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Apr 15 · However, ethylene production consumes massive amounts of energy; by some estimates, methods used to purify gases like ethylene are responsible for about 0.8% of the world's total carbon emissions. Ethylene must be separated from unwanted byproducts through steam cracking, a process that breaks down hydrocarbons by refining petroleum or natural gas.
A team of UTA chemists led by Rasika Dias, professor and chair of chemistry and biochemistry at The University of Texas at Arlington, has found a method that could make these processes more sustainable.
In their recent findings, published in the journal Chemical Science, Dias reports on a type of silver containing material ... Read more ...
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Heat and desiccation tolerances predict bee abundance under climate change - PHYS.ORG - Biology (Apr 15) |
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Apr 15 · Kazenel completed her Ph.D. in Biology at UNM in 2022 and is currently a visiting assistant professor of Biology at Earlham College in Indiana.
"I study how native bees are responding to climate change," Kazenel said. "Bees are the most important pollinators of many wild plants and agricultural crops, meaning that they are crucial to sustaining natural ecosystems and the human food supply. But there is increasing evidence that bees are threatened globally.
"Factors known to threaten bees include habitat loss, pesticides, disease, and climate change. However, climate change has been less-studied relative to other factors that threaten bees.
"This region is home to ... Read more ...
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Scientists say coral reefs around the world are experiencing mass bleaching in warming oceans - PHYS.ORG - Biology (Apr 15) |
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Apr 15 · Coral reef bleaching across at least 53 countries, territories or local economies has been confirmed from February 2023 to now, scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and International Coral Reef Initiative said. It happens when stressed coral expel the algae that are their food source and give them their color. If the bleaching is severe and long-lasting, the coral can die.
Coral reefs are important ecosystems that sustain underwater life, protect biodiversity and slow erosion. They also support local economies through tourism.
Bleaching has been happening in various regions for some time. In the world's largest coral reef ecosystem, ... Read more ...
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Study shows how plants influence Europe's climate - PHYS.ORG - Biology (Apr 15) |
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Apr 15 · The climate regulates plant growth and yet the climate is also influenced by plants. A study by Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU), which was published in the journal Global Change Biology, has found that ecosystems can have a strong impact on Europe's climate depending on their plant mix.
"There is an extremely complex relationship between plants and the climate. At the one hand, the climate considerably influences plant growth as well as a plant's properties, such as how high it grows, how thick its leaves are, and how deep its roots go. At the other hand, plants influence climatic conditions in many different ways," explains Dr. Stephan Kambach, a research ... Read more ...
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Study unearths survival strategies of root systems - PHYS.ORG - Biology (Apr 15) |
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Apr 15 · Emeritus Professor Hans Lambers, from UWA's School of Biological Sciences, was co-author of the study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.
"How the lifespan of roots is related to the strategies roots use to acquire nutrients from the soil is largely unknown," Professor Lambers said.
"We compiled the most comprehensive dataset of what roots absorb over their lifespan from 98 observations of 79 woody species using underground recordings of roots across 40 sites.
"Our study then linked average root lifespan to other plant traits to address questions of what regulates root lifespan on a large spatial scale."
The study found median root ... Read more ...
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The great tits in this Oxford wood are adapting their breeding times as climate changes - PHYS.ORG - Biology (Apr 15) |
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Apr 15 · During early spring, usually in March, great tits (Parus major) abandon their winter flocks and start preparing for the breeding season. First they find a mate and build a nest. Then they raise naked and blind chicks, each weighing a bit more than one gram, into fully feathered fledglings.
A lot of our research focuses on analyzing great tit reproductive phenology—that's the study and analysis of seasonal events such as plant flowering, bird migration and reproduction.
Phenological events are not fixed in time as they depend on environmental factors such as weather conditions. Thus, they vary from year to year. For instance, the earliest recorded start date for ... Read more ...
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The role of GEDI LiDAR technology in unlocking the secrets of tree height composition - PHYS.ORG - Biology (Apr 15) |
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Apr 15 · Tree height composition, a vital ecological attribute, plays a significant role in influencing forest ecosystems, impacting biodiversity, carbon storage, and energy fluxes. Limitations have historically hindered the challenge of accurately mapping this structural diversity in scale and detail.
However, the advent of recent advancements in remote sensing technologies, particularly the introduction of the spaceborne Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology known as the Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI), has opened new pathways for detailed canopy height mapping.
Highlighted in a study published in the Journal of Remote Sensing, this technological ... Read more ...
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Unraveling differences in temperature sensitivity of soil organic matter decomposition under various oxygen conditions - PHYS.ORG - Biology (Apr 15) |
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Apr 15 · Most studies on Q10are based on aerobic conditions, but little is known about how Q10 varies in soils under oxygen limitation. A new study compares Q10 under oxic, suboxic, and anoxic conditions in three grassland soils and reveals the different roles of substrate carbon quality and nitrogen limitation in regulating Q10. The findings were published in Soil Ecology Letters.
Xiaojuan Feng's team at the Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, conducted soil microcosm incubation experiments to test how Q10 varies in three grassland soils at different oxygen levels. They used three oxygen concentrations of 21%, 1% and 0% to simulate oxic, suboxic and anoxic conditions, ... Read more ...
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Sweet lessons: Taiwan urban beekeeping gets positive buzz - PHYS.ORG - Biology (Apr 13) |
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Apr 13 · Under mulberry trees at a bee farm in Taipei's suburbs, students watched intently as instructor Tsai Ming-hsien wafted smoke over a hive box, explaining to aspiring apiarists how to keep the insects happy in an urban setting.
His audience included entrepreneurs, retirees and even a six-year-old who reached eagerly for a frame pulled from the box, as Tsai demonstrated how bees can be kept calm with a smoker.
"Many join my class out of curiosity," said the 43-year-old instructor who also heads the Bee and Wasp Conservation Association of Taiwan.
Bee populations around the world are facing disaster from overuse of pesticides, predatory mites and extreme temperatures ... Read more ...
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The cicadas are coming: An entomologist's take on a once-in-200-years event - PHYS.ORG - Biology (Apr 12) |
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Apr 12 · Get ready. Billions of trillions of singing, winged insects with big red eyes are about to emerge from more than a decade of sleep underground.
For the first time since 1803, these two broods, or generations, of cicadas - Brood XIX and Brood XIII - will rise up from the earth simultaneously in 15 states across the Southeast and Midwest.
While some cicadas emerge every summer, Brood XIX and Brood XIII are among the seven existing species of so-called "periodical cicadas" that emerge only every 13 or 17 years in North America.
Once they surface, the adult cicadas only live for a few more weeks. They have one goal during their short adult life: Mate and reproduce. To ... Read more ...
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A model to promote the coordination between environmental protection and agricultural development in Erhai Lake - PHYS.ORG - Biology (Apr 12) |
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Apr 12 · The tension between environmental preservation and economic stability in Erhai has even been termed the "Erhai dilemma." The "Erhai dilemma" is representative of those of other lakes in Yunnan Province and, more broadly throughout China. That is, how to harmonize environmental conservation and socioeconomic development.
In order to solve Erhai problems, Fusuo Zhang of China Agricultural University and his team rooted in Gusheng Village of Dali, through in-depth exploration of the complexity of "Erhai dilemma," put forward the adoption and promotion of Science and Technology Backyard (STB) model to promote the coordinated development of Erhai protection and farmers' income. The ... Read more ...
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Dead whale in New Jersey had a fractured skull among numerous injuries, experts find - PHYS.ORG - Biology (Apr 12) |
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Apr 12 · The Marine Mammal Stranding Center on Friday released observations from a necropsy done Thursday evening on the nearly 25-foot (7.6-meter) juvenile male humpback whale that was found dead in Long Beach Township.
Sheila Dean, director of the center, said the whale was found to have bruising around the head; multiple fractures of the skull and cervical vertebrae; numerous dislocated ribs, and a dislocated shoulder bone.
"These injuries are consistent with blunt force trauma," she wrote in a posting on the group's Facebook page.
Reached afterward, Dean would not attribute the injuries to any particular cause, noting that extensive testing as part of the necropsy ... Read more ...
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Study uncovers the role of soil microbes in forest ecosystems - PHYS.ORG - Biology (Apr 12) |
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Apr 12 · The findings, published in Soil Ecology Letters, provide valuable insights into the relationship between soil microbial communities, functional genes, and the rate of soil nitrogen mineralization.
To further investigate the relationship between soil microbial communities and nitrogen mineralization, the researchers conducted indoor culture experiments and analyzed correlations.
The results showed a significant increase in both soil nitrification rate (Rn) and soil nitrogen mineralization rate (Rm) with increasing stand age. The study also found a strong correlation between soil Rm and soil microbial diversity as well as the abundance of soil N-cycling genes.
Using ... Read more ...
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Nanoscale movies shed light on one barrier to a clean energy future - PHYS.ORG - Biology (Apr 11) |
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Apr 11 · "By studying how and why renewable energy devices break down over time, we might be able to extend their lifetime," said chemistry professor and senior author Ivan Moreno-Hernandez.
In his lab at Duke sits a miniature version of one such device. Called an electrolyzer, it separates hydrogen out of water, using electricity to power the reaction.
When the electricity to power electrolysis comes from renewable sources such as wind or solar, the hydrogen gas it churns out is considered a promising source of clean fuel, because it takes no fossil fuels to produce and it burns without creating any planet-warming carbon dioxide.
A number of countries have plans to scale ... Read more ...
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Genetic underpinnings of environmental stress identified in model plant - PHYS.ORG - Biology (Apr 11) |
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Apr 11 · They published their results in the journal Frontiers in Plant Science.
"Abiotic stresses—as opposed to biotic stresses like pests or disease—such as drought, salinity and cold negatively affect plant growth and crop productivity. Understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying plant responses to these stressors is essential for stress tolerance in crops," said corresponding author Hidemasa Bono, professor in the Laboratory of Genome Informatics at Hiroshima University's Graduate School of Integrated Sciences for Life. Bono is also affiliated with the Laboratory of Bio-DX in the university's Genome Editing Innovation Center.
"The plant hormone abscisic acid ... Read more ...
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Ghost roads speed destruction of Asia-Pacific tropical forests, finds study - PHYS.ORG - Biology (Apr 11) |
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Apr 11 · James Cook University's Distinguished Professor Bill Laurance recently co-authored a study published in Nature in which more than 200 trained volunteers closely examined satellite pictures of 1.42 million square kilometers of the Borneo, Sumatra and New Guinea islands.
Professor Laurance said roads served important functions, but without effective planning and law enforcement they could unleash a Pandora's box of environmental ills and societal challenges.
"Informally or illicitly constructed 'ghost roads' can be bulldozed tracks in logged forests, roads in palm-oil plantations and other roads missing from existing road datasets for various reasons," said Professor Laurance. Read more ...
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Research finds dairy farmers receptive to methane-reducing seaweed feed - PHYS.ORG - Biology (Apr 11) |
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Apr 11 · "Dairy farmers aim to run their farms as lucrative enterprises," said Andre Brito, associate professor of dairy cattle nutrition and management and a scientist at UNH's New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station. "The additional cost would require serious considerations, as well as more data and an effective implementation of carbon markets in the future."
In the study, published in Frontiers in Veterinary Science, researchers surveyed 35 Maine organic dairy farmers, all of whom were familiar with seaweed-based feeds and a third of whom were already using such feeds on their farms. Nearly half of respondents reported a willingness to pay, on average, an additional 64 cents ... Read more ...
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Researchers map 33 new big game migrations across American West - PHYS.ORG - Biology (Apr 11) |
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Apr 11 · The new volume, "Ungulate Migrations of the Western United States: Volume 4," documents 33 mule deer, pronghorn and elk herd migrations in collaboration with the wildlife agencies of Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Washington, Wind River Reservation, Wyoming and, for the first time, the states of Oregon and Colorado and the Pueblo of Tesuque in New Mexico.
With this latest volume, the report series includes details and maps of the migrations and seasonal ranges for a total of 182 unique herds across 10 states.
"We've now mapped nearly two hundred migrations of mule deer, pronghorn, elk and other ungulates across diverse landscapes, from the high alpine ... Read more ...
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Scientists are grasping at straws while trying to protect infant corals from hungry fish - PHYS.ORG - Biology (Apr 11) |
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Apr 11 · Scientists around the world have been working for years to address the decline of coral reef populations. Just last summer, reef rescue groups in South Florida and the Florida Keys were trying to save coral from rising ocean temperatures. Besides working to keep existing coral alive, researchers have also been growing new coral in labs and then placing them in the ocean.
But protecting the underwater ecosystem that maintains upwards of 25% of all marine species is not easy. Even more challenging is making sure that coral grown in a laboratory and placed into the ocean doesn't become expensive fish food.
Pisano and his partner, Kirk Dotson, have developed the Coral Fort, ... Read more ...
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Tropical coral-infecting parasites discovered in cold marine ecosystems - PHYS.ORG - Biology (Apr 11) |
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Apr 11 · The finding, published in Current Biology, greatly expands the range of corallicolids, suggesting the parasites infect a range of organisms related to coral, like sea anemones and other cold-water marine invertebrates, around the world.
"This highlights significant blind spots in our strategies designed to sample microbial biodiversity," says University of British Columbia biodiversity researcher Dr. Patrick Keeling, senior author on the study. "It has implications for the way we sample, measure and interpret environmental diversity, because our current approaches are clearly missing an important and potentially massive fraction of that diversity."
Corallicolids were ... Read more ...
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Why some of British Columbia's kelp forests are in more danger than others - PHYS.ORG - Biology (Apr 11) |
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Apr 11 · Kelp forests help to support fisheries, draw down carbon and improve water quality—in the process contributing billions to the global economy. Unfortunately, climate change is now a major threat to kelp forests. Kelp forests require cool water temperatures, and recent ocean warming has placed these valuable ecosystems in hot water.
In our new study, we highlight by just how much some of Canada's kelp forests along the Pacific coast have declined. We also show that, despite recent impacts of climate change, kelp forests in some areas have remained stable, offering hope for future kelp forests and shedding light on the drivers of ecosystem resilience.
Marine forests ... Read more ...
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Deforestation harms biodiversity of the Amazon's perfume-loving orchid bees - PHYS.ORG - Biology (Apr 10) |
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Apr 10 · The findings, from a researcher at the University of Kansas, are published in the journal Biological Conservation.
"This study on orchid bees was an add-on to previous research on stingless bees. Orchid bees are so easy to collect, so we added them to our broader survey of bee biodiversity across this rapidly developing region in the Amazon," said lead author J. Christopher Brown, professor of geography & atmospheric science at KU.
"We've known for decades that particular fragrances like eucalyptus oil, for example, attract male orchid bees, which naturally collect similar fragrances from orchids to use in mating. All you do is dip cotton balls into a variety of chemical ... Read more ...
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New report 'braids' Indigenous and Western knowledge for forest adaptation strategies against climate change - PHYS.ORG - Biology (Apr 10) |
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Apr 10 · Forests could also be potential bulwarks against climate change. But, increasingly severe droughts and wildfires, invasive species, and large insect outbreaks—all intensified by climate change—are straining many national forests and surrounding lands.
A report by a team of 40 experts outlines a new approach to forest stewardship that "braids together" Indigenous knowledge and Western science to conserve and restore more resilient forestlands. Published March 25, the report provides foundational material to inform future work on climate-smart adaptive management practices for USDA Forest Service land managers.
"Our forests are in grave danger in the face of ... Read more ...
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West Africa's falling fish stocks: Illegal Chinese trawlers, climate change and artisanal fishing fleets to blame - PHYS.ORG - Biology (Apr 10) |
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Apr 10 · Along the Gulf of Guinea, stretching from Côte d'Ivoire to Nigeria, fishers launch their wooden canoes from the beach to catch small pelagic fish, like sardines and anchovies, which they sell into local informal markets to make a living. They have done this for generations, but since the 1990s, a decline in the catch has put their livelihoods at risk.
In Ghana, total landings of small pelagic fish fell by 59% between 1993 and 2019, despite increased fishing efforts. Landings of Sardinella aurita, a favored species, declined from 119,000 metric tons in 1992 to just 11,834 metric tons in 2019.
Côte d'Ivoire has experienced a parallel fisheries decline, with its ... Read more ...
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Wind energy and bat conservation: Scientists call for the global application of measures to reduce fatalities - PHYS.ORG - Biology (Apr 10) |
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Apr 10 · The team demonstrates that scientifically proven methods for reducing bat casualties need to be implemented more consistently into regulations for the operation of wind turbines worldwide and significant research gaps on the interaction of bats with turbines in countries of the Global South and in tropical ecosystems need to be closed.
Global climate change requires effective measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in energy production. The expansion of wind energy production is a promising path, as the yield in electric energy is relatively high in relation to the investment and the size of the area used. However, this approach often has notable detrimental effects on ... Read more ...
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Climate change and forest management may threaten blueberry microbes - PHYS.ORG - Biology (Apr 9) |
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Apr 9 · The diversity of symbiotic microbes in blueberries differs between southern and northern Finland, according to a new study published in Environmental Microbiome.
"The study suggests that climate change and intensive forestry practices can change the diversity of symbiotic microbes in the fruits of blueberry, which in turn may affect, for example, the taste or shelf life of the fruits," says University of Oulu Professor Anna Maria Pirttilä.
Bilberry, or European Blueberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.) is one of the most economically important wild forest berries in northern Europe, and lately the berries have been the subject of increasing research. However, the knowledge on ... Read more ...
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Climate change has positive and negative effects on invasive mountain pine beetles - PHYS.ORG - Biology (Apr 9) |
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Apr 9 · The mixed scenario provides "a deeper understanding of dynamics that are crucial to building effective forest management and conservation strategies in the face of ongoing environmental changes," says Rashaduz Zaman, who led the study published in Global Change Biology. Zaman is working toward a Ph.D. in forest biology and management from the Faculty of Agricultural, Life & Environmental Sciences.
The findings signal a mix of potentially positive and negative implications for the beetle.
More CO2, more beetles?
On an apparent upside for the insect—but detrimental for the lodgepole forests it attacks—lab experiments showed that exposure to higher levels ... Read more ...
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Pet flea and tick treatments contain pesticides that end up washing into the environment - PHYS.ORG - Biology (Apr 9) |
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Apr 9 · Spot-on parasiticides are liquids applied to the back of the pet's neck. They spread over the skin of the animal making it toxic to fleas (and sometimes ticks) for at least one month. They're often sold as part of a pet health care plan, whereby pet owners make a monthly payment for a package of year-round treatments.
Around [86% of dogs and 91% of cats] are treated for fleas at least once a year, whether fleas are present or not. The most common active ingredients in these treatments are called imidacloprid (an insecticide linked to bee declines) and fipronil, another potent insecticide that can harm the nervous systems of animals and humans.
Recent surveys by the ... Read more ...
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Rising sea surface temperatures have led to profound changes in macroalgae communities over the last 40 years: Study - PHYS.ORG - Biology (Apr 9) |
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Apr 9 · A study by the University of the Basque Country published in Marine Environmental Research has analyzed the impact of the rise in sea surface temperature on macroalgae communities over the last four decades. Points at various depths were investigated in a location off the coast of Biscay, and an increasing scarcity was observed in the number of cold-affinity structuring species, while small warm-affinity ones have proliferated. The researchers are warning that some ecological functions are in jeopardy as a result.
The temperature of our planet is rising rapidly: 90% of the excess heat generated has been absorbed by the sea and, as a result, the surface temperature of the ... Read more ...
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Snowmelt timing impacts grassland plant communities, new study finds - PHYS.ORG - Biology (Apr 9) |
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Apr 9 · In arid and semi-arid regions, winter snowfall serves as a critical water source during the vegetation greening period, and snowmelt drives the start of the growing season. However, with global changes in temperature and precipitation, winter snowfall amounts, snow depth, and snowmelt timing are shifting, potentially altering early spring soil temperatures and moisture conditions.
Surprisingly, snow changes have received less attention compared to other global change factors such as nitrogen deposition, precipitation variability, and warming.
Led by Dr. Wang Zhengwen, the Ecological Stoichiometry team of IAE set up an experiment to mimic the effects of changing snow ... Read more ...
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Enhanced rock weathering results in higher crop yields and improved crop health, study shows - PHYS.ORG - Biology (Apr 8) |
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Apr 8 · Enhanced rock weathering—a nature-based carbon dioxide removal process that accelerates natural weathering—results in significantly higher first year crop yields, improved soil pH, and higher nutrient uptake, according to a paper, published in PLOS ONE on 27 March.
Enhanced rock weathering (ERW) involves spreading finely crushed silicate rock such as basalt on agricultural land. It is a scalable and permanent climate technology with the potential to sequester gigatons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Co-authored by scientists at UNDO, a leading enhanced rock weathering project developer, and Newcastle University, the article is the latest enhanced rock ... Read more ...
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First-of-its-kind integrated dataset enables genes-to-ecosystems research - PHYS.ORG - Biology (Apr 8) |
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Apr 8 · The data, described in Scientific Data, provides in-depth information on 27 genetically distinct variants, or genotypes, of Populus trichocarpa, a poplar tree of interest as a bioenergy crop.
The genotypes are among those that the ORNL-led Center for Bioenergy Innovation previously included in a genome-wide association study linking genetic variations to the trees' physical traits. ORNL researchers collected leaf, soil and root samples from poplar fields in two regions of Oregon—one in a wetter area subject to flooding and the other drier and susceptible to drought.
Details in the newly integrated dataset range from the trees' genetic makeup and gene expression to ... Read more ...
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Jellyfish invade Venezuelan waters, worrying fishermen - PHYS.ORG - Biology (Apr 8) |
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Apr 8 · A thick bloom of jellyfish of varying hues drifts in the turquoise waters of Aragua in Venezuela, a surreal vision attributed to climate change that has decimated fishing stocks.
"It is like there are flowers in the sea. This has never happened before," said Elvis Morillo, 59, a fisherman in the northern village of Chuao, where verdant mountains hug the Caribbean coast.
The invasive cannonball jellyfish is filling fishermen's nets, in a surge the environment ministry attributes to warming waters from climate change and a decline in jellyfish predators such as sharks and sea turtles.
At the same time, "sardines and other species that serve as fishing bait have ... Read more ...
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Pets and the solar eclipse: How sudden increase in darkness during what should be the middle of day may affect pets - PHYS.ORG - Biology (Apr 8) |
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Apr 8 · On Monday, 13 states in the U.S. - starting with Texas - will experience brief moments of nighttime darkness mid-day as the moon glides in front of the sun, blocking its rays.
A solar eclipse, while fascinating to witness, raises important safety considerations, not just for humans but also for our beloved animals.
Dr. Kristina Paradowski and Dr. Isabelle Louge, clinical assistant professors at the Texas A&M School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, provide insight into animals' reactions during eclipses and offer guidance on how owners can ensure their animals' safety and comfort.
During a solar eclipse, pets may display unusual behaviors because, ... Read more ...
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Turning camels into cows: Megafarms are being set up to produce camel milk on industrial scales - PHYS.ORG - Biology (Apr 8) |
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Apr 8 · Camels evolved to cope with very hot days and freezing cold desert nights. They can go for days with little water or vegetation, and produce less methane than cows, sheep and other ruminants.
These traits make camels uniquely resilient to climate change, and mean they can play a key role in adapting food production as the climate changes, especially in deserts and other drylands.
But the same traits that make camels well-adapted to climate change also make them increasingly attractive targets for intensive farming. With big business interests hungry for ways to combine climate fixes and capitalist growth opportunities, an industrial camel industry is growing.
We ... Read more ...
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Thousands of salmon escape truck crash into nearby river - PHYS.ORG - Biology (Apr 6) |
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Apr 6 · Tens of thousands of endangered salmon being transported by truck to a US river miraculously survived a road crash by escaping into a nearby creek, officials said.
A large tanker vehicle transporting the young salmon - or smolts - was traveling in a mountainous area of the northwestern state of Oregon last week when it rolled on its side and skidded off the road.
The 53-foot-long truck ended up on its roof - fortuitously for its slippery passengers, right next to a small creek.
"About 77,000 smolts made it into the creek when the tanker overturned," said the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife in a statement.
The truck driver suffered only minor ... Read more ...
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Heat stress from ocean warming harms octopus vision - PHYS.ORG - Biology (Apr 5) |
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Apr 5 · While climate change has led to an increase in the abundance of octopuses, heat stress from projected ocean warming could impair their vision and impact the survivability of the species.
"We found several proteins important for vision that were affected by thermal stress," says Dr. Qiaz Hua, a recent Ph.D. graduate from the University of Adelaide's School of Biological Sciences.
"One of them is a structural protein found in high abundance in animal eye lenses to preserve lens transparency and optical clarity, and another is responsible for the regeneration of visual pigments in the photoreceptors of the eyes.
"The levels of both of these proteins were significantly ... Read more ...
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Reef management techniques have the potential to save coral - PHYS.ORG - Biology (Apr 5) |
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Apr 5 · Adam Smith, Adjunct Associate Professor at James Cook University and CEO of environmental advisory company Reef Ecologic, led the study, which has been published in Ecological Management & Restoration.
"Coral reef management techniques such as relocation and transplantation are increasingly used as coastal developments and the global decline of coral reefs has increased over the last 30 years," said Dr. Smith.
He said a 170-meter pipeline was constructed in 2020 to discharge wastewater from the desalination plant at Hayman Island resort, located off the Queensland coast.
"There was a healthy coral community in the route of the pipeline so we worked to detach the ... Read more ...
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How agroecology can be part of a 'just transition' for Canada's food system - PHYS.ORG - Biology (Apr 4) |
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Apr 4 · After a year of skyrocketing food costs, Canada's Food Price Report 2024 predicts a further increase of 2.5 to 4.5 percent for grocery store price tags.
One cause for these higher prices—apart from corporate greed—is attributable to more difficult environmental conditions for farmers. Severe weather events, like flooding and drought, as well as extreme temperatures, are making farming livelihoods increasingly precarious.
This is the case in the Prairie provinces, where immense, export-oriented monoculture farming operations are the norm. These industrial farms are intimately connected to the climate crisis. Industrial farms are highly dependent on ... Read more ...
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A new method for storing and processing hydrogen chloride - PHYS.ORG - Biology (Apr 4) |
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Apr 4 · This development also represents an important contribution toward making the chemical industry more sustainable and offering alternative energy solutions. The results of the study were recently published in the journal Science Advances under the title "Bichloride-Based Ionic Liquids for the Merged Storage, Processing, and Electrolysis of Hydrogen Chloride."
Hydrogen chloride (HCl) is an important by-product of the chemical industry—and can be electrolyzed to generate hydrogen and chlorine. Chlorine is one of the most important base chemicals, required for the production of indispensable polymers such as polyurethanes and polycarbonates, while hydrogen could be the key to ... Read more ...
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