The World Health Organization's most recent estimates (2016) are that over 4.2 million people die prematurely each year due to long-term exposure to fine particulate outdoor air pollution (often referred to as PM2.5,). A recent study now suggests that the annual global death toll from outdoor PM2.5 may be significantly...
Molecular fingerprint behind beautiful pearls revealed
Researchers produce the first robust genome of pearl oysters, which they hope can be used to find strains that are resilient to increasingly common diseases or that produce more beautiful pearls.
New pterosaur species found in sub-Saharan Africa
With wings spanning nearly 16 feet, a new species of pterosaurs has been identified from the Atlantic coast of Angola.
Pandemic led to 7.5 percent decrease in 2020 U.S. energy consumption
Total energy consumption decreased 7.5 percent nationwide in 2020 compared with 2019 as the COVID-19 pandemic led to lockdowns, business closures and employees working from home, according to a new study. The research is the first to quantify the effects of pandemic disruptions on energy consumption trends across all 50...
Mysterious outbreak of bone-eating tuberculosis resembled an ancestral form
The force driving a strange outbreak of tuberculosis that exited the lungs and began chewing away at bones 15 years ago in North Carolina has been solved at the molecular level by a collaborative team of scientists. The mysterious bug reverted to an ancestral form that made its macrophage hosts...
Fertilisers Limit Pollination by Changing How Bumblebees Sense Flowers
The study, published in PNAS Nexus today, shows that chemical sprays alter the electric field around flowers for up to 25 minutes after exposure.
Texas A&M Experts Explain Slowing Ocean Currents
For decades, oceanographers have been measuring the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), a large system of ocean currents that greatly influence Earth’s climate.
Fertilizers limit pollination by changing how bumblebees sense flowers
Pollinators are less likely to land on flowers sprayed with fertilizers or pesticides as they can detect electric field changes around the flower, researchers have found.
A Second Chance for the Sumatran Rhino
Malaysia’s last male Sumatran rhino, Kertam, died in 2019.
Sea Urchins Keep On Trucking While Other Marine Life Languishes in the Florida Keys
In the summer of 2020, Florida Museum researchers Tobias Grun and Michał Kowalewski dove into the shallow waters off the coast of the Florida Keys and scoured the ocean floor for sea urchins.