As climate change worsens water quality and threatens ecosystems, the famous dams of beavers may help lessen the damage.
Warm, Dry October Intensifies U.S. Drought
Below-normal rainfall and above-average temperatures intensified drought conditions, broadening the geographic areas of drought across the U.S. in October 2022.
Diet high in saturated fat can reprogram immune cells in mice
A new study shows that eating a diet exclusively high in saturated fats can reprogram the mouse immune system, making it better able to fight off infection but more susceptible to systemic inflammatory conditions, including sepsis.
Rare ‘fossil’ clam discovered alive
Discovering a new species is always exciting, but so is finding one alive that everyone assumed had been lost to the passage of time. A small clam, previously known only from fossils, has recently been found living at Naples Point, near Santa Barbara.
In ironic twist, CRISPR system used to befuddle bacteria
Researchers flip nature's script by engineering a virus to carry a CRISPR system to change a bacterium's genes.
Geobiologists shine new light on Earth’s first known mass extinction event 550 million years ago
A new study by geobiologists traces the cause of the first known mass extinction of animals to decreased global oxygen availability, leading to the loss of a majority of animals present near the end of the Ediacaran Period some 550 million years ago.
Agriculture in Mexico’s Chihuahuan Desert
This photograph was captured by an astronaut onboard the International Space Station (ISS) as the spacecraft orbited over the city of Nuevo Casas Grandes and the surrounding Chihuahuan Desert.
Emperor Penguins Granted Protections Under Endangered Species Act
Today, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced that emperor penguins have been listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) based on evidence that the animal's sea ice habitat is shrinking and is likely to continue to do so over the next several decades.
Rethinking mountain water security
Water security in mountain regions relies on a broader understanding of the complex interlinks of water supply and demand that goes far beyond the study of glacier melt.
Microplastic pollution threats the world’s coastal lagoons
Globally, the coastal lagoons of Lagos (Nigeria), Sakumo (Ghana) and Bizerte (Tunisia) -- close to large urban centers and without waste and sewage treatment systems -- are among the most affected water ecosystems of this nature by microplastic pollution. However, the highest concentrations of microplastics have been detected in Barnes...