Researchers have developed a cheaper and more energy-efficient way to make hydrogen directly from seawater, in a critical step towards a truly viable green hydrogen industry. The new method splits the seawater directly into hydrogen and oxygen -- skipping the need for desalination and its associated cost, energy consumption and...
Kangaroo fecal microbes could reduce methane from cows
Baby kangaroo feces might help provide an unlikely solution to the environmental problem of cow-produced methane. A microbial culture developed from the kangaroo feces inhibited methane production in a cow stomach simulator. After researchers added the baby kangaroo culture and a known methane inhibitor to the simulated stomach, it produced...
Biodiversity engine for fishes: Shifting water depth
Fish, the most biodiverse vertebrates in the animal kingdom, present evolutionary biologists a conundrum: The greatest species richness is found in the world's tropical waters, yet the fish groups that generate new species most rapidly inhabit colder climates at higher latitudes. A new study helps to explain this paradox. The...
Coral reefs in the Eastern Pacific could survive into the 2060s
Scientists found that some reefs in the tropical Pacific Ocean could maintain high coral cover into the second half of this century by shuffling the symbiotic algae they host. The findings offer a ray of hope in an often-dire picture of the future of coral reefs worldwide.
Urban gardens are good for ecosystems and humans
Traditionally, it has been assumed that cultivating food leads to a loss of biodiversity and negative impacts on an ecosystem. A new study defies this assumption, showing that community gardens and urban farms positively affect biodiversity, local ecosystems and the well-being of humans that work in them.
Genetic switch makes the eyes of male bees large and of female bees small
Bee researchers have identified a new gene in honeybees, which is responsible for the dimorphic eye differentiation between males and females of the species. The researchers have now presented this gene and the evolutionary genetic conclusions they have drawn from it.
Asphalt volcano communities
Santa Barbara Channel's natural oil seeps are a beach-goer's bane, flecking the shores with blobs of tar. But the leaking petroleum also creates fascinating geologic and biologic features. About 10 miles off the coast of Santa Barbara, several jet-black mounds interrupt the featureless sea floor. These asphalt volcanoes, virtually unique...
Previously unknown cell mechanism could help counter cancer and aging
In a new study, researchers discovered an unknown mechanism of how cells 'remember' their identity when they divide -- the cells' so-called epigenetic memory.
Microbes that co-operate contribute more carbon emissions
Communities of microbes that work together release more carbon dioxide than competitive communities, contributing more to climate change.
New funding proposal aims to reduce bottlenecks on Upper Mississippi River
New research proposes a funding model for a major rehabilitation of the 27 locks and dams on the Upper Mississippi. It relies on a collective investment from all -- or at least most -- of the shippers, along with government funding. The researcher's model shows the public-private partnership would pay...