Scientists shows that human proximity is the best indicator of microplastics being found in the Meramec River in Missouri.
How history can affect the success and failure of ecological restoration
Ecologists have shown that efforts to restore prairies can have vastly different outcomes in terms of their biodiversity and functionality when the only variable is the year a prairie is planted.
Light-matter interactions on sub-nanometer scales unlocked, leading to ‘picophotonics’
Researchers have discovered new waves with picometer-scale spatial variations of electromagnetic fields which can propagate in semiconductors like silicon.
Long-term changes to kelp forests from ‘the blob’
The nearshore rocky reefs of the Santa Barbara Channel are dynamic places, with populations of fish, mollusks, algae and other assorted sea life shifting in response to currents, storms and a variety of other conditions. They wax and wane, typically returning to some sort of baseline composition -- a kind...
Arctic vegetation has a major impact on warming
An international team of research scientists has documented the central role of vegetation for Arctic warming. The new results allow us to make more precise climate predictions, with the researchers pointing out that current models remain flawed.
Gossypetin found in hibiscus may beat Alzheimer’s disease
A research team has verified that gossypetin activates immune cells in the brain that clear A beta, which triggers Alzheimer's disease.
Take probiotics alongside your prescribed antibiotics to reduce damage to your gut microbiome, says the first review of the data
The first ever systematic review of its kind confirms that taking probiotics alongside antibiotics can protect against some of the negative impacts of antibiotics on the human gut microbiome.
Exploring the possibility of extraterrestrial life living in caves
For millennia, caves have served as shelters for prehistoric humans. Caves have also intrigued scholars from early Chinese naturalists to Charles Darwin. A cave ecologist has been in and out of these subterranean ecosystems, examining the unique life forms -- and unique living conditions -- that exist in Earth's many...
Keeping indoor humidity levels at a ‘sweet spot’ may reduce spread of COVID-19
New research finds indoor relative humidity between 40 and 60 percent is associated with relatively lower rates of COVID-19 infections and deaths, while indoor conditions outside this range are associated with worse COVID-19 outcomes.
Enzymes could be key to understanding how DNA mutates, quantum biologists find
Enzymes, which are crucial to controlling how cells replicate in the human body, could be the very ingredient that encourages DNA to spontaneously mutate -- causing potentially permanent genetic errors, according to new research.