The United States is expected to experience as much sea level rise by the year 2050 as it witnessed in the previous hundred years. That's according to a NOAA-led report updating sea level rise decision-support information for the U.S. released in partnership with half a dozen other U.S.federal agencies.
Measuring the tempo of Utah’s red rock towers
Geologists know well how rock towers and arches shimmy, twist and sway in response to far-off earthquakes, wind and even ocean waves. Their latest research compiles a first-of-its-kind dataset to show that the dynamic properties, i.e. the frequencies at which the rocks vibrate and the ways they deform during that...
Scientists reveal how Venus fly trap plants snap shut
Scientists have revealed the three-dimensional structure of Flycatcher1, an aptly named protein channel that may enable Venus fly trap plants to snap shut in response to prey. The structure of Flycatcher1 helps shed light on longstanding questions about the remarkably sensitive touch response of Venus fly traps. The structure also...
Explosive fossil fruit found buried beneath ancient Indian lava flows
Just before the closing scenes of the Cretaceous Period, India was a rogue subcontinent on a collision course with Asia. Before the two landmasses merged, however, India rafted over a 'hot spot' within the Earth's crust, triggering one of the largest volcanic eruptions in Earth's history, which likely contributed to...
Independent evolution of a complex sucking pump in arthropods
Whether nectar-sucking butterflies or blood-sucking mosquitoes - the ingestion of liquid food has long been known for many insects and other arthropods. A research team now shows that millipedes also use a sucking pump to ingest liquid food. A sucking pump has thus evolved independently in different groups of organisms...
Rare bacterial strain isolated and sequenced
Certain types of bacteria are unable to survive and thrive outside host organisms. This makes their isolation and identification technically challenging. Recently, a researcher successfully isolated a new bacterial strain of the candidate bacterial group, Candidatus phylum Dependentiae, from a pond.
Core strength could help dogs avoid knee injuries
Agility dogs lacking core strength from routine physical exercise may be more susceptible to one of the most common canine knee injuries, a cranial cruciate ligament rupture, which is similar to an ACL tear in humans. According to a research survey documenting activity and injury odds of more than 1,200...
Can a planet have a mind of its own? Thought experiment
Astrophysicists combine current scientific understanding about the Earth with broader questions about how life alters a planet to ask: if a planet with life has a life of its own, can it also have a mind of its own? The research raises new ideas about the ways in which humans...
City trees and soil are sucking more carbon out of the atmosphere than previously thought
Research uncovers new information about the role that forest edges play in buffering global impacts of climate change and urbanization.
Unexpected findings detailed in new portrait of HIV
Using powerful tools and techniques developed in the field of structural biology, researchers have discovered new details about the human immunodeficiency virus, HIV.