In an oceanic omen for climate change's intensifying effects, new research shows that seagrass suffers from a lesion-filled wasting disease through large swaths of intertidal meadows in the Pacific Northwest. The grasses' once-vibrant plant root systems are deteriorating, too.
Farmed seafood supply at risk if we don’t act on climate change
The supply of farmed seafood such as salmon and mussels are projected to drop 16 per cent globally by 2090 if no action is taken to mitigate climate change, according to a new study. Ocean-farmed seafood or mariculture is often seen as a panacea to the problems of depleted stocks...
Experiment gives rise to social conventions between baboons
A research team has demonstrated that members of a group of baboons can establish shared social conventions -- in this case, by all agreeing on how to solve a problem in order to get a reward faster. This is the first time that such conventions have been studied experimentally in...
Significant energy savings when electric distribution vehicles take their best route
Range anxiety with electric commercial vehicles is real, since running out of battery can have serious consequences. Researchers have developed tools to help electric delivery-vehicles navigate strategically to use as little energy as possible. The secret lies in looking beyond just the distance traveled, and instead focusing on overall energy...
Life arose on hydrogen energy, researchers suggest
How did the first chemical reactions get started at the origin of life and what was their source of energy? Researchers have reconstructed the metabolism of the last universal common ancestor, LUCA. They found that almost all chemical steps used by primordial life to piece together the molecular building blocks...
Researchers develop advanced catalysts for clean hydrogen production
New research into the design of catalysts has shown that hydrogen can be cleanly produced with much greater efficiency and at a lower cost than is possible with current commercially available catalysts.
Disrupting flow of wood from rivers to oceans impacts marine environments
Scientists have measured records of wood flowing to reservoirs and coastal regions to estimate the magnitude of global wood movement.
New understanding of plant nutrient response could improve fertilizer management strategies
Green is a color that is almost universally associated with plants -- for good reason. The green pigment chlorophyll is essential to plants' ability to generate food; but what happens if they don't have enough of it? New work reveals the complex, interdependent nutrient responses underpinning a potentially deadly, low-chlorophyll...
An easy relationship between a beetle and its yeast symbiont
Lizard beetles farm yeast inside bamboo stems for their developing larvae to eat. Scientists have now found that, contrary to other insect-fungus relationships, the job of the yeast in this one does not involve digesting the complex sugars in bamboo's woody tissues for its host.
Dinosaurs’ last spring: Study pinpoints timing of Chicxulub asteroid impact
Scientists conclusively confirm the time year of the catastrophic Chicxulub asteroid, responsible for the extinction of dinosaurs and 75 percent of life on Earth 66 million years ago. Springtime, the season of new beginnings, ended the 165-million-year reign of dinosaurs and changed the course of evolution on Earth.