news

DNA of extremophiles living in comparably harsh conditions are similar despite being biologically unrelated The signature written in genomic DNA has long been linked to ancestry, not to geographic location. But a recent study using AI from Western University, published in the high impact journal Scientific Reports , provides evidence that living in extreme temperature environments leaves a discernible imprint on the genomes of microbial extremophiles.

How does Saharan dust remove the powerful greenhouse gas methane from the atmosphere above the Atlantic Ocean? Recently, Utrecht University and other institutes started a research project in collaboration with the shipping industry to answer this question. Once every month, boxes of flasks arrive on the sixth floor of the Buys Ballot building at Utrecht University.

Fibers produced from the slime exhibit a strength akin to nylon, yet they can dissolve in water and be reconstituted into new fibers from the solution In the tropical, temperate forests it calls home, the velvet worm uses a projectile "slime" to capture its prey. When it's ejected from the worm, the slime transforms into a gel before solidifying into stiff fibers upon exposure to air.

The Douglas firs in Switzerland had a bad year: starting in mid-April 2023, foresters noticed conspicuously red-coloured needles. Investigations show that this is probably frost damage. Moreover, with the first discovery of invasive gall midges from North America in summer 2022, the list of Douglas fir pests has been extended further.

Beachgoers see only the final act: thousands of pounds of brown macroalgae decomposing on shorelines and emitting an odor that smells like rotten eggs. What they miss is the journey that leads to Sargassum seaweed's seasonal sojourn on Caribbean and South Florida coastlines. It's an ocean voyage that starts in an area of the Atlantic between West Africa and the Gulf of Mexico.

A newly identified process could explain a variety of natural phenomena and enable new approaches to desalination. Evaporation is happening all around us all the time, from the sweat cooling our bodies to the dew burning off in the morning sun. But science's understanding of this ubiquitous process may have been missing a piece all this time.

A new way to price carbon credits could encourage desperately needed investment in forest preservation and boost vital progress towards net-zero. Our new approach has the potential to address market concerns around nature-based solutions to carbon offsetting. Srinivasan Keshav A new approach to valuing the carbon storage potential of natural habitats aims to help restore faith in offset schemes, by enabling investors to directly compare carbon credit pricing across a wide range of projects.

A new collection of papers on artificial light at night show the impact of light pollution to be surprisingly far-reaching, with even low levels of artificial light disrupting species communities and entire ecosystems. Published in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, the special theme issue, which includes 16 scientific papers, looks at the effects of light pollution in complex ecological systems, including soil, grassland, and insect communities.

Without rapid carbon dioxide emission reductions, the world has a 50% chance of locking in 1.5°C of warming before 2030 according to a new study. The study, led by Imperial College London researchers and published today in Nature Climate Change , is the most up-to-date and comprehensive analysis of the global carbon budget.

A new collection of studies on artificial light at night shows that the effects of light pollution are more far-reaching than thought. Even small amounts of artificial light can disrupt species communities and entire ecosystems. The special issue of 16 scientific studies published in the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B looks at the effects of light pollution on complex ecosystems, including soil, grassland and insect communities.

Fine dust from pulverized rock released by the Chicxulub meteorite impact 66 million years ago played a dominant role in the cooling of the climate, the disruption of photosynthesis and the mass extinction in which most dinosaurs went extinct. Until now, the precise circumstances of the mass extinction, such as the effect of the different types of impact material ejected from the crater on global climate were unclear .

Photos of plant and animal species that are posted on social media can help protect biodiversity, especially in tropical regions. This is the conclusion of a team of researchers led by the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (FSU), and the University of Queensland (UQ).

A major international study conducted mainly at the University of Neuchâtel (Switzerland) has revealed that the Apodera vas shell amoeba is found almost exclusively in regions originating from Gondwana, the supercontinent that gave rise to some of today's continents. The study also highlights the threat posed by global warming to the biodiversity of soil micro-organisms, of which this amoeba is one.

Sparkling water on the go at the touch of a button and entirely plastic-free. The new water bottle by ETH spin-off bottleplus makes this possible. by Nicole Davidson and Karin Kelly Like many other people, former ETH students Christian Käser and Linus Lingg love to drink sparkling water. There are dozens of convenient and well-designed reusable bottles for transporting tap water.

The map could help the agency decide where the first astronauts to the Red Planet should land. The more available water, the less missions will need to bring. Buried ice will be a vital resource for the first people to set foot on Mars, serving as drinking water and a key ingredient for rocket fuel.

Existing air pollution regulations will reduce thousands of premature adult deaths in the UK, but even the most effective technically feasible actions, which will save thousands more lives, will do little to protect the country's sensitive ecosystems, find UCL researchers. The new research, published in GeoHealth , found that existing air pollution regulations could avoid 6,751 early deaths amongst adults in the UK by 2030 compared to if no regulations existed.

This year has likely seen the hottest temperatures for 100,000 years. A global team of scientists, including Dr Thomas Newsome from Faculty of Science, has laid out the numbers. A global team of climate scientists has reported that Earth's vital signs have worsened beyond anything humans have seen, to the point that life on Earth is imperilled.

An article by TU/e researcher Thijs de Groot and his team on the usefulness of a small cathode gap in alkaline electrolyzers appeared in the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy recently. Green hydrogen is a serious contender to become a renewable energy carrier. For example, we could use it to store solar and wind energy during peaks in order to utilize the energy when the sun is no longer shining and the wind is calm.

An international team of researchers, led by Mount Sinai, has discovered a link between certain perand polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and an increased risk for thyroid cancer, according to a study published in eBioMedicine today. PFAS, also known as "forever chemicals," are a large, complex group of synthetic chemicals that can migrate into the soil, water, and air.

Researchers at the University of Bonn are investigating conflicting goals in animal husbandry. Human health appears to be the most important priority Which sustainability goals do people in Germany find more important: Animal welfare? Or environmental protection? Human health is another one of these competing sustainability goals.