Ecology articlesMarine bacteria with a hybrid engine
What was considered a breakthrough in the automobile industry almost five years ago is in fact a million year old success story of nature - the ability to use a mix of different energy sources. Some organisms like plants and green algae depend on light and carbon dioxide, while others like animals and fungi need complex nutrition (proteins and carbohydrates). And some even may use a mix of energy. They are able to compensate for low food supply by turning on their photoreceptors. This ability (photoheterotrophy) seems to be widespread among marine bacteria.
Glaciers not on simple, upward trend of melting
Two of Greenland's largest glaciers shrank dramatically and dumped twice as much ice into the sea during a period of less than a year between 2004 and 2005. And then, less than two years later, they returned to near their previous rates of discharge.
Salmonella survives better in stomach due to altered dna
Since 1995 there has been a considerable increase in the number of infections with a specific type of Salmonella bacteria transmitted via food. This type, Salmonella serovar Typhimurium DT104, is resistant to at least five different antibiotics. Dutch researcher Armand Hermans found new genetic information in DNA of DT104 that might be involved in its survival and infection mechanism. This genetic information might also be involved in the increase in the number of infections caused by this pathogen.
Noaa smart balloons
NOAA Research balloons have evolved to become viable and reliable real-time sources of meteorological and atmospheric conditions by staying aloft in all types of weather. Today's balloons can withstand hurricane force conditions collecting a spectrum of data that far surpasses their Mylar (thin strong polyester film) predecessors.
When fish become extinct, the cycling of critical nutrients in ecosystems changes
Ecosystems are such intricate webs of connections that few studies have been able to explore exactly what happens when a species dies out. Now, a Cornell study using computer simulations has teased out how the disappearance of a freshwater fish can affect the availability of certain nutrients that other species rely on.
While global warming is fatal to many reefs, some corals are able to fight the heat
While humans can survive large temperature fluctuations, such species as corals are only comfortable within a 12-degree temperature range. And rising global temperatures appear to be threatening their survival, according to Drew Harvell, Cornell professor of ecology and evolutionary biology.
An ancient retrovirus is resurrected
Retroviruses have been around longer than humanity itself. In fact, the best-known family member, HIV, is a relative youngster, with its first known human infections occurring sometime in the mid-20th century. But although many retroviruses went extinct hundreds of thousands or millions of years ago, researchers studying the pathogens don't use the traditional tools of paleontologists: They need look only as far as our own DNA.
Study finds subglacial water in west antarctica considerably more active than previously observed
The recent discovery of a subglacial water system beneath the West Antarctic ice sheet (WAIS) is causing scientists to rethink the mechanisms that control the flow of ice streams into the Ross Ice Shelf and ultimately into the Southern Ocean, according to Helen Amanda Fricker, a glaciologist at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego.
Yellowstone's quiet power
A 17-year University of Utah study of ground movements shows that the power of the huge volcanic hotspot beneath Yellowstone National Park is much greater than previously thought during times when the giant volcano is slumbering.
Heatwave on the top of the world
The French Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPPC, or GIEC in French) has just announced the conclusions of its 4th report, which restates that global warming has increased the average temperature by 0.74°C over the last century. However, there is very little information about some parts of the planet, such as central Asia.
Scripps oceanography research studies shed new light on blue whales and their calls
Using a variety of new approaches, scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego are forging a new understanding of the largest mammals on Earth.
New information links atlantic ocean warming to stronger hurricanes
Atmospheric scientists have uncovered fresh evidence to support the theory that global warming has contributed to the emergence of stronger hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean. But the trend doesn't hold up in the world's other oceans.
Global average temperature for january highest on record, u.s. temperature near average for month
The combined global land and ocean surface temperature was the highest for any January on record, according to scientists at the NOAA National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C. The most unusually warm conditions were in the mid- and high-latitude land areas of the Northern Hemisphere. In the contiguous United States, the monthly mean temperature was near average in January.
Atoms under the mantle
At a depth of 2900 kilometres, the layer between the Earth's mantle and its core has always intrigued geophysicists because they are unable to explain the seismic data it generates. Researchers in the Solid State Structure and Properties Laboratory (CNRS/Université Lille 1/Lille National School for Advanced Chemistry) have studied its deformation which influences convection movements within the mantle or even those by tectonic plates.
Hurricane can form new eyewall and change intensity rapidly
Hurricanes can gain or lose intensity with startling quickness, a phenomenon never more obvious than during the historic 2005 hurricane season that spawned the remarkably destructive Katrina and Rita.
Nasa detects trends in rainfall traits from drizzles to downpours
Breaking news in recent years has been swamped with stories of extreme weather -- flash floods in East Asia, prolonged drought in Africa, destructive hurricanes like Hurricane Katrina, heavy monsoon rainfall in South Asia, and an historic heat wave in Europe. The effects of these weather crises have been devastating, and their frequency seemingly on the rise. With an understanding that the societal effect of increased rainfall is huge, researchers have had a key question at the center of a debate among them: Are rain-producing weather events increasing worldwide, and if so, what is the relationship, if any, between their growth and climate change?
Arctic sea ice decline may trigger climate change cascade
Arctic sea ice that has been dwindling for several decades may have reached a tipping point that could trigger a cascade of climate change reaching into Earth's temperate regions, says a new University of Colorado at Boulder study.
Co2 threatens oceans regardless of global warming
Much of the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil fuel burning is absorbed by the oceans. It is elevating ocean acidity threatening many species, especially those like corals, which use calcium carbonate to make their shells or skeletons. A study published in the March 9, 2007, Geophysical Research Letters looks at how both increases in CO2 concentrations and increases in temperatures from climate change could affect ocean acidity. It found that regardless of global warming from carbon dioxide, the greenhouse gas is still a threat to life in the world's oceans.
New technology shows old faults are smoother than young ones
Old earthquake faults appear to be smoother than young ones, worn smooth over time by friction like the brake pads of an old car.
Engineers are first to measure lightning-caused polluting gas
A flash of light, a boom of thunder, a puff of smog? Researchers have long known that lightning produces lots of nitrogen oxide. Power plants and cars also give off the gas, which is a big ingredient in smog.