Environment : Nature World News

Ongoing Impact of Nuclear Testing (IMAGE)

Jul 18, 2019 10:34 AM EDT

Radiation in Parts of Marshall Islands is Higher than Chernobyl

Radiation levels in some regions of the Marshall Islands in the central Pacific, where the United States conducted nuclear tests during the Cold War, are far higher than in areas affected by the Chernobyl and Fukushima nuclear disasters, according to new research from Columbia University.

Ant-Acacia Plant Providing for a Helpful Resident (IMAGE)

Jul 17, 2019 09:47 AM EDT

Timing is Everything for the Mutualistic Relationship Between Ants and Acacias

In the 1960s, Penn biologist Dan Janzen, as part of earning his Ph.D., re-described what has become a classic example of biological mutualism: the obligate relationship between acacia-ants and ant-acacia trees. The acacia trees produce specialized structures to shelter and feed the ant colony, and the ants, in turn, defend the tree against herbivores.

Jul 17, 2019 08:26 AM EDT

New Species of Tree Discovered in Tanzania Mountains

Researchers have discovered a new species of tree in the Usambara Mountains in Tanzania, part of the Eastern Arc Mountains, and a globally important region for species in need of conservation.

Jul 15, 2019 08:49 AM EDT

Gene Identified that Will Help Develop Plants to Fight Climate Change

Hidden underground networks of plant roots snake through the earth foraging for nutrients and water, similar to a worm searching for food. Yet, the genetic and molecular mechanisms that govern which parts of the soil roots explore remain largely unknown. Now, Salk Institute researchers have discovered a gene that determines whether roots grow deep or shallow in the soil.

A Bumblebee Visits Corydalis Ambigua after Overwintering (IMAGE)

Jul 13, 2019 04:55 PM EDT

Early Arrival of Spring Disrupts the Mutualism Between Plants and pollinators

Gaku Kudo of Hokkaido University and Elisabeth J. Cooper of the Arctic University of Norway have demonstrated that early snowmelt results in the spring ephemeral Corydalis ambigua flowering ahead of the emergence of its pollinator, the bumblebee.

Jul 12, 2019 11:31 AM EDT

Wildfires Disrupt Important Pollination Processes by Moths and Increase Extinction Risks

Publishing their findings today (12 July) in the journal Functional Ecology, an international team of experts, studied the impact of a large wildfire in Portugal on flowers, moths and the complex ways in which they interact.

Jul 12, 2019 10:04 AM EDT

Super Salty, Subzero Arctic Water Provides Peek at Possible Life on Other Planets

In recent years, the idea of life on other planets has become less far-fetched. NASA announced June 27 that it will send a vehicle to Saturn's icy moon, Titan, a celestial body known to harbor surface lakes of methane and an ice-covered ocean of water, boosting its chance for supporting life.

Jul 12, 2019 09:59 AM EDT

Coral Skeleton Crystals Record Ocean Acidification

The acidification of the oceans is recorded in the crystals of the coral skeleton. This is a new tool for studying past environmental changes and combating climate change. Such is the main conclusion of a study led by the Spanish scientist Ismael Coronado Vila, from the Institute of Paleobiology in Warsaw (Poland).

Jul 11, 2019 09:33 AM EDT

Finding of STEMIN for Feasible Reprogramming in Plants

Stem cells self-renew and give rise to cells that are differentiated during development. These differentiated cells can change into stem cells under appropriate conditions in most plants, in which this process is more readily apparent, and some animals. Researchers have previously succeeded in forming new shoots from intact leaves by inducing single transcription factors in Arabidopsis.

Jul 11, 2019 08:33 AM EDT

Nuclear Physics in Search of World Artifacts

NUST MISIS scientists together with the colleagues from P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Skobeltsyn Institute of Nuclear Physics Lomonosov Moscow State University and Dagestan State University have published the first results of a "scan" obtained by the method of muon radiography of the underground space in the Derbent fortress of Naryn-Kala.

Jul 10, 2019 08:56 AM EDT

Interstellar Iron Isn't Missing, It's Just Hiding in Plain Sight

Astrophysicists know that iron (chemical symbol: Fe) is one of the most abundant elements in the universe, after lightweight elements such as hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen. Iron is most commonly found in gaseous form in stars such as the Sun, and in more condensed form in planets such as Earth.

Jul 10, 2019 08:51 AM EDT

A Drier Future Sets the Stage for more Wildfires

In 2018 was a dry day in Butte County, California. The state was in its sixth consecutive year of drought, and the county had not had a rainfall event producing more than a half-inch of rain for seven months. The dry summer had parched the spring vegetation, and the strong northeasterly winds of autumn were gusting at 35 miles per hour and rising, creating red flag conditions: Any planned or unplanned fires could quickly get out of control.

Jul 10, 2019 08:18 AM EDT

Coral Reefs Shifting Away From Equator

Coral reefs are retreating from equatorial waters and establishing new reefs in more temperate regions, according to new research in the journal Marine Ecology Progress Series. The researchers found that the number of young corals on tropical reefs has declined by 85 percent - and doubled on subtropical reefs - during the last four decades.

The 'General' Type of Panorpodes Paradoxus, a Typical Female (IMAGE)

Jul 10, 2019 07:42 AM EDT

The Parallel Ecomorph Evolution of Scorpionflies: The Evidence is in the DNA

With little cases of ethanol to preserve tissue samples for total genomic DNA analysis, a trio covered much ground in the mountains of Japan and Korea to elucidate the evolution of the scorpionfly. The rugged scientists set out to use molecular phylogenetic analysis to show that the "alpine" type of scorpionfly and "general" type must be different species. After all, the alpine type exhibit shorter wings than the general type, and alpine type females also have very dark and distinct markings on their wings.

Jul 10, 2019 08:19 AM EDT

The Global Tree Restoration Potential

Restoration of the Earth's forests is the world's most effective solution to climate change available today and has the potential to capture two-thirds of man-made carbon emissions, finds landmark research by the Crowther Lab, published today in the journal Science.