ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATEWhile growing climate changes and ocean acidification pose particular threats to coral reef species around the world, it appears that researchers may have good news on the horizon. While many reefs have been well-documented and researched, a new study recently published in the journal Scientific Reports reveals that new reefs may be right under our noses, and they be far out of the tropics.
If you’ve ever been pulled out to sea by a riptide you know the true power of the oceans. When a tide changes, waves can crash down on the shores with immense power, and if you’re destined to live on these shores you’d obviously have to endure a lot. And in a new study published this week in the journal of the Royal Society Interface, researchers from the University of Portsmouth and the Queen Mary University of London are revealing just how much.
While many factors play into the development of a viral or bacterial outbreak, including herd immunity and preexisting healthcare practices, current outbreaks of the Ebola virus and the measles have many wondering exactly what’s causing the reemergence of such lethal diseases. Well, the obvious answers of vaccinations and poor sanitation conditions are readily available, but many may not consider an even more significant culprit—climate change.
While many factors play into the development of a viral or bacterial outbreak, including herd immunity and preexisting healthcare practices, current outbreaks of the Ebola virus and the measles have many wondering exactly what’s causing the reemergence of such lethal diseases. Well, the obvious answers of vaccinations and poor sanitation conditions are readily available, but many may not consider an even more significant culprit—climate change.
While many argue that the fight against greenhouse gases is long over, climatologists and ecologists continue to urge that the battle continues on. And while the culprits are all the same, the problems with these remnants of burning fossil fuels are taking on new problems. A topic of major research has developed from these changes and now researchers are quantify just how it will impact our world in the years to come.
What could be worse than living on a frozen tundra, you ask? Experiencing the world in only two tastes has got to be pretty rough. And when you’re noshing down on fish day in and day out, only being able to taste things that are salty or sour has got to be a bummer too. But sadly, this is the life of the penguin.
Scientists have created a New York City map of microbes In an audaciously remarkable attempt to characterize the microbial population found in New York City, a team of researchers from Weil Cornell Medical School have produced a map of microbes or a "pathomap" of the heavily travelled New York City subway.
If you were to guess the amount of tonnage of trash in the sea, we bet that you’d be off by a couple of millions. That’s right, millions with an “M”. You may think that you can estimate the trash based on what you see at the beach, but researchers say that the calculation is a bit more complex than what the average guesser might think.
In a race against the clock, volunteers in New Zealand’s famous Golden Bay are attempting to save the near 200 pilot whales that beached themselves early Friday morning, Feb. 13. In what researchers say is the largest beaching event in over a decade, the pod of pilot whales became trapped on a sandbar known as the “Farewell Spit”, which is a common trap for migrating whales.
As temperatures on the west coast of the United States start to inch closer to that of summer weather, the east coast continues to face winter storms for the record books. In a new image published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) GOES-East satellite just this morning, NOAA and NASA researchers who collaborate on the project reveal another large snowstorm, bringing several feet of snow to the New England territory.
After 17 years of waiting for his late night dream to come to fruition, former Vice President of the United States Al Gore is going to have to wait a little longer to see his satellite launched into space. A US Air Force ground radar malfunction delayed SpaceX’s launch of the 1,250-pound satellite nicknamed “GoreSat” this weekend, however, in spite of planning a relaunch this morning, the rocket company decided to delay another 24 hours due to weather concerns at its Florida launch site.
While NASA researchers are still waiting for the initial readings from their newest mission, the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission which plans to give researchers and farmers vital information about the moisture of any given soil on the face of the Earth, another mission has its sights set on the seas this week. Releasing a new image courtesy of the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite, researchers at the space agency reveal that while all may seem calm below, the clouds above the Bering Sea tell a tale much more interesting than the waters it hides.
While the presence of small pink roses may seem like an innocuous blossom, researchers from the University of California, Santa Cruz are finding that as little creatures appear they signal warmer waters to come. No, these pink roses aren’t flora species, they’re hot pink sea slugs found traditionally in southern California tide pools. But as they’ve migrated north, researchers now believe that coastal water temperatures are on the rise, and this could have serious implications farther up on the food chain.
When it comes to cognition, there are few answers on the origins of many behaviors. Neurobiology and social anthropology help researchers understand the development of speech, the correlation of objects or words with physical entities, and even the emergence of faiths. However, when it comes to something as simple as a number line, which is virtually a universal means of discerning small numbers from larger numbers, researchers are stumped. And looking to nature for the answer, a new study published this week in the journal Science, discovered just how universal these number lines are.
While they be fun to look at, a new sight in northern California tide pools are causing quite a bit of concern as the shades of oceanic blue are filled with one-inch blotches of hot pink. The culprits, known as Hopkin’s Rose Nudibranch (Okenia rosacea), are sea slugs common to the warmer waters of southern California. But as water temperatures shift, researchers fear that their migration further up the coast may be a sign of what’s to come.