Researchers have found that microplastics drifting through rivers, lakes, and oceans constantly release a complex blend of dissolved organic chemicals into the water. This chemical leakage continues over time and becomes much more intense when plastics are exposed to sunlight. The new findings offer the most detailed molecular-level picture so far of how microplastic-derived dissolved […]
Overfishing and global warming are depleting food from our oceans, but rebuilding reef life could help provide millions of meals every year. Coral reefs could become a crucial part of the pathway to help fight global hunger and improve nutrition around the world. According to UNICEF data, around 2.3 billion people experienced moderate or severe […]
A research team led by scientists at the University of Ottawa has produced a new set of detailed 3D models that map temperatures deep beneath Greenland and northeastern Canada. These models shed light on how the region formed over millions of years and help explain how Greenland’s massive ice sheet has responded, and may continue […]
From napping half their brain while flying to taking four-second naps to survive parenthood, these animals have evolved clever ways to catch some shuteye. Every animal with a brain needs sleep – and even a few without a brain do, too. Humans sleep, birds sleep, whales sleep and even jellyfish sleep. Sleep is universal “even […]
A new study from the University of California San Diego identifies an unexpected influence on global crop stability: the original source of rainfall. Published in Nature Sustainability, the research follows atmospheric moisture back to the place where it first evaporated, whether from the ocean or from land surfaces such as soil, lakes and forests. Sunlight heats […]
Long-term exposure to polluted air may significantly reduce the positive health effects of regular physical activity, according to new research from an international team that included experts from UCL (University College London). The study, published in BMC Medicine, examined information from over 1.5 million adults who were monitored for more than ten years across several countries, […]
Engineers have launched a huge garbage collection device to gather plastic material floating in the Pacific Ocean between California and Hawaii. The plastic makes up what is called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. It is the world’s largest spread of garbage, at two times the size of the state of Texas. The organization Ocean Cleanup created the […]
Around 12,000 years ago, the last Ice Age drew to a close. Global temperatures rose, the early Holocene began, and human communities gradually shifted toward more permanent settlements. A new study published in Nature Geoscience highlights how the Southern Ocean around Antarctica helped drive this major climate transition. The research team, led by Dr. Huang Huang of […]
In an effort to better understand how the ocean stores carbon, researchers at UC Santa Barbara and their collaborators have uncovered results that challenge long-held ideas about how carbon dioxide is “fixed” in the dark, deep sea. Led by UCSB microbial oceanographer Alyson Santoro, the team reports in Nature Geoscience that their work helps close a long-standing […]
Scientists have sounded the alarm over toxic forever chemicals, after analysing 127 whales and dolphins. Marine mammals aren’t “immune from the burden” of toxic forever chemicals, even if they live below the ocean’s surface. New research published in Science of the Total Environment has raised alarm bells over the long-term health of marine species, after […]
