1,386 results
- Climate
Three reasons why the ocean’s record-breaking hot streak is devastating
Ocean warming enhances hurricane activity, bleaches coral reefs and melts Antarctic sea ice. That warming has been off the charts for the past year.
- Paleontology
Glowing spider fossils may exist thanks to tiny algae’s goo
Analyzing 22-million-year-old spider fossils from France revealed that they were covered in a tarry black substance that fluoresces.
- Life
Like bees of the sea, crustaceans ‘pollinate’ seaweed
Crustaceans shuttle around red algae’s sex cells, helping the seaweed reproduce in a manner remarkably similar to flower pollination.
- Animals
These brainless jellyfish use their eyes and bundles of nerves to learn
No brain? No problem for Caribbean box jellyfish. Their seemingly simple nervous systems can learn to avoid obstacles on sight, a study suggests.
- Chemistry
One photon is all it takes to kick off photosynthesis
A single particle of light is the spark that begins the process of turning light to chemical energy in photosynthetic bacteria, a new study confirms.
- Climate
Climate change could turn some blue lakes to green or brown
As temperatures rise, more than 1 in 10 of the world’s blue lakes could change color, reflecting holistic shifts in lake ecosystems.
- Life
1.6-billion-year-old steroid fossils hint at a lost world of microbial life
Molecular fossils suggest the existence of a lost world of primitive eukaryotes that dominated aquatic ecosystems from at least 1.6 billion to 0.8 billion years ago.
- Microbes
Scientists have found the first known microbes that can eat only viruses
Lab experiments show that Halteria ciliates can chow down solely on viruses. Whether these “virovores” do the same in the wild is unclear.
- Animals
Urchins are dying off across the Caribbean. Scientists now know why
A type of single-celled microorganism associated with coral diseases is behind a sea urchin die-off in the Caribbean.
- Animals
Whale sharks may be the world’s largest omnivores
An analysis of the sharks’ skin shows that the animals eat and digest algae.
- Oceans
How some sunscreens damage coral reefs
In lab experiments, sea anemones and coral turned oxybenzone into a toxin activated by light. But helpful algae may provide a layer of protection.
- Animals
A 2,200-year-old poop time capsule reveals secrets of the Andean condor
Guano that has accumulated in a cliffside Andean condor nest for 2,200 years reveals how the now-vulnerable birds responded to a changing environment.
