Search Results

'Almost certain extinction': 1,200 species under severe threat across world

More than 1,200 species globally face threats to their survival in more than 90% of their habitat and “will almost certainly face extinction” without conservation intervention, according to new research.

'Animal-stress' signal improves plant drought resilience

A team of Australian and German researchers has discovered a novel pathway that plants can use to save water and improve their drought tolerance.

'Big John', largest-ever triceratops, goes under hammer

"Big John", 66 million years old and the largest triceratops skeleton ever unearthed at eight metres long, goes up for auction in Paris on Thursday.

'Big data' may help tackle longstanding questions about plant diversity, evolution

Taking advantage of 'big data' - massive, open-access information resources in research - can help forecast how plant life will fare on an increasingly human-dominated planet.

'Blue blob' near Iceland could slow glacial melting

A region of cooling water in the North Atlantic Ocean near Iceland, nicknamed the "Blue blob," has likely slowed the melting of the island's glaciers since 2011 and may continue to stymie ice loss until about 2050, according to new research.

'Catastrophic': UK has lost 90% of seagrass meadows, study finds

The UK has lost more than 90% of the lush seagrass meadows that once surrounded the nation, research has found. Scientists described the decline as catastrophic, but the latest analysis also shows where the flowering plants could be restored.

'Climigration': When communities must move because of climate change

Climate change increasingly threatens communities all over the world. News of fires, floods and coastal erosion devastating lives and livelihoods seems almost constant. The latest fires in Queensland and New South Wales mark the start of the earliest bushfire season the states have ever seen.

'Eavesdropping' technology used to protect one of New Zealand's rarest birds

Remote recording devices used to 'eavesdrop' on a reintroduced population of one of New Zealand's rarest birds have been heralded as a breakthrough for conservation.

'Freeze or flee' reactions run in fish families

University of Exeter scientists examined how Trinidadian guppies reacted to stress—did they freeze or flee?—and also measured their hormonal responses.

'Giant luminous shark': researchers discover three deep-sea sharks glow in the dark

Scientists studying sharks off New Zealand have discovered that three deep-sea species glow in the dark – including one that is now the largest-known luminous vertebrate.

'Helper' ambrosia beetles share reproduction with their mother

Fungus farming is a fascinating symbiosis that has evolved multiple times in social insects: once in ants, once in termites, and several times in weevils (beetles) from the subfamilies Scolytinae and Platypodinae.

'Ibiza is different', genetically

"Ibiza is different." That is what the hundreds of standard-bearers of the "hippie" movement who visited the Pitiusan Island during the 60s thought, fascinated by its climate and its unexplored nature. What they did not imagine was that the most unique feature of the island was in its inhabitant ...

'Impossible to adapt': Surprisingly fast ice-melts in past raise fears about sea level rise

Studies of ancient beaches and fossilised coral reefs suggest sea levels have the potential to rise far more quickly than models currently predict, according to geologists who have been studying past periods of warming.

'Insect apocalypse' looming under current conservation rules

Current UK conservation policies fail to protect important insect species such as bees which "are vital for our everyday lives and future existence," according to new research from the University of Aberdeen.

'Jurassic Pompeii' yields thousands of 'squiggly wiggly' fossils

Palaeontologist Tim Ewin is standing in a quarry, recalling the calamity that's written in the rocks under his mud-caked boots. "They tried to protect themselves, adopting the stress position of pulling their arms in," he continues. "But it was all in vain; you can see where their arms got snagg ...

'Light of a million suns' key to unlocking secrets of healthier and safer rice

Swinburne scientists are using a football field-sized synchrotron light facility to examine individual grains of rice to help enhance global food security, nutritional value and the food safety of cereal grains.

'Like finding life on Mars': why the underground orchid is Australia's strangest, most mysterious flower

If you ask someone to imagine an orchid, chances are pots of moth orchids lined up for sale in a hardware store will spring to mind, with their thick shiny leaves and vibrant petals.

'Listen to Scientists': Advocates of green policy awarded 'Nobel Prize for Environment'

The 2020 Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement - often described as the 'Nobel Prize for the Environment' - has been awarded to conservation biologist Gretchen C. Daily, and environmental economist Pavan Sukhdev, both pioneers in illuminating and quantifying the economic value of our natural ...

'No nature, no us': Environment Agency boss raises alarm over biodiversity crisis

Sir James Bevan expected to warn later today that England faces a ‘silent spring’ without action on nature loss. The boss of the Environment Agency, Sir James Bevan, is to deliver a speech later today warning how the biodiversity crisis poses an existential threat to the human race if left unadd ...

'No one ever forgets living through a mouse plague': The dystopia facing Australian rural communities

Imagine constantly living with mice. Every time you open a cupboard to get linen, clothes or food, mice have been or are still there. When you go to sleep they run across your bed and, in the morning, your first job is to empty traps filled with dead mice. And the stench of dead mice fill the st ...

'One of the botanical wonders of the world': Giant waterlily grown at Kew Gardens named new to science

A new paper, published today in the journal Frontiers in Plant Science, outlines a new botanical discovery in the genus Victoria, the famous giant waterlily genus named after Britain's Queen Victoria in 1852.

'Probably the worst year in a century': the environmental toll of 2019

Record heat and drought across Australia delivered the worst environmental conditions across the country since at least 2000, with river flows, tree cover and wildlife being hit on an “unprecedented scale”, according to a new report.

'Protective cloak' prevents plants from self-harming in very bright conditions

New work led by Carnegie's Petra Redekop, Emanuel Sanz-Luque, and Arthur Grossman probes the molecular and cellular mechanisms by which plants protect themselves from self-harm. Their findings, published by Science Advances, improve our understanding of one of the most-important biochemical proc ...

'Seeing' tails help sea snakes avoid predators

New research has revealed the fascinating adaptation of some Australian sea snakes that helps protect their vulnerable paddle-shaped tails from predators.

'Serious risk of extinction': Macadamias prove a tough nut to crack

Australian Institute of Botanical Science researchers are working with the University of Queensland to figure out world-first ways to store wild and cultivated macadamia genetic material and ultimately ensure the long-term survival of the species.

'Smart' greenhouses could slash electricity costs

A new, internet-connected lighting system for greenhouses could sharply reduce a farmer's electrical bill, according to a study by University of Georgia researchers.

'Spooning poo': how five Eiffel Towers' worth of sea cucumber poo helps sustain a Queensland reef

“In the wee hours of the morning … we weren’t too excited to be spooning poo,” reef ecologist Dr Vincent Raulot says. But that’s exactly what he and a team of researchers did to calculate out how much poop was excreted by an estimated 3 million sea cucumbers on the 20 sq km Heron Island coral re ...

'Superbug gene' found in one of the most remote places on Earth

Antibiotic-Resistant Genes (ARGs) that were first detected in urban India have been found 8,000 miles away in one of the last 'pristine' places on earth, a new study has shown.

'Sustainable gardening' includes many eco-friendly practices

"Sustainable" is one of gardening's trendiest buzzwords, yet it carries a range of definitions. Just what does it mean in practical terms, and how important is it to the average gardener?

'Tangled ball of issues': Why geoengineering our climate raises serious ethical, scientific challenges

As global carbon emissions continue to rise despite warnings from the scientific community, there's been increased interest in a controversial method to potentially mitigate the rise in Earth's temperature: Geoengineering.

'The message of urgency cannot be overstated,' EU environment body warns

The EU is not on track to meeting the vast majority of environmental targets for 2020—and the outlook for 2030 and 2040 is even bleaker. This is the devastating verdict of the groundbreaking State of the Environment Report 2020 published today by the European Environment Agency (EEA).

'The pigs can smell man': How decimation of Borneo's rainforests threatens both hunters and hunted

For more than 40,000 years, Indigenous communities in Borneo have hunted and eaten bearded pigs—huge, nomadic animals that roam the island in Southeast Asia. These 100kg creatures are central to the livelihood and culture of some Bornean peoples—in fact, some hunters rarely talk of anything else.

'Twilight Zone' could help preserve shallow water reefs

Corals lurking in deeper, darker waters could one day help to replenish shallow water reefs under threat from ocean warming and bleaching events, according to researchers.

'Vegan spider silk' provides sustainable alternative to single-use plastics

Researchers have created a plant-based, sustainable, scalable material that could replace single-use plastics in many consumer products.

'We're seeing more than ever': white shark populations rise off California coast

Chris Lowe is no longer surprised when he sees drone footage of juvenile white sharks cruising near surfers and swimmers in southern California’s ocean waters.

'Zebra' tribal bodypaint cuts fly bites 10-fold: study

Traditional white-striped bodypainting practiced by indigenous communities mimics zebra stripes to reduce the number of potentially harmful horsefly bites a person receives by up to 10-fold, according to new research published Wednesday.

'Zombie frog' discovered: 3 new species described from the narrow-mouthed frog family

Together with an international team, Senckenberg scientists have described three new frog species from the northern Amazon region. The animals from the genus Synapturanus spend their lives buried underground and are therefore still virtually unexplored.

1.5°C degrowth scenarios suggest need for new mitigation pathways: Research

The first comprehensive comparison of 'degrowth' scenarios with established pathways to limit climate change highlights the risk of over-reliance on carbon dioxide removal, renewable energy and energy efficiency to support continued global growth - which is assumed in established global climate ...

10 Women Scientists Leading the Fight Against the Climate Crisis

Climate change is an issue that affects everyone on the planet but women and girls are the ones suffering its effects the most. Why? Because women and girls have less access to quality education and later, job opportunities. These structural disadvantages keep them in poverty. In fact, women mak ...

10-year battle of sea urchins vs. invasive seaweed

The first hatchery-raised sea urchins outplanted in Kāneʻohe Bay are 10-years-old, and the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit (PCSU) and the State of Hawaiʻi Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) are celebrating the milestone anniversary.

100 Questions to Prevent Biodiversity Loss in Southeast Asia

What species and ecosystems are most likely to be adversely affected by climate change, and why? What are the impacts of international trade on fisheries and marine biodiversity loss? How should urban development be handled so that its impacts on biodiversity are minimized?

1300 species, 2400 genes, 21 museums, and 40 years

Tropical regions contain many of the world's species and scientists consider them hotspots due to their immense biological diversity.However, due to limited sampling our knowledge of tropical diversity remains incomplete, making it difficult for researchers to answer the fundamental questions of ...

150-million-year-old shark was one of the largest of its time

In a new study, an international research team led by Sebastian Stumpf from the University of Vienna describes an exceptionally well-preserved skeleton of the ancient shark Asteracanthus. This extremely rare fossil find comes from the famous Solnhofen limestones in Bavaria, which was formed in a ...

15th Annual BIOECON Conference Conservation and Development: Exploring Conflicts and Challenges

18 - 20 September 2013, Cambridge, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

18 of 20 gorillas at Atlanta's zoo have contracted COVID

At least 18 of the 20 gorillas at Atlanta's zoo have now tested positive for COVID-19, an outbreak that began just days before the zoo had hoped to obtain a veterinary vaccine for the primates, officials said Tuesday.

2 flowering plants in Antarctica are growing at an unprecedented speed, a rare spectacle showing a 'tipping point' of the climate crisis, study says

Two flowering plants have been multiplying rapidly in Antarctica as the climate crisis has warmed the summers, a study found.

20 Times When Animals Shaped Our Modern World

Imitation is the most sincere of flattery, and for years, humans have been using animals as inspiration for everything from fashion to architecture. In the engineering world, this is called biomimicry. And you may be surprised by how many inventions have truly been inspired by animal design and ...

26th meeting of the Plants Committee (CITES-PC26)

5 - 9 June 2023, Geneva, Switzerland

290-million-year-old shark with large petal-shaped teeth found in China for the first time

The fossil of a 290-million-year-old shark with petal-shaped teeth was found in China for the first time, according to Gai Zhikun, an associate researcher at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The Petalodus teeth were found i ...

3 billion animals impacted by fires, including 60,000 koalas

Estimates some 3 billion animals were killed or misplaced by the 2019-20 mega-fires in Australia have been confirmed—with a breakdown by animal type for the first time—in a conclusive Sydney-led report commissioned by WWF.

3 billion-year-old Earth had water everywhere, but not one continent, study suggests

What did Earth look like 3.2 billion years ago? New evidence suggests the planet was covered by a vast ocean and had no continents at all. Continents appeared later, as plate tectonics thrust enormous, rocky land masses upward to breach the sea surfaces, scientists recently reported.

3-D models reveal why bigger bumblebees see better

By generating 3-D images of bumblebees' compound eyes, researchers at Lund University in Sweden have discovered how bumblebees differ in their vision. The results could contribute to increased knowledge about the pollination process—once researchers are able to determine which flowers different ...

3-D-printed weather stations could enable more science for less money

An inexpensive monitoring system with 3-D-printed parts and low-cost sensors might not last as long as a commercial one, but it can be just as accurate, researchers found.

30 years of the iron hypothesis of ice ages

In 1990, an oceanographer who had never worked on climate science proposed that ice-age cooling has been amplified by increased concentrations of iron in the sea — and instigated an explosion of research.

39th Meeting of the Open-ended Working Group of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol

11 - 14 July 2017, Bangkok, Thailand

500-million-year-old fossil represents rare discovery of ancient animal in North America

Many scientists consider the "Cambrian explosion"—which occurred about 530–540 million years ago—as the first major appearance of many of the world's animal groups in the fossil record. Like adding pieces to a giant jigsaw puzzle, each discovery dating from this time period has added another pie ...

6th European Congress of Conservation Biology: “Biodiversity crisis in a changing world”

22 - 26 August 2022, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czechia

70-year-old coffee-killing fungus brought back to life to fight the disease

Researchers have re-animated specimens of a fungus that causes coffee wilt to discover how the disease evolved and how its spread can be prevented.

73 solutions to the climate and biodiversity crisis

Research and innovation projects are turning green challenges into opportunities to spur Europe’s recovery from the coronavirus crisis.

75% of Amazon rainforest shows signs of loss, a 'tipping point' of dieback, study shows

The Amazon rainforest may be nearing a "tipping point" of dieback, the point where rainforest will turn to savannah, a new study shows.

7th International Barcode of Life (iBOL) Conference

20 - 24 November 2017, South Africa

8th International Barcode of Life (iBOL) Conference 2019

17 - 20 June 2019, Trondhein, Norway

8th Session of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES-8 Plenary)

14 - 24 June 2021, Online, Bonn, Germany

99-million-year-old snail fossilized in amber while giving birth

Land snails are usually preserved as fossilized snail shells or imprints, while preservation of their soft bodies is a rarity. "Our new amber find is truly remarkable for this reason as well," explains Dr. Adrienne Jochum of the Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt ...

A (pollen-free) sigh of relief for Japan: The genetics of male sterility in cedar trees

Cryptomeria japonica, or the Japanese cedar, is highly revered as the national tree of Japan. Locally known as 'sugi,' it covers over 4.5 million hectares of land, accounting for nearly half of Japan's artificial forests. However, it is also notorious for causing hay fever, with a good 26.5% of ...

A 50,000-year history of current flow yields new climate clues

From 50,000 to 15,000 years ago, during the last ice age, Earth's climate wobbled between cooler and warmer periods punctuated by occasional, dramatic ice-melting events.

A Big Problem in Ecology Research: You May or May Not Get Your Permit

For many of India’s researchers, obtaining permits for field research in protected areas is a big hassle: the process is long-drawn and bureaucratic.

A Central African shield amalgamation tale: Earth's next supercontinent

The Earth has a 4.6-billion-year history; since about 1.9 billion years ago, it has been punctuated by a quasi-cyclic formation and break up of supercontinents—large landmasses that comprised the majority of the Earth's continental crust. The formation and disruption of supercontinents had great ...

A Key to Coral Bleaching Events? Location, Location, Location

New research indicates that longitude, as well as warming waters, may be a key predictor of coral bleaching events. Understanding the causes of coral bleaching events is an important goal for conservationists across the globe.

A Major Ocean Current Is at Its Weakest Point in 1,000 Years

A gigantic ocean current, which transports heat around the globe and helps regulate weather patterns throughout the North Atlantic, appears to be slowing down.

A Mathematician Who Decodes the Patterns Stamped Out by Life

hen Corina Tarnita was a budding mathematician, she found her interest in mathematics flickering, about to burn out. As a girl she had stormed through Romania’s National Mathematical Olympiad — where she won a three-peat from 1999 to 2001 — then on to Harvard University as an undergraduate and s ...

A Mysterious, Fatal Coral Disease in the Caribbean Is Linked to Wastewater from Ships: Study

Since the early 2010s, a fast-moving disease has been rampaging Caribbean coral reefs, leading to biodiversity loss. New research shows that water discarded from ships, especially amid increasing ship traffic in the Caribbean, may play a role in the spread of the deadly infection.

A Scientist Just Proved One of Darwin's Evolution Theories, 161 Years Later

An anthropology doctoral student at the University of Cambridge has analyzed centuries of naturalist data to prove a longstanding theory from Charles Darwin’s work. The crux of the work is in the relationship between how species evolve into subspecies and whether that presages new species.

A Tool for Fighting Superbugs Has Been Found Deep in the Desert

IN NORTHERN CHINA, where the Gobi Desert meets the Tibetan Plateau, lies a vast expanse of rippling sand dunes, mountains, and bare rock.

A brief history of minimal surfaces and the ants that love them

Consider a soap bubble. The way it contains the minimal possible surface area is surprisingly efficient. This is not a trivial issue. Mathematicians have been looking for better ways to calculate minimal surfaces for hundreds of years.

A brighter future: How whitening the Wheatbelt could cool the climate

There aren't many things humans have made that are visible from outer space. WA's wheatbelt is one of them—and it could help us fight climate change.

A circular food system can withstand crises like COVID-19—and provide delicious meals

There are many hard lessons learned from the pandemic. One is that our food system needs a serious reboot. Luckily, we need only look to nature's cycles for clues on how to fix it.

A cloudless future? The mystery at the heart of climate forecasts

We hear a lot about how climate change will change the land, sea, and ice. But how will it affect clouds? "Low clouds could dry up and shrink like the ice sheets," says Michael Pritchard, professor of Earth System science at UC Irvine. "Or they could thicken and become more reflective."

A cocoa bean's 'fingerprint' could help trace chocolate bars back to their farm of origin, finds a new study

A new study from the University of Surrey has revealed that biotechnology could be the missing ingredient in helping cocoa farmers get a better deal for their beans. Chocolate is a £61billion-per-year global industry that has seen the volatile price of cocoa lead to a surge in traders seeking to ...

A combination of wood fibres and spider silk could rival plastic

Achieving strength and extensibility at the same time has so far been a great challenge in material engineering: increasing strength has meant losing extensibility and vice versa. Now Aalto University and VTT researchers have succeeded in overcoming this challenge, with inspiration from nature.

A conservation failure in Sumatra serves a cautionary tale for PES schemes

The Kerinci Seblat landscape, a highly biodiverse rainforest in western Sumatra, is one of the Indonesian island’s crown jewels. Anchored by the 14,000-square-kilometer (5,405-square-mile) Kerinci Seblat National Park, its mountainous terrain is home to Sumatran tigers and elephants, more than 3 ...

A deep dive into organic carbon distribution in hadal trenches

Hadal trenches are one of the ocean's most extreme and least studied regions. Hadal zones, which begin at depths of around 6,000 meters, were once thought to be "biological deserts," but over time they have been shown to be teeming with life. However, the distribution and source of organic carbo ...

A dozen dead whales have washed ashore in the San Francisco Bay Area

The number of dead whales washing ashore in the San Francisco Bay Area this spring continues to climb, with another massive gray whale seen rolling in the surf at Pacifica State Beach on Friday afternoon.

A ferocious marine reptile with gnarly teeth for crushing prey was discovered in Colombia

The partial skull of an ichthyosaur, an extinct marine reptile, that looked like a swordfish was unearthed in Loma Pedro Luis, Villa de Leyva, in Boyacá, Colombia in the 1970s, according to a study published in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. However, at the time, the specimen was incor ...

A few common bacteria account for majority of carbon use in soil

Just a few bacterial taxa found in ecosystems across the planet are responsible for more than half of carbon cycling in soils. These new findings, made by researchers at Northern Arizona University and published in Nature Communications this week, suggest that despite the diversity of microbial ...

A fine-grained view of dust storms

A satellite-based dataset generated by KAUST researchers has revealed the dynamics of dust storm formation and movements over the last decade in the Arabian Peninsula. Analysis of this long-term dataset reveals the connection between the occurrence of extreme dust events and regional atmospheric ...

A first step to plant made dengue virus vaccines

Researchers have used plants to produce virus-like particles (VLPs) of the dengue virus in a potential first step towards novel vaccines against the growing threat.

A fortress of ice and snow

After only a few days of searching, experts from the MOSAiC expedition have now found a suitable ice floe where they will set up the research camp for their one-year-long drift through the Arctic Ocean.

A fresh view of microbial life in Yellowstone's hot springs

Yellowstone National Park is home to more than 10,000 hydrothermal features. The park's hot springs, geysers, mud pots, and fumaroles are home to trillions of heat-loving microbes.

A genetically male strain of giant kelp can produce eggs

Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology in Tübingen and their collaborators describe a strain of giant kelp that is genetically male, but presents phenotypic features of females. Their findings shed light on the molecular basis of how sexual development is initiated i ...

A global look at surface soil organic carbon

Healthy soil is paramount to life on Earth. In addition to its importance in agriculture, soil is the foundation for almost every terrestrial ecosystem on Earth. Soil organic carbon (SOC) is frequently used as a gauge of soil health, it plays an important role in terrestrial carbon cycling, and ...

A global platform for sharing information about the world’s biodiversity has passed a major milestone, with the publication of the one-billionth species record of where a species lives through the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF).

A groggy climate giant: subsea permafrost is still waking up after 12,000 years

In the far north, the swelling Arctic Ocean inundated vast swaths of coastal tundra and steppe ecosystems. Though the ocean water was only a few degrees above freezing, it started to thaw the permafrost beneath it, exposing billions of tons of organic matter to microbial breakdown.

A heart that beats (almost) like our own

The fruit fly, long the organism of choice for scientists studying genetics and basic biological processes, still harbors some secrets of its own.

A history of African dust

In a recently published paper, a research team, led by University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science Professor Emeritus Joseph M. Prospero, chronicles the history of African dust transport, including three independent "first" discoveries of African dust in the Cari ...

A journey to No Man's Land

Biologist Kim Ji-hee's annual research trip to Antarctica is always an exhilarating rollercoaster ride. Kim, a principal scientist at the Korea Polar Research Institute in Songdo International Business District created along the waterfront region of Incheon Metropolitan City, first went to King ...

A life-changing fertilizer for rural farmers in Kenya

Most commercial fertilizer travels a long way before it reaches rural farmers in Kenya. Transportation costs force many farmers to rely on cheap, synthetic fertilizers, which can lead to the acidification and degradation of their soil over time.

A long history of European geckos

Geckos lived in Europe as early as 47 million years ago, say paleontologists who have examined a nearly complete fossil gecko skull from central Germany. This previously unknown species was found in a former coalmining area—Geiseltal—and was described by a research team led by Dr. Andrea Villa o ...

A mathematical approach to protecting endangered plants

In a new study published in the journal Ecological Modelling, a team of researchers led by Benito Chen-Charpentier, professor of mathematics at The University of Texas at Arlington, devises a mathematical model to calculate the minimum habitat size for endangered plant species.

A mating war in diving beetles has stopped the evolution of species

In nature, male attempts to mate with females can be so extreme that they can harm the females. Such negative impacts of mating interactions have been suggested to promote the emergence of new species under some circumstances.