Farmers and fruit growers report that climate change is leading to increased ozone concentrations on the soil surface in their fields and orchards, which can cause irreversible plant damage, reduce crop yields and threaten the food supply. A ne method of vapor-depositing conducting polymer ‘tattoos’ on plant leaves can accurately detect and measure such ozone…

A new study borrowed image-analysis methods from engineering to spot the minute movements of a stony coral. Tracking signs of stress and ill health is difficult because corals — an animal host coexisting with algae, bacteria, viruses and fungi — are dynamic organisms that behave differently depending on what’s happening in their environment. Some scientists…

Weighing in on a debate that has raged for decades, researchers, after conducting a series of ultra-detailed comparisons, have declared that shipping pallets made of wood are slightly more environmentally friendly and sustainable than those made of plastic. «Few people realize the significance of this issue — there are about 700 million pallets produced and…

A new study finds that the risk is low that scientists could pass coronavirus to North American bats during winter research. The research specifically looked at the potential transmission of SARS-CoV-2, which is the type of coronavirus that causes COVID-19, from people to bats. Scientists did not examine potential transmission from bats to people. «This…

Native marine macroalgae, also known as limu, or as seaweed, thrive in environments created by natural groundwater seeps, specifically benefiting from the combined effects of enhanced nutrients despite lowered salinity levels, according to a new review. Native macroalgae studied here demonstrate faster growth and photosynthesis rates in regimes of natural leakage of groundwater along coastlines,…

A recent article outlines how researchers with the measured the attitudes, practices and zoonoses awareness among community members associated with the bushmeat trade in northern Uganda. Even before the emergence of COVID-19, public health experts have been on alert for more information about the attitudes and practices of those who trade in and consume bushmeat.…

With sorghum poised to become an important crop grown by Pennsylvania farmers, researchers tested more than 150 germplasm lines of the plant for resistance to a fungus likely to hamper its production. Sorghum, a close relative to corn, is valuable for yielding human food, animal feed and biofuels. Perhaps its most notable attribute is that…

In a new study, researchers found that prescribed, expert-controlled fires are critically important to successful reproduction in prairie plants. Fires cause prairie plants to flower at the same time, which increases mating opportunities and seed production. In a new study, researchers found that prescribed, expert-controlled fires are critically important to successful reproduction in prairie plants.…

Wild, treeless landscapes are becoming more wooded as climate change leads to warming temperatures and wetter weather, research suggests. Trees and shrubs are spreading across the tundra and the savanna, transforming these vast, open areas that contain unique biodiversity, researchers say. The dramatic changes to these regions — which account for some 40 per cent…

A team around deep-sea scientist has now discovered that sponges leave trails on the sea floor in the Arctic deep sea. The surprise was great when researchers looked at high-resolution images of the sea floor of the Arctic deep sea in detail: Path-like tracks across the sediments ended where sponges were located. These trails were…