A new study suggests that future reductions in seasonal snowpack as a result of climate change may negatively influence forest growth in semi-arid climates, but less so in wetter climates. Researchers from Portland State University, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Forest Service and the universities of Vermont and Maine found that forest density and snowpack can…

A new skeleton discovered in the submerged caves at Tulum sheds new light on the earliest settlers of Mexico. Humans have been living in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula since at least the Late Pleistocene (126,000-11,700 years ago). Much of what we know about these earliest settlers of Mexico comes from nine well-preserved human skeletons found in…

Two thirds of all mammals vanished from Africa and the Arabian Peninsula around 30 million years ago, when the climate on Earth changed from swampy to icy. But we are only finding out about this mass extinction now. Researchers examined hundreds of fossils from multiple sites in Africa, built evolutionary trees, and pinpointed each species’…

Genetically engineered animals provide important insights into the molecular basis of health and disease. Research has focused mainly on genetically modified mice, although other species, such as pigs, are more similar to human physiology. Researchers have now generated chickens and pigs in which target genes in desired organs can be efficiently altered. CRISPR/Cas9 enables desired…

Researchers have discovered details of how proteins produced by oral epithelial cells protect humans against viruses entering the body through the mouth. They also found that oral bacteria can suppress the activity of these cells, increasing vulnerability to infection. A family of proteins known as interferon lambdas produced by epithelial cells in the mouth serve…

Researchers have engineered a portable electronic nose (e-nose) that’s almost as sharp as a human nose at sniffing out the stink of wastewater treatment plants. Coupled with a drone, the lightweight e-nose can measure the concentration of different smells, predict odor intensity, and produce a real-time odor map of the plant for management. Conventionally, a…

Every year, an estimated four percent of the world’s vegetated land surface burns, leaving more than 250 megatons of carbonized plants behind. A study has now recorded elevated concentrations of environmentally persistent free radicals (EPFR) in these charcoals — in some cases even up to five years after the fire. These EPFR may generate reactive…

The Codex Telleriano Remensis, created in the 16th century in Mexico, depicts earthquakes in pictograms that are the first written evidence of earthquakes in the Americas in pre-Hispanic times, according to a pair of researchers who have systematically studied the country’s historical earthquakes. Gerardo Suarez of the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico and Virginia Garcia-Acosta…

Some organic pesticides contain live spores of the fungus Trichoderma to suppress other pathogens. Researchers found one Trichoderma species can cause severe rot in cobs of maize (corn). The results were published in the journal Frontiers in Agronomy. The massive outbreak of a previously unknown species of Trichoderma on corn cobs in Europe was first…

Researchers have conducted the first precise and comprehensive measurements of sea level rises in the Baltic Sea and the North Sea. A new method now makes it possible to determine sea level changes with millimeter accuracy even in coastal areas and in case of sea ice coverage. This is of vital importance for planning protective…