ENVIRO AONE

Forest fires have crept higher up mountains over the past few decades, scorching areas previously too wet to burn, according to researchers. As wildfires advance uphill, a staggering 11% of all Western US forests are now at risk. «Climate change and drought conditions in the West are drying out high-elevation forests, making them particularly susceptible…

In humans and other eukaryotes, two principal epigenetic marks are known. A team has discovered a third, novel epigenetic mark — one formerly known only in bacteria — in bdelloid rotifers, small freshwater animals. Epigenetic marks are modifications to DNA bases that don’t change the underlying genetic code, but ‘write’ extra information on top of…

Researchers revealed for the first time growth rates of deep-sea coral communities and the pattern of colonization by various species over time scales of centuries to millennia. Age-dated submarine lava flows helped constrain maximum ages of coral communities. The scientific team used the UH Manoa Hawai’i Undersea Research Laboratory’s submersible and remotely-operated vehicles to examine…

In an oceanic omen for climate change’s intensifying effects, new research shows that seagrass suffers from a lesion-filled wasting disease through large swaths of intertidal meadows in the Pacific Northwest. The grasses’ once-vibrant plant root systems are deteriorating, too. The research was published in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science. «Not only are we seeing…

Grave goods, such as stone tools, have revealed that Neolithic farmers had different work-related activities for men and women. Researchers at the University of York analysed 400 stone objects found in graves at cemetery sites across Europe and noted there were differences in size, weight, and raw material dependent on whether the body was a…

On May 29, 2020, a family of sunspots — dark spots that freckle the face of the Sun, representing areas of complex magnetic fields — sported the biggest solar flare since October 2017. Although the sunspots are not yet visible (they will soon rotate into view over the left limb of the Sun), NASA spacecraft…

Scientists have found that the ‘segmentation clock’ — a genetic network that governs the body pattern formation of embryos — progresses more slowly in humans than in mice because the biochemical reactions are slower in human cells. The differences in the speeds of biochemical reactions may underlie differences between species in the tempo of development.…

The Kaikoura earthquake in New Zealand in 2016 caused widespread damage. Researchers have now dissected its mechanisms revealing surprising insights on earthquake physics with the aid of simulations carried out on a supercomputer. The 2016 Kaikoura earthquake (magnitude 7.8) on the South Island of New Zealand is among the most intriguing and best-documented seismic events…

A professor is calling on scientists to conduct dedicated process studies and to share their data and research findings on Arctic warming. She stresses the importance of studying how aerosols and clouds interact, as these highly complex and poorly understood mechanisms play a key role in climate change, but are also strongly affected by it.…