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Like diseases affecting humans, parasites can wage a deadly evolutionary “arms race” against their hosts. But can hosts and parasites upgrade their weapons at the same rate?

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An assistant biology professor at the University of Oregon has high hopes that a pilot study could change how forestlands in the Northwest are managed, particularly post-harvest and post-fire, to the benefit of the humble, and troubled, wild bee.

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The conclusion that climate change is natural, therefore humans have nothing to do with it, or that we shouldn't do anything about it, is misleading.

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A new study, “Global field observations of tree die-off reveal hotter-drought fingerprint for Earth’s forests,” compiled a global database of the published locations of climate-induced forest die-off events, from 1970-2018, across 675 locations. After analyzing the climate conditions at each location during each event, researchers found a common ‘hotter-drought fingerprint’ for Earth’s forests, a term that describes the combination of higher temperatures and more frequent droughts for a lethal set of climate conditions.

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An international team of researchers, including several from the University of Hawai‘i (UH) at Mānoa, has quantified five critical ecological processes on more than 500 coral reefs worldwide to understand how these processes relate to each other, what may distinguish the most functional reefs, and what that means for our management of reef functioning.

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Changing the way fruit is gathered from a “tree of life” could have hugely positive environmental and financial impacts in Amazonia, according to a new study.

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You can’t see it, but different substances in the petals of flowers create a “bulls-eye” for pollinating insects, according to a Clemson University scientist whose research sheds light on chemical changes in flowers which helps them respond to environmental changes, including climate change, that might threaten their survival.

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To further investigate and track kelp growth and survival over time, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, The Nature Conservancy, University of California Los Angeles, and the University of California Santa Barbara have launched the world’s largest map of kelp forest canopies extending from Baja California, Mexico to the Oregon-Washington border.

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Virginia Tech researchers, in collaboration with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, have discovered that key parts of the global carbon cycle used to track movement of carbon dioxide in the environment are not correct, which could significantly alter conventional carbon cycle models. This finding has the potential to change predictions for climate change, though it is unclear at this juncture if the mismatch will result in more or less carbon dioxide being accounted for in the environment.

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To combat forest loss in the tropics, a new study uses crowdsourcing to identify the drivers of deforestation. The resulting dataset can be used to create high-resolution maps and help policymakers apply the best protection measures.

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A network of West African Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) covers key sites used by green turtles, new research shows.

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A first-of-its-kind study looking at surface meltwater lakes around the East Antarctic Ice Sheet across a seven-year period has found that the area and volume of these lakes is highly variable year-to-year, and offers new insights into the potential impact of recent climatic change on the ‘Frozen Continent’.

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They’re the driving force behind electric vehicles and crucial to the manufacture of many high-tech products, but while rare earth elements are highly valued across many sectors, they’re extremely hazardous to extract, posing significant issues for the environment.

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Ahead of a West Virginia University scientist’s testimony to a U.S. Senate committee on Thursday (March 31), researchers can discuss the University’s advancements in developing a process to extract rare earths and critical materials from acid mine drainage and coal waste.

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Deserts may seem lifeless and inert, but they are very much alive. Sand dunes, in particular, grow and move – and according to a decades long research project, they also breathe humid air.

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At least since the last ice age, about 10,000 years ago, there have been almost no earthworms in the northern part of North America.

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A novel approach to rubber recycling could see end-of-life tyres repurposed into concrete for residential constructions as new research from the University of South Australia shows that it can provide an economically viable and sustainable alternative to conventional concrete.

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Mixed-phase clouds that contain both ice and water particles are extremely complex. Researchers using data from the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement facility have found a key to understanding how mixed-phase clouds in the Arctic form ice. That key is the role of drizzle droplets as they freeze then shatter. The results will help improve simulations of mixed phase clouds in climate and earth system models.

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Sea ice around Antarctica retreats more quickly than it advances, an asymmetry that has been a puzzle. New analysis shows that the Southern Hemisphere is following simple rules of physics, as peak midsummer sun causes rapid changes. In this aspect, it seems, it's Arctic sea ice that is more mysterious.

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Satellite data has confirmed that an ice shelf about the size of Manhattan has completely collapsed in East Antarctica within days of record high temperatures. The Conger ice shelf, which had an approximate surface area of 1,200 square km, collapsed around March 15, scientists confirmed today.

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A Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution-led research team has been awarded $7.6 million from the Gulf Research Program (GRP) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM). The project, “An Operational System Using Real-time Subsurface Observations to Improve Loop Current Forecasts”, is one of three consortia that will undertake the third phase of the Understanding Gulf Ocean Systems (UGOS) program (UGOS-3), helping address forecasts of important currents of the Gulf of Mexico.

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An article says that microplastics have been found in human blood for the first time. We rate this claim as true, although more studies are needed to determine if these substances in humans are associated with a public health risk.

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The Arctic is warming along with the rest of the planet, and as this is happening, its permafrost – perennially frozen arctic soil that holds a lot of trapped organic matter from dead plants – is thawing. As the permafrost thaws, the organic matter it holds is thawing, too, and this is opening the door for microorganisms to decompose that matter and, in the process, release climate-warming greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere.

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Coral reefs in remote or protected areas can recover quickly after mass coral bleaching events, new research shows.

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A study led by scientists at IUPUI suggests blow flies could be used to detect the use of chemical weapons -- as well as other dangerous substances -- in areas too dangerous or remote for human investigators.

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Forest loss in India could become an even bigger problem than anticipated in the coming years, with new research revealing climate change has caused significant recent losses.

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The Gulf of Mexico Alliance is pleased to announce 15 new and expanding projects as part of its ongoing Gulf Star Program.. This public-private partnership makes a positive impact on coastal ecosystems and economies.

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Earthquakes are famously impossible to predict, and have been the cause of some of the most devastating events in human history. But could we learn more about these natural disasters by tracking them backwards through time?

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Scientists from around the world will come together to help tackle the global plastic pollution crisis at the first annual World Plastic Summit in Monaco next week.

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Researchers at the University of Bristol have found that beetles first roamed the world in the Carboniferous and later diversified alongside the earliest dinosaurs during the Triassic and Jurassic.

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A study of the relative contributions of surface winds and atmospheric pressure on sea-level rises in the Red Sea has shown that wind variations over the southern part of the sea are the main drivers of basin-wide sea-level extremes, uniformly driving sea levels up and down depending on wind direction.

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A new study led by Georgia Tech points to possible help for restoring marine ecosystems — and provides more data on the role microbes play in marsh plant health and productivity.

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The goo from okra is known to thicken stews, but it can also clean water of some types of pollutants. Now, researchers report that combinations of okra and other food-grade plant extracts can remove microplastics from wastewater. They will present their results at ACS Spring 2022.

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New research from Notre Dame shows large-scale land acquisitions in Ethiopia's Omo River region could threaten water resources downstream to the local farmers and Indigenous populations living along the Omo.

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A first-of-its-kind study shows that some ocean animals may be able evolve their way out of troubles caused by climate change—but at a high cost. By artificially evolving 23 generations of a marine copepod, Acartia tonsa, a team of scientists at the University of Vermont found that the tiny creatures could adapt to the high temperatures and carbon dioxide levels forecast for the warming oceans. But to get there, the populations had to spend a lot of their genetic flexibility—leaving them vulnerable to new stresses, like low food.

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Biologists have developed a new method to measure the extent to which regional geographic features — including barriers between regions, like mountains or water — affect local rates of speciation, extinction and dispersal for species. As a test case, they successfully used their model to delineate the movement and diversification of neotropical anole lizards.

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Machine learning study tracks large-scale weather patterns, providing baseline categories for disentangling how aerosol particles affect storm severity.

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Jalene LaMontagne, associate professor of ecology, and Windsor Aguirre, associate professor of evolutionary biology, are among hundreds of researchers who collected clover in 160 cities all over the world. The research, published this week in the journal “Science,” offers insight into how urbanization is transforming the genetic properties of plants and animals around us.

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Coral reefs in the Gulf of Eilat (also known as the Gulf of Aqaba) have been proven particularly resistant to global warming, rising water temperatures and bleaching events that are crippling their counterparts elsewhere around the world.

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Runoff in coastal waters is linked to pollution and degradation of coral reefs and other marine ecosystems.

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New analysis confirms a palpable change in fire dynamics already suspected by many.

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Poisoning caused by preying on or scavenging animals shot by hunters using lead ammunition has left the populations of many raptors – or birds of prey – far smaller than they should be, according to the first study to calculate these impacts across Europe.

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New research led by palaeobiologists at the University of Leicester has identified startling similarities between the mouths of grasshoppers and mammal teeth.

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Arsenic is a major drinking water contaminant, often linked to the bedrock where wells are drilled in the Northeastern part of the United States. However, new research suggests that pesticides used 100 years ago may also be to blame.

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From the ancient sludge of lakebeds in Asia's Tibetan Plateau, scientists can decipher a vision of Earth's future.