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Released: 21-Jan-2020 5:40 PM EST
Seeking a New Pest Solution, UF Scientists Study Fruit Fly’s Gut Bacteria
University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences

A team of University of Florida scientists, in partnership with a team of Israeli researchers, is now looking into whether the gut bacteria of two invasive fruit fly species could hold the key to preventing future outbreaks.

Released: 21-Jan-2020 1:05 PM EST
Mosquitoes are drawn to flowers as much as people — and now scientists know why
University of Washington

Scientists have identified the chemical cues in flowers that stimulate mosquitoes’ sense of smell and draw them in. Their findings show how cues from flowers can stimulate the mosquito brain as much as a warm-blooded host — information that could help develop less toxic repellents and better traps.

Released: 21-Jan-2020 12:45 PM EST
NSF grant funds research to study nature-based solutions for river restoration
Penn State College of Engineering

Xiaofeng Liu, associate professor of civil engineering, received a $297,791 NSF grant to study how water and sediment move around nature-based solutions for river restoration.

Released: 21-Jan-2020 12:15 PM EST
Insecticides are becoming more toxic to honey bees
Newswise Review

During the past 20 years, insecticides applied to U.S. agricultural landscapes have become significantly more toxic -- over 120-fold in some midwestern states -- to honey bees when ingested, according to a team of researchers, who identified rising neonicotinoid seed treatments in corn and soy as the primary driver of this change.

Released: 21-Jan-2020 11:50 AM EST
Ozone-depleting substances caused half of late 20th-century Arctic warming, says study
Earth Institute at Columbia University

A scientific paper published in 1985 was the first to report a burgeoning hole in Earth's stratospheric ozone over Antarctica. Scientists determined the cause to be ozone-depleting substances - long-lived artificial halogen compounds.

17-Jan-2020 11:00 AM EST
Native Americans Did Not Make Large-Scale Changes to Environment Prior to European Contact
Binghamton University, State University of New York

Contrary to long-held beliefs, humans did not make major changes to the landscape prior to European colonization, according to new research conducted in New England featuring faculty at Binghamton University, State University of New York. These new insights into the past could help to inform how landscapes are managed in the future.

Released: 17-Jan-2020 4:05 PM EST
What Is An Endangered Species?
Michigan Technological University

What makes for an endangered species classification isn’t always obvious.

Released: 17-Jan-2020 1:20 PM EST
Human-caused biodiversity decline started millions of years ago
University of Gothenburg

The human-caused biodiversity decline started much earlier than researchers used to believe. According to a new study published in the scientific journal Ecology Letters the process was not started by our own species but by some of our ancestors.

Released: 17-Jan-2020 11:05 AM EST
Climate may play a bigger role than deforestation in rainforest biodiversity
Field Museum

"Save the rainforests" is a snappy slogan, but it doesn't tell the full story of how complicated it is to do just that.

Released: 17-Jan-2020 1:50 AM EST
The mysterious, legendary giant squid's genome is revealed
Marine Biological Laboratory

How did the monstrous giant squid - reaching school-bus size, with eyes as big as dinner plates and tentacles that can snatch prey 10 yards away -- get so scarily big?

Released: 17-Jan-2020 12:10 AM EST
Domestic Mallards Gone Wild
University of Texas at El Paso

A recent study published in the journal Molecular Ecology presents significant findings related to the genetic makeup of two North American iconic ducks: mallards and American black ducks.

Released: 16-Jan-2020 4:05 PM EST
New Penguin Colony Discovered in Argentina
Wildlife Conservation Society

Just in time for Penguin Awareness Day on January 20th, WCS researchers announced the discovery of a new colony of Magellanic penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus) on a remote island in Argentina.

Released: 16-Jan-2020 3:50 PM EST
AgriLife Research Develops Tropical Hibiscus Hybrids Ready for Market
Texas A&M AgriLife

Winter-hardy hibiscus cultivars are what initially attracted Dariusz Malinowski, Ph.D., Texas A&M AgriLife Research plant physiologist and breeder, to the world of flowers, but now he’s ready to splash a little tropical color into the market.

   
15-Jan-2020 7:05 PM EST
Mobile protected areas needed to protect biodiversity in the high seas
University of Washington

In this week's issue of Science, marine scientists make the case for the United Nations to include mobile marine protected areas in the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, or UNCLOS, now being updated since its last signing in 1982.

Released: 16-Jan-2020 1:00 PM EST
Fossil Is the Oldest-Known Scorpion
Ohio State University

Scientists studying fossils collected 35 years ago have identified them as the oldest-known scorpion species, a prehistoric animal from about 437 million years ago. The researchers found that the animal likely had the capacity to breathe in both ancient oceans and on land.

9-Jan-2020 11:40 AM EST
Marine Heatwave Likely Caused Mass Starvation of Seabirds off the U.S. West Coast and Alaska
PLOS

Unprecedented numbers of common murres—North Pacific seabirds—died between 2015 and 2016. A new analysis lays out the scope of this event and suggests a potential culprit: severely reduced food supplies resulting from unusually elevated sea temperatures.

Released: 15-Jan-2020 1:05 PM EST
Glimpses of Fatherhood Found in Non-Pair-Bonding Chimps
University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin)

Although they have no way of identifying their biological fathers, male chimpanzees form intimate bonds with them, a finding that questions the idea of fatherhood in some of humanity’s closest relatives, according to a study of wild chimpanzees in Uganda.

Released: 15-Jan-2020 11:55 AM EST
Reconnecting with nature key for sustainability
University of Exeter

People who live in more built up areas and spend less free-time in nature are also less likely to take actions that benefit the environment, such as recycling, buying eco-friendly products, and environmental volunteering.

Released: 15-Jan-2020 10:05 AM EST
Analyzing DNA in soil could be an effective way of tracking animals
Stanford University

It's hard to protect something you can't find. A new Stanford study reveals sampling soil for animals' left-behind DNA can provide valuable information for conservation efforts - with significantly less cost and time - than currently used methods, such as camera traps.

Released: 14-Jan-2020 3:05 PM EST
Clothes last longer and shed fewer microfibers in quicker, cooler washing cycles
University of Leeds

Those nice new clothes you got for Christmas or in the new year sales might just last longer, thanks to advice from scientists researching the impact washing machines have on clothes and the environment.

Released: 14-Jan-2020 2:20 PM EST
New parasitoid wasp species discovered in the Amazon -- can manipulate host's behavior
University of Turku (Turun yliopisto)

A research group from the Biodiversity Unit of the University of Turku studies the diversity of parasitoid insects around the world.

Released: 14-Jan-2020 10:30 AM EST
WHOI scientist to provide testimony on climate science and solutions
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Richard Murray, Deputy Director and Vice President for Research at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), will testify before the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the U.S. House of Representatives on January 15, 2020.

Released: 13-Jan-2020 2:10 PM EST
STUDY: Humanity’s Footprint is Squashing World’s Wildlife
Wildlife Conservation Society

Using the most comprehensive dataset on the “human footprint,” which maps the accumulated impact of human activities on the land’s surface, researchers found intense human pressures across the range of a staggering 20,529 terrestrial vertebrate species.

Released: 13-Jan-2020 1:40 PM EST
Global database of all bird species shows how body shape predicts lifestyle
Imperial College London

A database of 10,000 bird species shows how measurements of wings, beaks and tails can predict a species' role in an ecosystem.

10-Jan-2020 3:05 PM EST
Climate change unlikely to drive sugar maples north
Universite de Montreal

Sugar maples won’t be heading north anytime soon, despite climate change, according to a new study published in the Journal of Ecology.

Released: 10-Jan-2020 3:50 PM EST
Jefferson Lab to be Major Partner in Electron Ion Collider Project
Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility

The Department of Energy announced that it has taken the next step toward construction of an Electron Ion Collider (EIC) in the United States. DOE announced on Thursday that the collider will be sited at DOE’s Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, N.Y. In addition, DOE’s Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility will be a major partner in realizing the EIC, providing key support to build this next new collider, which will be the most advanced particle collider of its type ever built.

Released: 10-Jan-2020 2:45 PM EST
Department of Energy Selects Site for Electron-Ion Collider
Brookhaven National Laboratory

UPTON, NY— Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) named Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island in New York as the site for building an Electron-Ion Collider (EIC), a one-of-a-kind nuclear physics research facility. This announcement, following DOE’s approval of “mission need” (known as Critical Decision 0) on December 19, 2019, enables work to begin on R&D and the conceptual design for this next-generation collider at Brookhaven Lab.

Released: 10-Jan-2020 1:45 PM EST
Hummingbirds' rainbow colors come from pancake-shaped structures in their feathers
Field Museum

Hummingbirds are some of the most brightly-colored things in the entire world.

Released: 10-Jan-2020 1:30 PM EST
Scientists Find Oldest-Known Fossilized Digestive Tract -- 550 Million Years
University of Missouri, Columbia

A 550 million-year-old fossilized digestive tract found in the Nevada desert could be a key find in understanding the early history of animals on Earth.

Released: 10-Jan-2020 3:00 AM EST
Team led by NUS avian researcher discovered 10 new bird taxa in little-explored islands of Wallacea
National University of Singapore (NUS)

A research team led by Associate Professor Frank Rheindt from the National University of Singapore found five bird species and five subspecies new to science in three small island groups off Sulawesi, Indonesia. The islands are situated in Indonesia’s Wallacea region, an archipelago at the interface between the Oriental and Australian biogeographical realms, named after Sir Alfred Wallace.

Released: 9-Jan-2020 10:05 AM EST
Study: How U.S. sewage plants can remove medicines from wastewater
University at Buffalo

A study of seven wastewater treatment plants points to two treatment methods — granular activated carbon and ozonation — as being particularly promising for reducing the concentration of pharmaceuticals including certain antidepressants and antibiotics.

Released: 8-Jan-2020 6:45 PM EST
Keep or Cancel Holiday Plans on Fire-Ravaged Kangaroo Island?
University of South Australia

Kangaroo Island is one of South Australia’s most iconic tourism destinations, but as fires continue to rage across the once pristine environment, many holidaymakers are questioning whether to keep or cancel their travel plans.

   
Released: 8-Jan-2020 2:10 PM EST
Connector fungi offer new clues to fate of nitrogen in warming tundra
Northern Arizona University

Northern Arizona University professors Rebecca Hewitt and Michelle Mack authored the study, published this week in New Phytologist, which could have implications for researchers and computer models that predict where nitrogen and carbon go at both regional and global levels.

Released: 7-Jan-2020 10:40 AM EST
New 'umbrella' species would massively improve conservation
University of Queensland

The protection of Australia's threatened species could be improved by a factor of seven, if more efficient 'umbrella' species were prioritised for protection, according to University of Queensland research.

Released: 7-Jan-2020 10:10 AM EST
Biodiverse forests better at storing carbon for long periods, says study
Earth Institute at Columbia University

As the effects of climate change are increasingly felt around the world, possible solutions, from reducing fossil fuel emissions to capturing carbon, have come to dominate policy discussions.

Released: 7-Jan-2020 8:00 AM EST
The Gulf of Mexico Alliance Kicks Off “Embrace the Gulf 2020” Campaign
Gulf of Mexico Alliance

"Embrace the Gulf 2020" is a year-long positive awareness campaign to highlight the value and the vitality of the Gulf of Mexico region. It includes daily messages across several social media platforms.

   
3-Jan-2020 2:25 PM EST
The Birds and the Bats: Evolving to Fly May Have Had Big Effect on Gut Microbiome
UC San Diego Health

UC San Diego researchers studied nearly 900 vertebrate species and found that bats have unusual gut microbiomes that more closely resemble those of birds than other mammals, raising questions about how evolutionary pressures change the gut microbiome

Released: 6-Jan-2020 10:55 AM EST
Study Shows Animal Life Thriving Around Fukushima
University of Georgia

Nearly a decade after the nuclear accident in Fukushima, Japan, researchers from the University of Georgia have found that wildlife populations are abundant in areas void of human life.

3-Jan-2020 3:05 PM EST
Polluted Wastewater in the Forecast? Try A Solar Umbrella
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Evaporation ponds, commonly used in many industries to manage wastewater, can occupy a large footprint and often pose risks to birds and other wildlife, yet they’re an economical way to deal with contaminated water. Now researchers at Berkeley Lab have demonstrated a way to double the rate of evaporation by using solar energy and taking advantage of water’s inherent properties, potentially reducing their environmental impact. The study is reported in the journal Nature Sustainability.



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