Numbers of jackass morwong have plummeted. Credit: Graham Edgar, CC BY When fish are taken from our oceans faster than they can reproduce, their population numbers decline. This over-fishing upsets marine ecosystems. It’s also bad for human populations that rely on fish for protein in their diets. To manage fishing areas sustainably, we need accurate … Read more
Credit: Matthew Kapust / Sanford Underground Research Facility Most of the matter in the universe is missing. Scientists believe around 85% of the matter in the cosmos is made of invisible dark matter, which has only been detected indirectly by its gravitational effects on its surroundings. My colleagues and I—a team of some 250 scientists … Read more
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe and ESA’s Solar Orbiter missions measuring the same stream of plasma flowing away from the sun at different distances. Parker measured copious magnetic waves near the edge of the corona (the “Alfvén surface”), while Solar Orbiter, located past the orbit of Venus, observed that the waves had disappeared and that their … Read more
Credit: Ella Ragasa from Pexels Located to the east of Madagascar, the bountiful, volcanic French island of Réunion has sometimes been called a sister to Hawaiian volcanoes because of the similarity in their climate and geographical nature. Those familiar with its seemingly pristine vegetation may be surprised to find out that half of the plants … Read more
by Alison Derry, Annabelle Fortin-Archambault and Beatrix Beisner, The Conversation A researcher from Groupe de recherche interuniversitaire en limnologie sampling zooplankton from an Alaskan lake. Credit: A. Derry, CC BY Freshwater ecosystems are impacted by human activities, including climate change, pollution and invasive species. We are researchers at the Université du Québec à Montréal and … Read more
A closed carbonized papyrus scroll from Herculaneum being scanned. Credit: EduceLab/University of Kentucky It’s the last day of August, which means that in the Northern Hemisphere, tomorrow will be 50 degrees and cloudy; conditions are expected to be hot and humid south of the equator. In science news this week, we reported on nanoplastic contamination, … Read more
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Have you been to the beach this summer? I took my daughter there the other day and got her a pasty for lunch. She was happily munching it while staring out to sea, back turned to the café where we bought the pasty. Suddenly, there was a flapping of wings behind … Read more
Mario Yanez, another biologist from Inabio, said his current work revolves around finding ‘windows of opportunity’ to continue researching despite the violence. Biologist Cesar Garzon was searching for a small, endangered parakeet in southern Ecuador when he was warned he may be kidnapped, highlighting the danger for scientists in the biodiverse country engulfed in narco … Read more
Shown here is a longwing butterfly with one wing (right) altered by CRISPR gene editing, resulting in a dramatic change to its normal color pattern. Credit: Luca Livraghi A team of international researchers has uncovered a surprising genetic mechanism that influences the vibrant and complex patterns on butterfly wings. In a study published in the … Read more
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain US regulators on Friday cleared SpaceX to restart launching its stalwart Falcon 9 rocket, as a probe continues into a rare mishap this week during a first-stage booster landing. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded the Falcon 9 rocket on Wednesday after a first-stage booster tipped over and exploded while attempting … Read more
