Hawaiian caves invaded by rats
Rattus rattus, commonly known as the black rat or house rat has been recognized as “one of the most invasive species worldwide”. These…
Category: Environment
Small animals that carry disease adapt well to our activities
A study suggests that small mammals like rodents have adapted to thrive on human-influenced land. They also happen to carry a lot of human…
Fungi may be able to help clean up polluted water
Human activities such as coal mining and processing can cause high levels of selenium contamination, which can be harmful to human health.…
Symbiotic fungi can save farm crops during droughts
What should farmers do to deal with disappearing water? Add fungi to the soil! This recent study sheds light on the use of mycorrhizae to…
How storms may contribute to groundwater contamination in karst systems
Researchers found that minerals from rocks deposited in karst aquifers during storms comes in two waves.
Can cigarette butts on the beach influence the local environment?
A study of burned and unburned cigarettes found that water chemistry and microbes living in Mediterranean beach sediments changed after 4…
What can microbes teach us about life in extreme environments?
Microbes on Earth have adapted to survive in some pretty extreme locations. The extreme dryness of deserts, high salinity in salt deposits,…
Fungi influence the recovery of pollutants in the environment
Researchers found a hidden selenium cycle tied to manganese oxide minerals made by common soil fungi.
Tiny green organisms could have a big impact on polluted environments
Can photosynthetic organisms help clean up contamination? New research from @DominiqueChaput, @biominerals, @RadicalMicrobe & authors…
Microbe lasagna tells us about what life was like billions of years ago
Sort of like a fossilized microbial lasagna, fossils called “stromatolites” are formed when layered communities of different types of…