Category: Environment

A new model for predicting human population growth Scientists at University of Washington have attempted to improve upon previous population models developed by the United Nations and the Austrian Wittgenstein Centre by using different calculation techniques for two key factors - fertility and migration.

Gina Misra

Scientists at University of Washington have attempted to improve upon previous population models developed by the United Nations and the Austrian Wittgenstein Centre by using different calculation techniques for two key factors – fertility and migration.

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 days of exposure to a cigarette filter.

Mary Sabuda

A study of burned and unburned cigarettes found that water chemistry and microbes living in Mediterranean beach sediments changed after 4 days of exposure to a cigarette filter.

What can sulfur-eating microbes teach us about life in extreme environments? Microbes living in an extreme environment hosted by a rock called serpentinite use a variety of sulfur compounds to gain energy and survive, which has implications for life that might exist elsewhere in our Universe.

Mary Sabuda

Microbes on Earth have adapted to survive in some pretty extreme locations. The extreme dryness of deserts, high salinity in salt deposits, cold temperatures of glaciers, and even high pressures of the deep ocean don’t stop some life forms. Another READ MORE

More than decomposers: 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.

Mary Sabuda

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 The researchers found that algae and cyanobacteria living in a manganese-polluted environment can make manganese minerals through previously unidentified pathways which could help with cleaning up Mn pollution.

Mary Sabuda

Can photosynthetic organisms help clean up contamination? New research from @DominiqueChaput, @biominerals, @RadicalMicrobe & authors studied manganese mineral formation by photosynthetic organisms living in a Mn polluted environment.

Microbe lasagna tells us about what life was like billions of years ago Layers of bacteria and rock leave their fingerprints behind by changing the kinds of carbon atoms we might find in the environment.

Zoe Havlena

Sort of like a fossilized microbial lasagna, fossils called “stromatolites” are formed when layered communities of different types of bacteria trap sand, dirt, and debris in their structure over time. Stromatolites are found in rocks as old as 3.5 billion years, and containing the planet’s earliest life forms.

Bacteria from the Black Sea Have an Unusual Diet A new species of bacterium was discovered that lives off manganese and sulfur instead of oxygen or carbon dioxide

Alex Duff

Many organisms live by breathing in oxygen and breathing out carbon dioxide, and those that don’t often live by taking in carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen. However, did you know that these aren’t the only ways life can survive? Researchers recently discovered Sulfurimonas marinigri, a species of bacteria that survives by taking in sulfur and manganese instead of oxygen and carbon. This method of survival has long been theorized, but could never be proven until now.

Contaminants in groundwater can take over 20 years to break down But scientists have a method for removing the contaminants more quickly, using a underground barrier.

Kristen Amodeo

Have you ever driven past an old factory building and wondered what ever happened to the harsh chemicals that were used there? If you guessed that a lot of the chemicals ended up in the environment, you would be right. READ MORE

Mining with acid-generating bacteria Sulfuric acid production by sulfur-oxidizing bacteria may be a solution to a long standing mining problem.

Mackenzie Best

Sulfuric acid production by sulfur-oxidizing bacteria may be a solution to a long standing mining problem.