All Max Planck Institute for Chemistry articles
-
NewsStromatolite study provides new detail on the impact of volcanic activity on early marine life
Analysis of fossilised rocks known as stromatolites - layered rock formations created by ancient microorganisms, such as bacteria - from more than two-and-a-half billion years ago has provided new insights into the conditions on Earth before the evolution of oxygen.
-
NewsClimate change threatens key ocean plankton groups
Planktonic foraminifera species may face unprecedented environmental conditions by the end of this century, potentially surpassing their survival thresholds, with extinctions impacting marine ecosystems and the ocean’s carbon storage capacity.
-
NewsStudy yields evidence of oldest confirmed photosymbiosis in corals
Researchers have demonstrated, using nitrogen isotope analyses, that some extinct corals from the Middle Devonian period were already symbiotic. This represents geochemical evidence of the oldest confirmed photosymbiosis in corals.
-
NewsScientists unravel drivers of the global zinc cycle in our oceans
The important role of the Southern Ocean in global biological processes and the carbon cycle has been confirmed by a study that, for the first time based on field evidence, reveals the underappreciated role of inorganic zinc particles in these cycles.
-
NewsMicrobes thriving in groundwater and producing oxygen in the dark
Aancient groundwaters harbour not only diverse and active microbial communities, but also unexpectedly large numbers of microbial cells.