Today we are seeing climate change in action, increased concentrations of atmospheric greenhouse gases have led to a rise in sea levels, temperatures, and extreme weather patterns. Researchers have acknowledged the pivotal role microorganisms in producing sustainable biofuels, increasing carbon sequestration via soil microbes and reducing methane emissions in landfill sites. Microbial innovation will be vital in moving towards a low carbon economy.
Tropical cyclones in Madagascar lead to sharp spikes in malaria infections – particularly in children – due to interruptions in control efforts, according to a new study. However, newly introduced long-lasting vaccines can help to mitigate these gaps.
Read storyResearchers have developed a process to turn food waste into biodegradable plastic. Their new study offers fundamental findings for any company interested in scaling up the process.
A new study shows that rice coral, an important reef-building species, passes on thermal resistance to their offspring and avoids coral bleaching. Understanding this is important to building healthier coral reefs and protecting their future.
A global inventory reveals nitrogen is in shorter supply than previously thought in natural areas, which could limit carbon storage in plants and soils.
A new study has uncovered that certain ocean viruses—specifically RNA viruses—may disrupt how carbon and nutrients are recycled in the ocean, potentially altering the global carbon cycle.
Researchers have identified Methylophilus sp. HN238, a bacterium capable of efficiently converting methanol into high-quality protein. The protein meets WHO standards for quality, containing all 18 amino acids with essential amino acids making up 44.1% of the composition.
Researchers have established a robust Chlamydomonas reinhardtii cultivation system capable of rapid growth using formate as the carbon source. They achieved successful algal cultivation at 200 mM formate concentration - the highest level ever reported in microalgae systems.
A new study has revealed that unprecedented levels of ocean acidification are expected around the main Hawaiian Islands within the next three decades.
The application of systems metabolic engineering strategies, and construction of an electron channeling system, has enabled the first gram-per-liter scale production of lutein from Corynebacterium glutamicum, providing a viable alternative to plant-derived lutein production.
Oak trees change their fine roots and ‘energise’ soil microbes by supplying them with a cocktail of small organic compounds, all to supplement the trees’ supply of essential nutrients when exposed to higher levels of carbon dioxide.
Researchers find that azuki bean beetles, a common pest, produce larger eggs yielding male offspring when infected with Wolbachia bacteria under elevated temperature and carbon dioxide conditions.
Rising toxins found in bowhead whales, harvested for subsistence purposes by Alaska Native communities, reveal that ocean warming is causing higher concentrations of algal toxins in Arctic food webs.
Scientists have developed a scalable approach to engineer bacterial cellulose into high-strength, multifunctional materials. Their biosynthesis technique aligns bacterial cellulose fibers in real-time, resulting in robust biopolymer sheets with exceptional mechanical properties.
A single-celled algae genus may have a big impact on how the world’s chemical building blocks cycle between living things and the non-living environment. Polarella was thought to be restricted to polar cap regions, but turns out to be abundant in the tropical Pacific ocean.
The chemical Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate - found in sunscreen - could be slowing the degradation of discarded plastic in our seas, and may be helping biofilm bacteria – which have a greater protection from harsh conditions – to thrive.
This study focuses on two primary forms of biological nitrogen fixation (BNF): symbiotic nitrogen fixation (SNF), which occurs within the root nodules of nitrogen-fixing plants, and asymbiotic nitrogen fixation (ANF), carried out by free-living microorganisms in soil and litter.
New research has revealed alarming coral mortality rates of 92 per cent after last year’s bleaching event at Lizard Island on Queensland’s Great Barrier Reef, marking one of the highest coral mortality rates ever documented globally.
For years, scientists have debated whether a giant thick ice shelf once covered the entire Arctic Ocean during the coldest ice ages. Now a new study challenges this idea as the research team found no evidence for the presence of a massive ~1km ice shelf. Instead, the Arctic Ocean appears to have been covered by seasonal sea ice.
Researchers have found that, on average, spore allergy season in the US was kicking off 22 days earlier in 2022 than it had been in 2003.
Rainfall can have dramatic effects on the microbial communities living in urban lakes, a new paper published in the Journal of Applied Microbiology reveals.
Scientists have found that straw mulching in bamboo forests not only significantly increased soil carbon emissions in the short term but also had enduring effects that persisted for at least three years after the removal of the mulching material.
Researchers are studying the cell structure of fungi to learn how it determines their mechanical properties and what science can learn from that to create better materials. They analyzed their cell structures and tested them to calculate the stress loads they could handle.
Plant cell wall components such as cellulose are abundant sources of carbohydrates that are widely used in biofuels and bioproducts. Investigators have found that a combination of fungal enzymes can efficiently degrade plant biomass to allow for extraction.