Climate action
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.
News
The climate crisis threatens river microbial biodiversity
A study warns that the biodiversity and biological functions of aquatic fungi in rivers are at risk due to rising temperatures, prolonged dry periods and the loss of riparian vegetation caused by climate change.
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NewsTracking melanoidins to improve food-waste biogas recovery
Higher pretreatment temperatures in food-waste biogas recovery can promote Maillard reactions, generating melanoidins. A study shows that melanoidins increase with hydrothermal temperature and inhibit methane production by disrupting methanogenic microbial communities.
NewsBiochar-coated catalyst turns wet microalgae into cleaner fuel-building chemicals
Turning microalgae into usable liquid fuels remains difficult because algae-derived bio-oil often contains high levels of oxygen and nitrogen compounds. A new study reports a promising strategy to address this challenge.
NewsThree interlinked factors are needed to sustainably grow microbes for MICP
A new review investigates cost-effective and greener ways to grow microorganisms for use in Microbially Induced Calcium Carbonate Precipitation (MICP), a microbial process that precipitates calcium carbonate, and identifies three interlinked factors that determine success or failure.
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Fungi help lock carbon into Arctic fjord sediments
A new study shows that fungi may play a surprisingly important role in keeping carbon locked into the seafloor. Researchers have found that marine fungi living in sediments efficiently assimilate dissolved organic matter and retain it as microbial biomass, rather than allowing it to be rapidly remineralised.
NewsHow sea-ice microbes survive the Southern Ocean’s harsh winter, and the implications for climate change
New study reinforces the importance of the Southern Ocean marginal ice zone as a critical hotspot for global sulfur cycling where biogeochemical processes for climate regulation are enhanced.
NewsMicrobes hold the key: unlocking sustainable carbon storage in farmland with biochar
New analysis reveals how soil bacteria and fungi govern biochar’s effectiveness in Chinese agriculture, guiding optimized carbon sequestration strategies
NewsInvisible chemical landscapes shape life
Plants, animals, and microorganisms constantly communicate through chemical signals. A research team has now shown that these signals merge in the environment to form complex “chemical landscapes” that have effects far beyond those of their individual components.
NewsHow biochar helps soil carbon last longer: microbes turn dissolved organic matter into more stable forms
A long-term field study reveals that biochar does more than add carbon to soil. Over time, it can reshape microbial activity and help transform dissolved organic matter into more humified, stable carbon pools.
NewsHow specific humidity affects flu outbreaks - and what it means under climate change
In temperate regions, flu season is in the winter, while in the tropics, constant low-intensity activity is typically punctuated by two annual peaks—or a surge during the rainy season. Researchers investigated whether specific humidity—the mass of water vapor per unit mass of air—could explain these differing patterns.
NewsResearchers produce biodegradable bioplastic from potato starch using a modified bacterium
A new study has produced a biodegradable bioplastic from unprocessed potato starch in a single 24-hour step, establishing that the bacterium Bacillus subtilis is a robust platform of great industrial interest for producing polyhydroxybutyrate from a low-cost agricultural by-product.
NewsFungi help biochar and compost lock more carbon in nutrient-poor urban soils
A new field study shows that soil fungi can determine whether urban greenspace amendments build long-term soil carbon or accelerate carbon consumption.
NewsBiochar’s hidden electron power could unlock cleaner pollution control and energy recovery
A new review highlights how biochar’s natural redox properties may help overcome key barriers to large-scale environmental applications.
NewsAs California warms, cases of dengue fever are expected to grow
Historically, dengue fever has been rare in California. But according to new research, a warming climate is making parts of the state more hospitable to the illness — and the mosquitoes that carry it.
NewsSlow down, microbes: When wheat learns to protect the nitrogen
Wheat plants can do more than grow grain. Research shows that their roots release natural compounds that slow down soil microbes and keep nitrogen in the soil potentially cutting losses, greenhouse gas emissions and costs for farmers.
NewsScientists just found 4 new species of underwater ‘living pink rocks’ that help to store carbon
Rhodoliths may look like small rocks on the seafloor, but they’re actually living algae that create habitats for marine life and contribute to long-term carbon storage. The deeper ‘low-light’ waters off Japan’s Tanegashima Island harbor a surprisingly distinct and diverse community, including four species completely new to science.
NewsBiologist dives beneath Antarctica sea ice to study the impact of climate change
One biologist is studying the genetic diversity of red algae to see how this vital part of Antarctica’s underwater ecosystem is affected by climate change. Answering that question is becoming increasingly important as Earth’s warming climate causes Antarctica’s sea ice to recede farther with every passing year.
NewsWarming may weaken biochar’s climate benefits in cropland soils, global study finds
Researchers found that warming significantly increased carbon dioxide emissions from soils treated with biochar by an average of 77%. The effect was especially strong in croplands, where emissions increased by 117.5%, compared with 30.9% in forest soils.
NewsDigital model guides cleaner biohydrogen production
A research team has developed an enzyme-aware digital model that explains why hydrogen-producing microbes often struggle to grow fast and generate hydrogen efficiently at the same time. The study reveals how limited enzyme resources shape the balance between cell growth, by-product formation, and hydrogen generation.
NewsMethane emissions maximised by global warming
A new study explains how increases in natural methane emissions will be maximised under future climate warming. It showed that while methane consuming microbes do work harder under warmer conditions, they cannot fully check the extra methane being produced with warming.
NewsBiochar can reshape how soils respond to warming, but the effect depends on the soil
A new study shows that biochar can change how strongly soil nitrous oxide emissions respond to rising temperatures. But the effect is not one-size-fits-all. The study found that nitrous oxide emissions increased with warming in both agricultural soil and forest soil, but forest soil was more temperature-sensitive than agricultural soil.
NewsArctic river deltas at risk from mounting pressures
Researchers have performed a detailed calculation of the amount of carbon stored in permafrost in Arctic river deltas. In a new study, they point out the risks endangering the storage function of these highly sensitive landscapes due to rapid climate change.
NewsScientists map the microbes behind a climate-regulating gas in India’s busiest estuary — a first
When bacteria in the water and sediment break dimethylsulfoniopropionate down, they release dimethylsulfide (DMS), a gas that drifts into the atmosphere and helps form clouds by seeding cloud condensation nuclei. A new paper reports the first-ever study of DMSP concentrations and the bacteria that degrade it along the entire length of the Cochin Estuary.