Over 70% of the earth is covered in water, which serves as a vital resource human subsistence. Contamination and acidification pose major threats to aquatic health and biodiversity. Microbes offer a promising solution in their ability to breakdown contamination from oil spills and plastics. Applied microbiologists can play a significant part in understanding biodiversity, contributing to solutions, and encouraging stewardship.
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.
Read storyA 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.
A new study has revealed that unprecedented levels of ocean acidification are expected around the main Hawaiian Islands within the next three decades.
NASA has awarded microbiologist James Holden $621,000 to spend the next three years using his expertise to help predict what life on Jupiter’s moon Europa might look like. For that, Holden turned to an unexpected place: the volcanoes a mile beneath our own oceans.
A team of scientists have designed a molecular probe that lights up when a sugar is consumed. They described how the probe helps to study the microscopic tug-of-war between algae and microbial degraders in the ocean.
As sea surface temperatures increase with summer, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) is highlighting the increased risk posed by Vibrio bacteria, with a higher number of infections reported in Northern countries in recent years
A new review details the design, preparation, and applications of electrochemiluminescence devices, offering the potential for the development of lightweight and intelligent wearable devices.
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.
Florida Atlantic University’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute has received a $999,664 grant from FLRACEP for a three-year project titled, “Influences of Upwelling and Riverine Nutrient Plumes on the Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems of the West Florida Shelf.”
Researchers have identified how thyroxine, a human thyroid hormone, can positively influence the life-critical calcification in soft corals, and have developed a unique technique for injecting molecules into coral tissues.
Chemists have shown that they can greatly enhance a version of the photosynthesis enzyme rubisco found in bacteria from a low-oxygen environment. Using directed evolution, they identified mutations that could boost rubisco’s catalytic efficiency by up to 25 per cent.
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.
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.
A new study has challenged a long-standing oversight in coral reef science, revealing that respiration in corals and algae varies significantly throughout the day, rather than remaining constant. It reveals that respiration rates in reef organisms are highly dynamic, peaking in the afternoon several hours after the height of photosynthesis.
A new study reveals what the octopus is feeling when it ‘tastes’ the seafloor— biochemical information from the microbial world. The animal uses its arms to determine whether prey is safe to eat or whether unhealthy eggs should be ejected from the nest.
In just over 20 years, the northward shift of the subtropical jet stream — a high-altitude airflow — caused by climate change has reduced primary production in the northwestern Mediterranean by about 40%, affecting the base of the marine food web.
A new study reveals why some corals resist bleaching while others don’t: the answer lies in a complex partnership between corals and their microbial allies, shaped by the history of the waters they inhabit.
Pus, strep throat, and even tuberculosis—most infectious diseases are characterized by a cluster of pathogenic bacteria that can be stubborn and resistant to antibiotics. Researchers have found another method to combat these bacteria using naturally sourced molecules found in corals.
A new study highlights the potential impact of cleaner fish in coral reefs and the need to demystify their role in shaping reef microbial diversity and transmission.
A researcher uses her art to explain how corals from more variable ocean environments may be better equipped to survive rising ocean temperatures than corals from more stable environments.
Using high-performance computing methods, researchers have identified 230 novel giant viruses in publicly available marine metagenomic datasets and characterized their functions.