Ocean Sustainability
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.
Crab shell by-products could help regulate the marine lifetime of biodegradable plastics
Researchers show that crab shell by-products can reduce the breakdown rate of biodegradable plastics in seawater by altering the microbial communities that colonize their surfaces, known as the plastisphere.
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Lost millennium of Galápagos deep-sea corals linked to major Pacific climate shift
Scientists have discovered that deep-water corals in the Galápagos region vanished for more than 1,000 years before eventually recovering. The findings reveal that deep-water coral ecosystems may be more susceptible to climate change than previously thought.
Researchers come up with novel strategies for coral restoration
Scientists have discovered a new way to help lab-grown baby corals survive through the early life stage. If young mountainous star corals are grown on cement tiles formulated with sodium carbonate, which raises the alkalinity of the water, they survive much better than the average lab-grown corals.
Andes volcanoes – the missing link between algae blooms, whales and climate millions of years ago
Record volcanic eruptions in the Andes could explain the mysterious death of dozens of whales about 5 to 8 million years ago, according to a study. A significant increase in volcanic activity in the Andes peaking between eight and four million years ago likely delivered a significant pulse of nutrients to the Southern Ocean.
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Cyanobacteria surprise scientists with evolutionary shift
Researchers report a surprising new discovery—a system thought to separate DNA has developed to sculpt the shape of the cell in cyanobacteria instead. The results shed light on how protein systems evolve and how multicellularity emerged in this type of ecologically essential bacteria.
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Researchers uncover a ‘treasure trove’ of bioactive molecules in coral reefs
Researchers have found that coral reefs are home to a vast array of previously unknown bioactive metabolites — small biomolecules that have the biotechnological potential to provide the basis for new drugs, and a host of other products.
Turning microalgae into high-value fuels: biochar-based catalyst unlocks cleaner aromatic production
Scientists have designed a composite catalyst that significantly improves the quality of bio-oil derived from microalgae. By combining biochar with a well-known zeolite catalyst called HZSM-5, the team created a hybrid material that enhances the production of valuable aromatic hydrocarbons while minimizing unwanted byproducts.
Seasonal cycles - even in the depths - sustain ocean microbial biodiversity
Oceanographers discovered that microbial communities–from the sunlit surface to extreme depths–in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre exhibit robust seasonal cycles. The study provides new insight into how high levels of biodiversity are maintained in the open ocean.
Helping corals survive future heatwaves requires strong and strategic trait selection
A new study exploring host assisted evolution in corals have created a unique, pedigree-tracked coral population over the last eight years, allowing them to map family relationships and measure how multiple key traits—such as growth, reproduction and survival—are inherited.
The giants of the reef: New citizen science project races to document centennial corals
Coral reefs hide “scientific treasures” that have survived for centuries, yet many of these giant, ancient organisms remain largely unknown to science. A new study introduces a pioneering citizen-science initiative to find these giant coral colonies before they are lost to escalating global pressures.
MBL scientist Alexandra Z. Worden honored with a Guggenheim Fellowship
Alexandra Z. Worden, Senior Scientist in the Bay Paul Center at the Marine Biological Laboratory and a Professor in the Department of the Geophysical Sciences at the University of Chicago was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship this week, in recognition of her groundbreaking research in ocean biogeochemistry.
Functional traits, not phylogeny, drive gut microbial assembly in estuarine fish
By examining the gut microbiota of 61 sympatric fish species within the ecologically diverse Pearl River Estuary, researchers utilized this “natural laboratory” to disentangle complex biological drivers without the interference of geographical variation.
Study reveals hidden damage in stony corals using 3D imaging and AI
Researchers investigating how disease affects coral structure turned to X-ray microcomputed tomography which generates detailed 3D reconstructions down to microscopic pores, which reveal internal skeletal features, including porosity, thickness and structural orientation, in a non-destructive way.
Longer-term plankton species diversity is independent of ocean mixing
A new study identifies correlations between turbulence, plankton diversity and aggregate abundance in marine coastal regions over longer time periods, providing new insights into marine ecosystems.
Tiny plankton have big impact on harmful algal bloom predictions
While some computer models can forecast potential algal blooms, their accuracy is limited.. A new study shows that coupling three models and accounting for how different algae species interact can significantly improve predictions.
Hidden ocean feedback loop could accelerate climate change
Scientists have uncovered a key mechanism behind methane production in the open ocean. Their research indicates that this mechanism could intensify as the planet warms, providing an alarming feedback loop for global warming.
How microbes survive in the plastisphere
Trillions of persistent plastic particles of varying sizes are scattered throughout the world’s oceans, where they often accumulate in ocean gyres known as ‘garbage patches’. Two of these regions were the focus of research expeditions.
Engineered bacteria unlock seaweed potential: dual enzyme system enables complete alginate depolymerization
A research team has heterologously expressed alyB and alyD genes from the marine bacterium Vibrio algivorus in C. glutamicum, an industrial workhorse traditionally used for amino acid production.
Climate change may produce ‘fast-food’ phytoplankton
Scientists report that as sea surface temperatures rise over the next century, phytoplankton in polar regions will adapt to be less rich in proteins, heavier in carbohydrates, and lower in nutrients overall.
Getting a glimpse of viral dances in the dark in the Sargasso Sea
In a new study of viral abundance over a short time frame in the Sargasso Sea, researchers found that almost all viruses with cyclical changes in abundance were most active at night – a somewhat surprising find.
Tides supercharge biochar’s carbon capture power in coastal wetlands
A new field study suggests that adding biochar to costal wetlands could significantly boost their carbon storage capacity, with tidal forces playing a surprisingly beneficial role.
When algae stop growing, bacteria start swarming
A new study describes how a recently identified species of marine bacteria targets diatoms based on growth phase and nutrient availability.
Stolen chloroplasts maintained by host-made proteins offer clues to plant cell origins
The single-celled predator Rapaza viridis temporarily retains chloroplasts from prey algae and imports its own proteins into them, new research has shown.