Rising ocean temperatures cause marine heat waves, which place stress on living coral animals, as well as the photosynthetic algae on which they depend for energy. A new study led by Yvonne Sawall, assistant scientist at the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (BIOS), is showing potential for the use of artificial upwelling (AU)--or the application of cooler, deep water--as a way to mitigate the thermal stress on corals.

Brazilian researchers use complex training program to stimulate different motor and cognitive skills simultaneously and restore brain regions associated with freezing of gait in advanced-stage patients.

Anthropologist Fernando Santos-Granero pieced together the story of a change agent whose life spanned an important period in South American history in his book, Slavery and Utopia, now available in English and Spanish.

Through their foraging behavior across the diverse topography of the African savanna, megaherbivores may be unknowingly influencing the growth and survival of vegetation on valleys and plateaus, while preserving steep slopes as habitat refugia.

New research published in the journal Coral Reefs generates the largest characterization of coral reef spectral data to date. These data are an initial step in building a quantitative understanding of reef water clarity. With these data, coral reef scientists can begin to develop models to address fundamental questions about how reefs function, such as how much light reaches the various reef zones or how ecological zonation on reefs might be driven by light absorption.

Researchers isolated molecules present in the larvae of a blue light-emitting fungus gnat that inhabits the Appalachians. The study will help elucidate human diseases and could lead to novel biotech applications.

Researchers have genetically characterized almost 80,000 samples of wheat from public germplasm banks, "a massive-scale genotyping and diversity analysis" of the two types of wheat grown globally -- bread and pasta wheat -- and of 27 known wild species. The results show distinct biological groupings within bread wheats and suggest that a large proportion of the genetic diversity present in landraces has not been used to develop new high-yielding, resilient and nutritious varieties.

Researchers isolated eight novel polyphenols from the rarest type of propolis. Two of them were found to inhibit tumor cell proliferation in laboratory assays.

A literature review by researchers affiliated with universities in Brazil and the United States produces the first ever nationwide survey of land use impacts on water quality, showing how a lack of planning may affect the availability of a natural resource that is already becoming scarce.