Scientists at the Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) in Seattle have developed a breakthrough method to track diet using stool metagenomic data. This non-invasive, data-driven approach offers an objective alternative to traditional food diaries and questionnaires, which are still the gold standard in dietary assessment but can suffer from misreporting and compliance issues.

Rat and mouse baits commonly used around the home and in the workplace could potentially wipe out as many as nine species of endangered Australian marsupial carnivores, including the iconic Tasmanian Devil and all of Australia’s quoll species, new research from Edith Cowan University (ECU) has found.

Connecticut College botany professor Peter Siver has been awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to synthesize decades of research on protists—microscopic organisms essential to aquatic ecosystems but often overlooked in scientific study. Funded through NSF’s OPUS program, the project will consolidate Siver’s extensive work on silica-scaled chrysophytes, making his findings more accessible to researchers studying microbial ecology, climate change, and evolutionary biology.

Siver’s research has provided key insights into how these microorganisms contribute to nutrient cycling and species migration over time. His recent studies include the discovery of an exceptionally preserved fossil of microscopic algae (Scientific Reports), reshaping the understanding of algal evolution, and evidence of fossilized palm phytoliths in Arctic Canada (Annals of Botany), offering new perspectives on ancient climate conditions.

The $204,499 NSF grant will ensure that Siver’s findings remain a valuable resource for future studies on environmental history and biodiversity.