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Updates every hour. Last Updated: 19-Apr-2025 12:08 ET (19-Apr-2025 16:08 GMT/UTC)
In the global carbon cycle microorganisms have evolved a variety of methods for fixing carbon. Researchers from Bremen and Taiwan have investigated the methods that are utilized at extremely hot, acidic and sulfur-rich hydrothermal vents in shallow waters off the island of Kueishantao, Taiwan. A team working with first author Joely Maak of MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences at the University of Bremen has now published their study in the professional journal Biogeosciences.
Wild animals that have acquired adaptions to maximize their reproductive output in some of the world’s most extreme conditions may provide answers to some of the most pressing problems in the field of human reproductive health.
• A new journal article by Michelle Shero, assistant scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution's Biology Department, examines how the study of seals in particular can benefit human health, and synthesizes various research on the topic.
Several aspects in the life history of seals that could provide significant insight into their reproductive physiology – as well as that of humans – include female seals’ ability to undergo lengthy fasting and lose about 30% of their body weight while nursing a pup. Seals also have an exceptional ability to hold their breath for up to two hours in some species for long dives. Additionally, seals have the ability to ‘pause’ pregnancy, through a process known as embryonic diapause, so they can give birth during benign environmental conditions.
• In seeking ways to improve human health, we should be looking to the extraordinary feats of wild animals. They have often found the most innovative solutions.
An Osaka Metropolitan University team has developed an explainable AI model for automatic collision avoidance between ships.
Deep sea mining operations are expected to increase the negative impact on environmental indicators by up to 13 per cent, a change categorized as having “great” significance, relative to the “without” DSM scenario, the study published in PLOS One said, notably through increased coastal vulnerability, pollution, and biodiversity loss.