Decades after it was first found in Japan, a crustacean species with unique black-and-white coloring resembling a panda has been confirmed to be new to science.

- The diversity patterns are taxon-specific and fluctuate seasonally.

- Multiple taxa should be included in the biomonitoring of high-altitude rivers.

- More conservation attention should be given to the upstream region and the estuary.

For the first time ever, a team including several UC Santa Cruz scientists have directly measured the behavioral responses of some of the most common marine mammals to military sonar. And the finding that surprised them most was that these animals were sensitive to the sounds at much lower levels than previously predicted.

The Flexible Clean Propulsion Technologies (Flex-CPT) project consortium, led by the University of Vaasa, Finland, aims to develop innovative, clean, and flexible solutions for maritime transport and off-road machinery. The goal is to reduce dependency on single fuel types, develop flexible hardware design, smart combustion control, efficient thermal management, and adaptive emission and hybrid energy management. These solutions will make it possible to use zero- and low-carbon fuels in the best way, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by up to 100%. The Flex-CPT project has a budget of 18 million euros, primarily funded by Business Finland, with the remaining funds provided by companies and research organizations. The Flex-CPT research plan includes 33 innovations, including fuel reforming-based reactivity on demand, adaptive aftertreatment deposit formation control, through to thermal management of hybrid systems exploiting the synergy of fuel storage technology with electrification.

Cockroaches and maggots might be able to turn an invasive seaweed into a high quality compost, finds a new experimental study which provides hope for the environment and the circular economy

Using two specialized microscopes invented at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL), a team of researchers from Japan and the MBL have developed a new method to measure the forces that keep the nucleus centered within a living cell. Their report was published on Oct. 18 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Scientists from NOAA Fisheries and other institutions report the surprise appearance of Japanese sardines on the West Coast of North America in the journal Molecular Ecology. The species not previously known on the West Coast looks so similar to native Pacific sardines that only genetic examination can tell them apart. The scientists took advantage of recent advances in genomic sequencing to examine data from millions of genetic markers and constructed full mitochondrial genomes for sardine to verify the identification. They do not yet know if the two species can hybridize.

Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Bremen characterize novel enzymes from deep-sea microbes with a key function in the ethane degradation process, revealing surprises in the metabolism of these organisms.

Insects and spiders are important elements in the food webs of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. With declines in their biodiversity, the food supply for birds, fish, reptiles, amphibians and small mammals is not only becoming scarcer, but also poorer in important fatty acids, as an international research team led by scientists from Eawag and WSL reports in the journal Science.