RSS Feed
Author Archive
Heat Waves: Exposure to Increase 4-Fold by 2050
Posted by Nature World: Jenna Iacurci on May 18th, 2015
Nature World: With climate change causing much of the world's hot extremes, heat waves are likely to become more common. Well, now new research shows that, at least in the United States, exposure to extreme heat could increase four- to six-fold by 2050, due to both a warming climate and a population that's growing especially fast in the hottest regions of the country. Surprisingly, extreme heat kills more people in the United States than any other weather-related event. And with blazing heat becoming the new...
Posted in 
Australia: Great Barrier Reef Can Be Saved
Posted by Nature World: Jenna Iacurci on April 7th, 2015
Nature World: Just after recent research warned that the world's most iconic ecosystems, including the Great Barrier Reef, may collapse under climate change, a new study is saying that this iconic site can in fact be saved.
Leading coral reef scientists say Australia could restore the Great Barrier Reef to its former glory through better policies that focus on science, protection and conservation. In the journal Nature Climate Change, the authors argue that all the stressors on the Reef need to be reduced in...
First Images of What May Be Smallest Bacteria on Earth
Posted by Nature World: Jenna Iacurci on March 2nd, 2015
Nature World: Scientists have captured the first detailed microscopy images of what may be the smallest bacteria on Earth, according to a new study.
It has been debated for the last two decades whether or not ultra-small bacteria exist, and until now scientists have been unsuccessful in obtaining a comprehensive electron microscopy and DNA-based description of the microbes.
Described in the journal Nature Communications, the new bacteria have an average volume of 0.009 cubic microns. They are so small that...
US Farmers Fighting Drought May Have Hope Yet
Posted by Nature World: Jenna Iacurci on January 17th, 2015
Nature World: US Farmers that are currently fighting ongoing drought, particularly in California, may have hope yet thanks to one man's ingenious invention.
Jon Dewey has developed several water devices for growing and gardening, including his Patented WaterStick that allows farmers to grow more food using 75 percent less water. For example, this method allowed him to successfully grow, on average, 150-200 pounds of tomatoes per plant using a mere half gallon of water, whereas normal growing methods would require...
Greenland’s ‘Supraglacial’ Lakes Could Trigger Future Ice Loss
Posted by Nature World: Jenna Iacurci on December 15th, 2014
Nature World: Previous predictions of Greenland ice loss may have been greatly underestimated, as new research shows the region's "supraglacial" lakes could trigger faster ice melt in the future. Supraglacial lakes are bodies of water that form on the ice sheet surface from melted snow and ice. According to the new study, these lakes will migrate farther inland over the next 50 years, potentially causing drastic changes in Greenland's ice sheet flow and contributing to rising sea levels. "When you pour pancake...
Dried Out Amazon Could Speed Up Climate Change
Posted by Nature World: Jenna Iacurci on December 11th, 2014
Nature World: A new NASA-funded study has found that a dried out Amazon, which has experienced a decline in rainfall over the last decade, could speed up global climate change due to the subsequent drop in vegetation.
And global climate models predict that things are only going to get more arid for the region in the future.
The Amazon's tropical rainforests are one of the largest sinks for atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) on the planet. They store an estimated 120 billion tons of Earth's carbon - that's...
New Methane-Releasing Microbe Key Player in Climate Change
Posted by Nature World: Jenna Iacurci on October 23rd, 2014
Nature World: A new methane-releasing microbe, just recently discovered in Sweden, is a key player in climate change, according to new research.
Identified as Methanoflorens stordalenmirensis, it is just one of many species of soil microbes, known to be among the world's biggest potential amplifiers of human-caused climate change. Earlier this year, an international team of researchers discovered this previously unknown microbe living in permafrost soils in northern Sweden that have begun to thaw in our warming...
Plastic Particles Harm Freshwater Organisms Too
Posted by Nature World: Jenna Iacurci on October 17th, 2014
Nature World: Scientists have become increasingly worried that plastic pollution threatens marine life in the world's oceans, and now new research shows that they have reason to fear it can harm freshwater organisms, too.
"The main sources of plastic are on land, so it is important to also look at the effects of plastic on land," Professor Bart Koelmans, leader of the Wageningen University and the IMARES research group behind the study, said in a statement.
Previous studies have shown that microplastics...
Treated Fracking Wastewater is Still Toxic
Posted by Nature World: Jenna Iacurci on September 26th, 2014
Nature World: A new study has shockingly shown that fracking wastewater, even after being treated, is still contaminating drinking water.
Wastewater from hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," and its toxic byproducts have long been an issue, especially for those who are concerned that flowback may be contaminating their groundwater.
Fracking involves injecting millions of gallons of fluids into shale rock formations to release oil and gas. The wastewater generated during this process is highly radioactive...
Trees Threaten Growing Grasslands
Posted by Nature World: Jenna Iacurci on September 26th, 2014
Nature World: Trees are currently threatening growing grasslands, turning tallgrass prairies into shrublands and forests, and a pair of researchers is concerned that if nothing is done to stop or slow down this process, an important part of the ecosystem may soon be lost.
Two Kansas State University biologists, doctoral student Allison Veach and professor Walter Dodds, are researching grassland streams and the expansion of nearby woody vegetation, such as trees and shrubs, to see what can be done to save growing...