Coral is losing its chemical war with seaweeds

As if anthropogenic pollution and overfishing isn’t damaging enough for coral reefs worldwide, now certain seaweeds seem determined to see the end of reefs as well. These macroalgae produce chemicals that inhibit the growth of reef-building coral or even kill … Continue reading

Early warning system for coral reef collapse found

Global warming, overfishing and ocean acidification form a major threat to ocean ecosystems, possibly even leading to an oceanic Holocene mass extinction. We might even have to say goodbye to the planet’s last coral reef by 2050 if we’re not … Continue reading

Cheap, limitless hydrogen from wastewater

An inexhaustible source of hydrogen without the need for electricity and completely carbon neutral. It sounds too good to be true, but in this case it appears it is not, as Penn State engineers have developed a method to do … Continue reading

Permian-Triassic mass extinction: 11,000 Gt CO2 worth of climate change led to microbial plagues that killed the world’s forests

New research shows an example of a missing link between climatic disruptions and biodiversity decline: killer microbes.

Soils don´t need warming to add another positive climate feedback

We recently reported on a possible negative carbon feedback of forest soils in higher latitudes: when such soils warm, nutrient availability may increase, as would (therefore) biomass production and CO2 uptake. But not all climate feedbacks operate through temperature. It … Continue reading

Extrapolating lab study on yeast: species may evolve around deadly environmental change within 50-100 generations

If however survival conditions are optimal, like a gradual increase of the environmental stressor, ‘modest’ inter-population contact – and indeed if such extrapolation from a microorganism to a blue whale would be as legitimate as the researchers in their Science … Continue reading