These freeze-drying algae can awaken from cryostasis, and could help spaceflights go farther
Antarctica's McMurdo Dry Valleys contain some of Earth's coldest and driest deserts. The environment there is so extreme that the Dry Valleys have been used as Mars analogs to test prototype equipment for future Mars exploration......»»
Microscopic vehicles propelled by swimming green algae could assist biological and environmental research
Researchers have created tiny, vehiclelike structures that can be maneuvered by microscopic algae. The algae are caught in baskets attached to the micromachines, which have been carefully designed to allow them enough room to continue swimming......»»
New vestiges of the first life on Earth discovered in Saudi Arabia
Stromatolites are the earliest geological record of life on Earth. These curious biotic structures are made of algae carpets growing toward the light and precipitating carbonates. After their first appearance 3.48 Ga ago, stromatolites dominated the.....»»
Unexpected source of nutrients fuels growth of toxic algae from Lake Erie
Climate change, such as warming and changes in precipitation patterns, affects the frequency and severity of harmful algal blooms (HABs) globally, including those of toxin-producing cyanobacteria that can contaminate drinking water......»»
Egypt’s Famed Pyramids Overlooked a Long-Lost Branch of the Nile
A former stretch of the Nile River, now buried beneath the Sahara Desert, may help scientists understand how Egyptians built the pyramids and adapted to a drying landscape.....»»
Microsoft working on Word for Mac freeze fix, here are two workarounds
Over the last couple of months, we’ve seen more and more Mac users deal with serious lag and freezing in Microsoft Word. Now a Microsoft employee has confirmed a fix is in the works as well as recommending a workaround while we wait. more….....»»
Uncovering new details on antibiotic resistance from 1940s milk samples
Sometime in the 1940s or so, someone in what is now the Department of Pathobiology and Veterinary Science got a lyophilizer, a piece of equipment that freeze-dries samples, says Director of the Connecticut Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory (CV.....»»
New insights into the degradation dynamics of organic material in the seafloor
The long-term deposition of organic material in sediments on the ocean floor is a key process in the global carbon cycle. The question of whether, from a chemical perspective, the deposited material is more similar to marine algae or the microorganis.....»»
Comparison of four methods on drying efficiency and physicochemical properties of chicken meat
Chicken breast jerky (CBJ) is a popular pet food due to its high crude protein content and long shelf life. In the production of CBJ, the drying process is a crucial step. However, the physicochemical and functional properties of CBJ depend on the dr.....»»
Researchers find that refrigerating or air-drying soil samples for future studies retains important microbial details
Post-doctoral researcher Joe Edwards and graduate student Sarah Love, both in the University of Tennessee at Knoxville's Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, have published published findings this spring that can save fellow researchers a.....»»
Phycologists discover what makes some brown algae shimmer and others not
Compartments of consistently sized, tightly packed microspheres are what makes some brown algae shimmer like opal. The Kobe University discovery not only sheds light on the mechanism behind the alga's structural coloration, it is also the first to sp.....»»
Researchers shed new light on carboxysomes in key discovery that could boost photosynthesis
A research team led by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has discovered how carboxysomes—carbon-fixing structures found in some bacteria and algae—work. The breakthrough could help scientists redesign and repurpose the st.....»»
Supplementing diet for farmed abalones to manipulate greenlip abalone lip and shell color
A mixed diet including native algae gives Australia's prized cultured abalone the colors and appearance preferred by lucrative Asian markets, new research shows......»»
Freeze casting—a guide to creating hierarchically structured materials
Freeze casting is an elegant, cost-effective manufacturing technique to produce highly porous materials with custom-designed hierarchical architectures, well-defined pore orientation, and multifunctional surface structures. Freeze-cast materials are.....»»
The Aral Sea has made Central Asia significantly dustier, according to study
The drying up of the Aral Sea has made Central Asia 7% dustier in the last 30 years. Between 1984 and 2015, dust emissions from the growing desert almost doubled from 14 to 27 million tons. This is the result of a study by the Leibniz Institute for T.....»»
Discovery of bacterial proteins that induce asexual reproduction in insects
From microbes in the human gut to symbiotic algae in coral reefs, research in recent decades has increasingly revealed the pivotal roles that microorganisms (or microbial species) play in shaping the biology of host organisms and of broader ecosystem.....»»
Researchers discover previously unknown gene that indirectly promotes photosynthesis in blue-green algae
Cyanobacteria—also called blue-green algae—are known as the "plants of the ocean" because they carry out photosynthesis on a gigantic scale, produce oxygen and extract the greenhouse gas CO2 from the environment. However, to do this they need add.....»»
Developing nutrient-rich fertilizer from toxic ammonia
Researchers have recently found out how to use algae to convert ammonia and nitrates into a nutrient-rich fertilizer or fish feed ingredients......»»
Rising sea surface temperatures have led to profound changes in macroalgae communities over the last 40 years: Study
A study conducted off the coast of Biscay shows that cold-affinity algae species are gradually being replaced by warm-affinity ones......»»
Researchers bring 60-year-old dormant algae cells to life
New research at Åbo Akademi University, Finland, has managed to circumvent previous challenges in finding out how microalgae adapt to global warming by studying up to 60-year-old microalgae cells from the Archipelago Sea. Some microalgae form restin.....»»
Researchers explain how green algae and bacteria together contribute to climate protection
A research team at Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Germany has now found a bacterium that forms a team with a green alga. Both microorganisms support each other in their growth. Additionally, the bacterium helps the microalga to neutralize the to.....»»