Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics
- Planets
Planets with hydrogen skies could harbor life
Microbes can live in a hydrogen atmosphere. This points to new space worlds that host alien life.
- Animals
When prey get scarce, these jellies become cannibals
Invasive comb jellies may feast on their larvae if massive population booms in summer deplete their prey.
- Tech
Our gut microbes love a good workout
Technology shows how microbes in the body respond to exercise. That helps scientists understand why those microbes keep athletes healthy.
- Environment
Pesticides can have long-term impact on bumblebee learning
Pesticide-laced nectar and pollen can permanently harm the brains of baby bumblebees.
- Animals
Minecraft’s big bees don’t exist, but giant insects once did
Big bees buzz in Minecraft. In our world, blocky bees might starve and be stuck on the ground. Yet long ago, giant insects did roam our planet.
- Animals
Mice show their feelings on their faces
Pleasure, pain, fear and disgust — all can show on a mouse’s face. As computational analyses show, you just need to know what to look for.
- Health & Medicine
How to find the next pandemic virus before it finds us
Wild animals carry viruses that can sicken people. Monitoring those viral hosts that pose the greatest risk might help prevent a new pandemic.
- Animals
Lots of frogs and salamanders have a secret glow
A widespread ability to glow in brilliant colors could make amphibians easier to track down in the wild.
- Microbes
Check out the communities of bacteria living on your tongue
Bacteria scraped off the tongue offer a window into how the microbes structure their communities.
- Health & Medicine
Antibodies from former COVID-19 patients could become a medicine
The experimental treatment uses antibodies from the blood plasma of COVID-19 survivors. It may prevent disease in other people or help treat the sick.
- Environment
Greener than burial? Turning human bodies into worm food
Composting human bodies yielded good results — and good soil — in one small study. It could become an alternative to burial or cremation in one state.
- Animals
Conservation is going to the dogs
Scientists are now training dogs to help track rare, elusive — and sometimes invasive — plants and animals.
