Diatoms — unicellular organisms — have long been known to science, but their overwhelming appetite for nitrate is a new discovery made in a global survey. Nitrate is a nutrient, widely used as fertilizer in agriculture, and today, nitrate concentrations in Earths aquatic systems are a lot higher than in pre-industrial times. – There is … Read more
A method to convert a commonly thrown-away plastic to a resin used in 3D-printing could allow for making better use of plastic waste. A team of Washington State University researchers developed a simple and efficient way to convert polylactic acid (PLA), a bio-based plastic used in products such as filament, plastic silverware and food packaging … Read more
Steel rusts by water and air on the Earth’s surface. But what about deep inside the Earth’s interior? The Earth’s core is the largest carbon storage on Earth — roughly 90% is buried there. Scientists have shown that the oceanic crust that sits on top of tectonic plates and falls into the interior, through subduction, … Read more
Understanding how forests are responding to climate change is critical to planning effective forest management and climate policy. A new study out today in the first issue of Environmental Research: Ecology, published by IOP Publishing, assessed effects of past and current climate variability on global forest productivity. The work highlights sensitive regions where forests may … Read more