Symbiotic fungi can save farm crops during droughts
What should farmers do to deal with disappearing water? Add fungi to the soil! This recent study sheds light on the use of mycorrhizae to…
Category: Environment
How storms may contribute to groundwater contamination in karst systems
Researchers found that minerals from rocks deposited in karst aquifers during storms comes in two waves.
Can cigarette butts on the beach influence the local environment?
A study of burned and unburned cigarettes found that water chemistry and microbes living in Mediterranean beach sediments changed after 4…
What can microbes teach us about life in extreme environments?
Microbes on Earth have adapted to survive in some pretty extreme locations. The extreme dryness of deserts, high salinity in salt deposits,…
Fungi influence the recovery of pollutants in the environment
Researchers found a hidden selenium cycle tied to manganese oxide minerals made by common soil fungi.
Tiny green organisms could have a big impact on polluted environments
Can photosynthetic organisms help clean up contamination? New research from @DominiqueChaput, @biominerals, @RadicalMicrobe & authors…
Microbe lasagna tells us about what life was like billions of years ago
Sort of like a fossilized microbial lasagna, fossils called “stromatolites” are formed when layered communities of different types of…
Contaminants in groundwater can take over 20 years to break down
Have you ever driven past an old factory building and wondered what ever happened to the harsh chemicals that were used there? If you…
Mining with acid-generating bacteria
Sulfuric acid production by sulfur-oxidizing bacteria may be a solution to a long standing mining problem.
Dying coral reefs spring forward with new life
Our coral reef ecosystems, often called “underwater rainforests,” are quickly changing. Coral reefs are elaborate and complex ecosystems…