News by Subject Earth Science

Methane released by thawing permafrost from some Arctic lakes could significantly accelerate climate change, according to a new University of Alaska Fairbanks-led study.

China and UK scientists investigated the effect of model resolution on the mei-yu rainfall projection using the Hadley Centre's latest climate model, HadGEM3-GC2. The investigation highlights the need of high resolution models in future climate change projections.

In a study published in Behavioral Ecology researchers from Uppsala University show that the same type of sperm is not always the best for all male birds. Depending on how attractive or dominant you are you might be more successful with longer or shorter sperm.

Scientists at Tokyo Institute of Technology have identified two proteins that allow plants to respond to changes in surrounding light conditions and thereby make photosynthesis more efficient.

Scientists have confirmed that the 3.4 billion year old Strelley Pool microfossils had chemical characteristics similar to modern bacteria. This all but confirms their biological origin and ranks them amongst the world's oldest microfossils. The work is presented at the Goldschmidt geochemistry conference in Boston, with simultaneous publication in the peer-reviewed journal Geochemical Perspectives Letters.

An international consortium has completed the sequence of wheat's colossal genome.

Lab-based mimicry allowed an international team of physicists including Carnegie's Alexander Goncharov to probe hydrogen under the conditions found in the interiors of giant planets -- where experts believe it gets squeezed until it becomes a liquid metal, capable of conducting electricity.