https://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Scientists have found that different populations of a plant species, which is closely related to many crops of worldwide importance, use very different strategies to adapt to environmental changes, which gives experts new options to engineer crops to better survive climate change and tackle future food security. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-species-methods-extreme-environments.html Plants & Animals Evolution Thu, 26 Sep 2024 11:29:04 EDT news646568941 There's a link between Earth's ocean salinity and its climate. Salinity can have a dramatic effect on the climate of any Earth-like planet orbiting a sun-like star. But what about exoplanets around M-dwarfs? https://phys.org/news/2024-08-ocean-salinity-affects-earth-climate.html Planetary Sciences Mon, 19 Aug 2024 14:11:04 EDT news643295461 Soil salt concentrations above the optimal threshold for plant growth can threaten global food security by compromising agricultural productivity and crop quality. An analysis published in Physiologia Plantarum has examined the potential of nanomaterials—which have emerged over the past decade as a promising tool to mitigate such "salinity stress"—to address this challenge. https://phys.org/news/2024-08-nanomaterials-tolerance-high-soil-salt.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 07 Aug 2024 03:00:01 EDT news642180827 When it comes to inland surface water bodies, saline lakes are unique. They make up 44% of all lakes worldwide and are found on every continent including Antarctica. These lakes' existence depends on a delicate balance between a river basin's water input (precipitation and inflows) and output (evaporation and seepage). https://phys.org/news/2024-07-saline-lakes-canary-coalmine-world.html Earth Sciences Environment Fri, 12 Jul 2024 09:59:39 EDT news639997176 Scientists at the University of Malaga have shown, in an unprecedented way, how the so-called "elephant graveyard" of the Early Pleistocene archaeological site of Orce—a name given due to the amount of remains of the extinct elephant species Mammuthus meridionalis that it contained—hid a natural trap in quicksand. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-scientists-natural-quicksand-dated-million.html Ecology Thu, 11 Jul 2024 12:56:53 EDT news639921411 Soil salinization poses a threat to global agricultural production, food security and sustainable development. Affected by China's population growth and social and economic development, China's arable land has been decreasing in recent decades and is close to the critical value of 120 million hectares, the minimum area needed to maintain national food security. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-effectively-saline-alkali-soil-food.html Ecology Agriculture Mon, 08 Jul 2024 14:53:03 EDT news639669181 Researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) have discovered a salt adaptation mechanism in plants that facilitates chloride removal from the roots and enhances salinity tolerance. The work was published in the journal Nature Communications. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-biologists-previously-unknown-salt-tolerance.html Plants & Animals Molecular & Computational biology Mon, 24 Jun 2024 08:21:03 EDT news638436061 A study reveals a novel mechanism in roses where the Tryptophan-rich sensory protein (TSPO) degrades the ethylene receptor ETHYLENE RESPONSE 3 (RhETR3) to enhance salt tolerance. This discovery sheds light on the complex relationship between ethylene signaling and salt stress responses in plants, potentially guiding future agricultural practices to develop salt-resistant crops. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-greenhouse-ethylene-receptor-role-rose.html Plants & Animals Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 06 Jun 2024 13:45:03 EDT news636900301 A team of researchers has developed an approach that maps the soil salt content around the world with an exceptional detail of 10 meters. This advance tackles the pressing need for accurate assessments of soil salinity, a formidable challenge that jeopardizes agricultural productivity and soil vitality on a global scale. https://phys.org/news/2024-04-world-salted-soils-combating-degradation.html Earth Sciences Environment Tue, 09 Apr 2024 16:04:04 EDT news631897442 New findings have revealed a coastal realm highly sensitive to changes in runoff and rainfall on land. https://phys.org/news/2024-04-nasa-el-nio-saltiness-coastal.html Earth Sciences Environment Wed, 03 Apr 2024 13:41:04 EDT news631370461 Sea urchins exposed to diluted seawater for long periods show signs of physical deterioration, according to scientists from the British Antarctic Survey, the University of Cambridge, and the Scottish Association for Marine Science. Their study also found that even slight changes in salinity—or saltiness—trigger changes in urchin behavior as they try to cope with their new conditions. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-rainfall-threatens-uk-sea-urchins.html Plants & Animals Ecology Mon, 12 Feb 2024 17:03:04 EST news626979782 The variability of lake partial carbon dioxide pressure (pCO2) introduces uncertainty into CO2 flux estimates. Knowing the variation pattern of pCO2 is important for obtaining an accurate global estimation. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-china-lake-co8322-flux-spatiotemporal.html Earth Sciences Environment Fri, 02 Feb 2024 12:44:03 EST news626100242 Soil salinity, impacting about 1 billion square hectometers worldwide, significantly hinders crop growth. Plants counteract this through signaling pathways involving molecules such as H2O2 and ABA. NAC transcription factors, which are unique to plants, play a central role in the regulation of these stress responses. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-transcription-factor-key-role-grafted.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Thu, 01 Feb 2024 15:09:03 EST news626022542 Researchers from the UAB and the ICN2 have developed an innovative material to fight against the spread of pathogens, infections and antimicrobial resistance. Inspired by the substances secreted by mussels to adhere to rocks, it can be used as a coating to protect health care fabrics and provides an effective alternative to commonly used materials such as paper, cotton, surgical masks and commercial plasters. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-mussel-antimicrobial-coating-sanitary-fabrics.html Biochemistry Materials Science Thu, 01 Feb 2024 13:33:05 EST news626016782 Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory are using a new modeling framework in conjunction with data collected from marshes in the Mississippi Delta to improve predictions of climate-warming methane and nitrous oxide emissions from soils in coastal ecosystems. Their work has been published in Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-coastal-chemistry-methane.html Earth Sciences Environment Fri, 26 Jan 2024 10:55:02 EST news625488901 Over this wet summer, Melburnians and Sydneysiders have had to think twice about cooling off at their local beach. Heavy rainfall has swollen rivers and pumped pollutants, nutrients and murky fresh water far out to sea. Swimmers at Port Phillip Bay beaches are emerging coated in brown goo, while Sydney's seas were contaminated last week. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-floodwater-sea-meter-thick-layer.html Earth Sciences Environment Tue, 23 Jan 2024 10:22:57 EST news625227774 Europa, one of Jupiter's many moons, may be capable of supporting life because its icy surface likely obscures a deep, salty ocean. Europa's ocean is also in direct contact with its mantle rocks, and interactions between rock, water, and ice could provide energy to sustain life. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-scientists-europa-ocean.html Planetary Sciences Thu, 11 Jan 2024 13:21:54 EST news624201712 The El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is the strongest year-to-year climate variability in the planet, famous for prominent surface warming in the equatorial eastern Pacific known as an El Niño event. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-reveals-salinity-affects-el-nio.html Environment Wed, 15 Nov 2023 12:46:48 EST news619274805 The Makassar Strait throughflow (MST) accounts for approximately 77% of the total volume transport of the Indonesian throughflow (ITF), and it influences mass and heat exchanges between the Indo-Pacific basin and global climate. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-salinity-affects-seasonal-variability-makassar.html Earth Sciences Environment Tue, 14 Nov 2023 12:36:43 EST news619187797 Increased salinity in soils is a global problem caused, for example, by ions leaching into soils from ice-melting salts used on roads in winter or from seawater seepage in coastal areas. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-kind-salt-roads-winter-difference.html Ecology Agriculture Tue, 07 Nov 2023 16:11:04 EST news618595861 Hypersalinity is a condition in which water contains a high concentration of salt. In soft reservoirs, the concentration of salt is not high, and in hypersaline water the percentage of salt is 40% and higher. Hypersalinity is characteristic of salt lakes and bays where fresh water evaporates faster than new water manages to replenish. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-team-bivalve-mollusk-anadara-kagoshimensis.html Plants & Animals Tue, 31 Oct 2023 15:48:02 EDT news617986081 A team of scientists, led by Post-Doctoral Associate Marieh Al-Handawi and Professor of Chemistry Panče Naumov from NYU Abu Dhabi's Smart Materials Lab and NYU Abu Dhabi Institute's Center for Smart Engineering Materials (CSEM) has revealed the mechanism a desert plant native to the United Arab Emirates uses to capture moisture from the desert air in order to survive. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-reveal-common-shrub-efficiently-harvests.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Mon, 30 Oct 2023 15:00:01 EDT news617874110 Increased salinity usually spells trouble for freshwater insects like mayflies. A new study from North Carolina State University finds that the lack of metabolic responses to salinity may explain why some freshwater insects often struggle in higher salinity, while other freshwater invertebrates (like mollusks and crustaceans) thrive. Salinity in this case refers to the concentrations of all the salts in an aquatic environment, not just sodium. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-metabolism-insects-saltier.html Plants & Animals Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 05 Oct 2023 17:18:03 EDT news615745081 When you are driving through a rain storm, traction is key. If your tires lack sufficient tread, your vehicle will slip and slide, and you won't have the grip needed to maneuver safely. When torrential rains hit near-shore, shallow water ecosystems, sea urchins experience a similar challenge. Heavy precipitation can alter the concentration of salt in the ocean waters, causing lower salinity levels. Even a slight change in salinity can affect the ability of sea urchins to securely attach their tube feet to their surroundings—like tires gripping the road. This becomes a matter of life and death for the small spiny creatures, as they rely on their adhesive structures to move in the wave-battered rocky area near the seashore. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-sea-urchins-struggling-climate-ecosystems.html Plants & Animals Ecology Wed, 02 Aug 2023 16:09:13 EDT news610211348 Coastal forests are increasingly exposed to the effects of climate change and sea level rise. However, scientists have an incomplete understanding of what this means for soil stability. An experiment has examined how soil might change when transplanted between parts of a tidal creek that differ in salinity. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-legacy-disturbance-coastal-forest-soil.html Earth Sciences Environment Tue, 18 Jul 2023 16:55:21 EDT news608918118 A groundbreaking study published today reveals the critical yet severely understudied factor of salinity changes in ocean and coastlines caused by climate change. The study was co-authored by an international team of researchers, including Dr. Cliff Ross, University of North Florida biology chair/professor, and Dr. Stacey Trevathan-Tackett, UNF biology graduate program alum and research faculty member at Deakin University in Australia. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-salinity-threatening-marine-ecosystems.html Ecology Thu, 13 Jul 2023 05:46:36 EDT news608445992 CONSTANS (CO), a well-known member of the B-box family, is the major component of the photoperiodically regulated flowering and circadian pathways in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). CO is expressed in various tissues, including seedling roots and young leaves. However, the roles and underlying mechanisms of CO in modulating physiological processes outside of flowering remain unclear. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-constans-protein-negatively-modulates-salinity.html Plants & Animals Agriculture Tue, 04 Jul 2023 05:43:01 EDT news607668150 Biological treatment processes are critical for sewage purification, wherein microbial interactions are tightly associated with treatment performance. Previous studies have focused on assessing how environmental factors (such as salinity) affect the diversity and composition of the microbial community but ignore the connections among microorganisms. To fill this gap, an international team of researchers conducted an in-depth analysis of microbial interactions at elevated salinity in activated sludge systems. https://phys.org/news/2023-06-impacts-elevated-salinity-microbial-interactions.html Ecology Cell & Microbiology Fri, 16 Jun 2023 13:16:03 EDT news606140161 From protecting biodiversity to ensuring the safety of drinking water, the biochemical makeup of rivers and streams around the United States is critical for human and environmental welfare. Studies have found that human activity and urbanization are driving salinization (increased salt content) of freshwater sources across the country. In excess, salinity can make water undrinkable, increase the cost of treating water, and harm freshwater fish and wildlife. https://phys.org/news/2023-06-machine-approach-freshwater-analysis.html Earth Sciences Environment Wed, 14 Jun 2023 16:21:04 EDT news605978461 From water temperature to the regional hydrological cycle: the working group Dynamics of Regional Climate Systems at the Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde has recently succeeded, with the help of regional climate models and the statistical analysis of long-term observations, in identifying a strong influence of the Atlantic on the Baltic Sea region behind the signal of climate change. https://phys.org/news/2023-06-baltic-sea-climate-atlantic-distance.html Earth Sciences Environment Mon, 12 Jun 2023 16:16:23 EDT news605805380