Among the repercussions of global climate change, the effect of ocean acidification on marine life is one of the least-understood variables.

Space & Earth - Environment

Feb 22, 2012 4.3 / 5 (11) 7 |

(PhysOrg.com) -- Tropical sea cucumbers could play a key role in saving coral reefs from the devastating effects of climate change, say scientists at One Tree Island, the University of Sydney's research station ...

Space & Earth - Environment

Jan 31, 2012 5 / 5 (4) 1

Recent carbon dioxide emissions have pushed the level of seawater acidity far above the range of the natural variability that existed for thousands of years, affecting the calcification rates of shell-forming ...

Space & Earth - Environment

Jan 22, 2012 4 / 5 (20) 29 |

Coral reefs are extremely diverse ecosystems that support enormous biodiversity. But they are at risk. Carbon dioxide emissions are acidifying the ocean, threatening reefs and other marine organisms. New research led by Carnegie's ...

Space & Earth - Earth Sciences

Dec 22, 2011 5 / 5 (1) 0 |

In the greenhouse business, organic and inorganic growing substrates are chosen for the physical and chemical properties necessary to support specific crops and growing conditions. One important physical property in substrates ...

Biology - Other

Dec 14, 2011 not rated yet 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Darrel Tremaine has been known to go to extremes for his research, such as crawling on his hands and knees through a dark, muddy limestone cave in Northwest Florida to learn more about the ...

Space & Earth - Earth Sciences

Dec 06, 2011 4 / 5 (2) 0

One of the first tasks for Warwick's new super computer is to use its monster megabytes to analyse the natural properties of the tiny mollusc shell.

Technology - Computer Sciences

Nov 29, 2011 not rated yet 0

Observations at submarine springs found along the coast of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula are giving scientists a preview of the possible fate of coral reef ecosystems in response to ocean acidification.

Space & Earth - Environment

Nov 28, 2011 5 / 5 (2) 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- In nature, the strength of mother-of-pearl is a key to survival for some shellfish. Now a team led by Xiaodong Li, an engineering professor at the University of South Carolina, has posited an explanation ...

Nanotechnology - Nanomaterials

Nov 14, 2011 4.8 / 5 (6) 3 |

(PhysOrg.com) -- Sometimes nature cannot be improved upon. One example is in the synthesis of nanomaterials, which in the laboratory or factory generally requires toxic chemicals and extreme conditions of ...

Nanotechnology - Nanomaterials

Oct 27, 2011 4.8 / 5 (4) 0 |

A team of researchers from the Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB) have developed an interactive global map of corals and zooxanthellae as part of a hybrid web application titled GeoSymbio. This application provides global-scale biological and ...

Space & Earth - Environment

Oct 26, 2011 5 / 5 (1) 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have successfully created synthetic crystals whose structures and properties mimic those of naturally occurring biominerals such as seashells.

Nanotechnology - Nanomaterials

Sep 06, 2011 4.5 / 5 (4) 1 |

Hard tissues of organisms, such as bones and shells, are composed of inorganic minerals (biominerals). While these substances are created by biomineralization, which will be discussed later, many uncertainties ...

Nanotechnology - Nanophysics

Sep 05, 2011 5 / 5 (1) 0

A Researcher at the Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology, an organized research unit in the University of Hawai'i at Manoa's School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology has come up with a new explanation for the effects ...

Space & Earth - Environment

Aug 30, 2011 3.5 / 5 (4) 4

Many marine organisms, including corals, build skeletons from calcium carbonate -- in the form of calcite or aragonite. The current composition of seawater favors the formation of aragonite -- but soft corals have a specific ...

Chemistry - Biochemistry

Aug 16, 2011 not rated yet 0