New findings explain how soil traps plant-based carbon

When carbon molecules from plants enter the soil, they hit a definitive fork in the road. Either the carbon gets trapped in the soil for days or even years, where it is effectively sequestered from immediately entering the ...

Microbes are 'active engineers' in Earth's rock-to-life cycle

The name "critical zone" may give off 1980s action thriller vibes, but it's the term scientists use to refer to the area of Earth's land surface responsible for sustaining life. A relatively small portion of the planetary ...

Scientists begin studying 50-year-old frozen Apollo 17 samples

Scientists at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, recently received samples of the lunar surface that have been curated in a freezer at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston since Apollo 17 astronauts ...

Winds spread PFAS pollution far from a manufacturing facility

Concerns about environmental and health risks of some fluorinated carbon compounds used to make non-stick coatings and fire-fighting foams have prompted manufacturers to develop substitutes, but these replacements are increasingly ...

How soil microbes help plants resist disease

Plants can't self-isolate during a disease outbreak, but they can get help from a friend—beneficial soil microbes help plants ward off a wide range of diseases. Now, Texas A&M AgriLife scientists have uncovered a major ...

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