New source of global nitrogen discovered

For centuries, the prevailing science has indicated that all of the nitrogen on Earth available to plants comes from the atmosphere. But a study from the University of California, Davis, indicates that more than a quarter ...

New type of symbiosis: Bacteria eat ammonia in fish gills

Microbiologists and fish researchers from Radboud University have discovered an entirely new type of symbiosis: bacteria in the gills of fish that convert harmful ammonia into harmless nitrogen gas. Environmental Microbiology ...

Researchers assess effects of a world awash in nitrogen

Humans are having an effect on Earth's ecosystems but it's not just the depletion of resources and the warming of the planet we are causing. Now you can add an over-abundance of nitrogen as another "footprint" humans are ...

New proxy reveals how humans have disrupted the nitrogen cycle

More and more, scientists are getting a better grip on the nitrogen cycle. They are learning about sources of nitrogen and how this element changes as it loops from the nonliving, such as the atmosphere, soil or water, to ...