Microbiologists discover enigmatic comammox microbes

Nitrification plays a key role in Earth's natural nitrogen cycle and in agriculture. Now an international team of scientists led by Holger Daims and Michael Wagner, microbiologists at the University of Vienna, has discovered ...

Tree domination of the world's savannas may slow down

Savannas are becoming increasingly woodier as trees gain the upper hand over grasses in these ecosystems, but this encroachment may proceed more slowly than previously thought, new University of Otago-led research suggests.

Nitrogen loss in soils unearthed

Researchers from The University of Western Australia have challenged the current understanding about which microorganisms carry out important nitrogen transformations in semi-arid agricultural soils.

Early Titan was a cold, hostile place for life

Titan is a mysterious orange-socked moon of Saturn that is exciting to astrobiologists because it has some of the same kinds of chemicals that were precursors to life on Earth. It also has a hydrological cycle that allows ...

Uncovering diversity in an invisible ocean world

Plankton are vital to life on Earth—they absorb carbon dioxide, generate nearly half of the oxygen we breathe, break down waste, and are a cornerstone of the marine food chain. Now, new research indicates the diminutive ...

Algae blooms create their own favorable conditions, study finds

Fertilizers are known to promote the growth of toxic cyanobacterial blooms in freshwater and oceans worldwide, but a new multi-institution study shows the aquatic microbes themselves can drive nitrogen and phosphorus cycling ...

page 8 from 14