“A huge raft of pumice created by an underwater volcano is floating toward Australia, and it could help the Great Barrier Reef recover from bleaching,” reports Weather.com: The pumice raft is about 60 square miles — almost as big as Washington D.C. Scientists say it was formed earlier this month by an underwater volcano near Tonga, some 2,000 miles east of…
Tag: algae
Nieves penitentes and Earth’s shadow
“Nieves penitentes” is Spanish for “penitent-shaped snows.” These ice structures form in extreme conditions of high elevation, high solar radiation, low humidity, and dry winds. Source: https://earthsky.org/todays-image/photo-nieves-penitentes-and-earths-shadow…
Snow algae thrives in some of Earth’s most extreme conditions
A new study found snow algae in tall ice structures high in the Chilean Andes. Researchers don’t entirely understand how the algae are able to bloom. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/snow-algae-thrives-extreme-conditions…
Image: Hubble’s portrait of star’s gaseous glow
Although it looks more like an entity seen through a microscope than a telescope, this rounded object, named NGC 2022, is certainly not algae or tiny, blobby jellyfish. Instead, it is a vast orb of gas in space, cast off by an aging star. The star is visible in the orb’s center, shining through the gases it formerly held onto for…
Large 2019 dead zone in Gulf of Mexico
This year’s Gulf of Mexico dead zone of oxygen-depleted waters is the 8th largest ever recorded. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/dead-zone-gulf-of-mexico-2019…
This is the first fungus known to host complex algae inside its cells
In the lab, an alga and a fungus teamed up to exchange food, similar to lichens. But instead of staying outside, the alga moved into the fungal cells. Source: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/first-fungus-known-host-complex-algae-inside-its-cells4…
Scientists Could Use Aerogel Sheets To Make Mars Surface Fit For Farming
Scientists believe aerogel sheets could transform the cold, arid surface of Mars into land fit for farming. The Guardian reports: The “aerogel” sheets work by mimicking Earth’s greenhouse effect, where energy from the sun is trapped on the planet by carbon dioxide and other gases. Spread out in the right places on Mars, the sheets would warm the ground and melt…
Scientists 3D-Print Human Skin and Bone For Mars Astronauts
Scientists from the University Hospital of Dresden Technical University in Germany have successfully bio-printed skin and bone samples upside down to help determine if the method could be used in a low-gravity environment. CNET reports: The skin sample was printed using human blood plasma as a “bio ink.” The researchers added plant and algae-based materials to increase the viscosity so it…
Ice spires hint at potential for life on Pluto
The existence of algae high up in the Andes Mountains hints at the possibility of life on distant, icy worlds. Wherever there is liquid water, there i… Source: https://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/news/328921/ice-spires-hint-at-potential-for-life-on-pluto…
9000 km belt of seaweed spanning the Atlantic threatens marine life
A massive 9000-kilometre-stretch of algae spanning between west Africa and the Gulf of Mexico is threatening marine life and ecosystems Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/9000-9000-km-belt-of-seaweed-spanning-the-atlantic-threatens-marine-life/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…