Nature

As noted in the publication, the summer “dead” zone, which will be larger than average in size, will cover an area of about 15 thousand square kilometres and endanger marine life in the area. It is noted that these areas, also known as hypoxic areas, are areas with a significant lack of oxygen in the water, which can lead to massive fish kills and also endanger other marine life.

These “dead zones” appear every summer, but this year they should be particularly large. Their appearance is triggered by excess nutrients in the water amid human activity in the Mississippi and Atchafalaya River watershed. In May, the U.S. Geological Survey reported that discharges into these rivers were 5 percent higher than the average for the period from 1980 to 2023.

Pages: 1 2

When damaged or attacked by parasites, plants release chemical distress signals. Other flora can react to these signals to protect themselves. Sometimes such signals attract other insects. Tomatoes, for example, use their secretions to lure wasps that feed on caterpillars and lay eggs in them (which also guarantees the caterpillars’ death).

Pages: 1 2

The head of Visit Iceland, Oddni Arnarsdottir, said that the authorities had reorganised the safe zones in the region and based on this it had been decided that the lagoon could be reopened to tourists. Thus, hundreds of travellers have bathed at a geothermal resort overlooking the volcano’s erupting crater.

Pages: 1 2

This “last of the Mohicans” was male, and therefore all the descendants, which are now only found in botanical gardens, are also male. Scientists are trying to revive the species through natural reproduction, but in this case there is a problem: no female plants for pollination have been found.

To make the search more efficient, researchers are using drones, flying them over the Ngoye forest, which has not yet been 100 per cent studied. The drones are equipped with multispectral cameras to scan thousands of acres of forest. The drones have recently captured over 15,000 images of the vegetation, and that’s just the beginning.

Pages: 1 2

For the novelty, the researchers used thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) and specially modified Bacillus subtilis bacteria that can tolerate high temperatures (up to 135 Celsius).

Unlike previous attempts to decompose plastics using enzymes from microorganisms and fungi, the new product decomposes thanks to the spores of the bacteria it contains.

Pages: 1 2