Sponges recycle carbon to give life to coral reefs
Coral reefs support some of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet, yet they thrive in a marine desert. So how do reefs sustain their thriving populations? view more (2009-11-13)
A Potential Anti-cancer Agent
Pateamine A (PatA), a natural product first isolated from marine sponges, has attracted considerable attention as a potential anti-cancer agent, and now a new activity has been found for it, which may reveal yet another anti-cancer mechanism. view more (2009-11-03)
HyBIS explores the Casablanca seamount
In October, the hydraulic benthic interactive sampler HyBIS maintained by the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton (NOCS) made ten dives over the Casablanca Seamount, a four-kilometre high seamount located some 300 miles west of Morocco. view more (2009-11-02)
UT Knoxville and ORNL researchers reveal key to how bacteria clear mercury pollution
Mercury pollution is a persistent problem in the environment. Human activity has lead to increasingly large accumulations of the toxic chemical, especially in waterways, where fish and shellfish tend to act as sponges for the heavy metal. view more (2009-10-02)
NOAA and partners to survey marine life at USS Monitor wreck site
NOAA will participate in a private research expedition to study marine life living on and around the wreck of the USS Monitor. view more (2009-08-10)
Bird Feathers Produce Color Through Structure Similar to Beer Foam
Some of the brightest colors in nature are created by tiny nanostructures with a structure similar to beer foam or a sponge, according to Yale University researchers. view more (2009-04-06)
Early family ties: No sponge in the human family tree
Since the days of Charles Darwin, researchers are interested in reconstructing the "Tree of Life", and in understanding the development of animal and plant species during their evolutionary history. view more (2009-04-03)
New Deep-Sea Coral Discovered on NOAA-Supported Mission
Scientists identified seven new species of bamboo coral discovered on a NOAA-funded mission in the deep waters of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. view more (2009-03-06)
Seamounts may serve as refuges for deep-sea animals that struggle to survive elsewhere
Over the last two decades, marine biologists have discovered lush forests of deep-sea corals and sponges growing on seamounts (underwater mountains) offshore of the California coast. It has generally been assumed that many of these animals live only on seamounts, and are found nowhere else. view more (2009-02-12)
Researchers find earliest evidence for animal life
An international team of scientists from UC Riverside, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and other institutions has found the oldest evidence for animals in the fossil record. view more (2009-02-05)
Fossil steroids record the advent of earliest known animals
Using compounds preserved in sedimentary rocks more than 635 million years old, researchers have found some of the earliest evidence for the existence of animals. view more (2009-02-05)
Voracious sponges save reef
Tropical oceans are known as the deserts of the sea. And yet this unlikely environment is the very place where the rich and fertile coral reef grows. Dutch researcher Jasper de Goeij investigated how caves in the coral reef ensure the reef's continued existence. view more (2009-01-14)
Scientists uncover evolutionary keys to common birth disorders
The work of Forsyth scientist Peter Jezewski, DDS, Ph.D., has revealed that duplication and diversification of protein regions ('modules') within ancient master control genes is key to the understanding of certain birth disorders. view more (2009-01-14)
Revealing the evolutionary history of threatened sea turtles
It's confirmed: Even though flatback turtles dine on fish, shrimp, and mollusks, they are closely related to primarily herbivorous green sea turtles. view more (2008-10-16)
Beavers: Dam good for songbirds
The songbird has a friend in the beaver. According to a study by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), the busy beaver's signature dams provide critical habitat for a variety of migratory songbirds, particularly in the semi-arid interior of the West. view more (2008-10-09)
MSU study: Girls have harder time than boys adjusting in language-learning environment
Girls who don't share a common language may have more difficulty adjusting socially than boys, according to surprising new Michigan State University research looking at language acquisition among young children. view more (2008-10-07)
Metal-organic frameworks feel the pressure of Argonne scientists
Scientists at U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National laboratory are putting the pressure on metal-organic frameworks (MOF). view more (2008-09-26)
Trichoplax genome sequenced -- 'rosetta stone' for understanding evolution
Yale molecular and evolutionary biologists in collaboration with Department of Energy scientists produced the full genome sequence of Trichoplax, one of nature's most primitive multicellular organisms, providing a new insight into the evolution of all higher animals. view more (2008-09-04)
Crossed (Evolutionary) Signals?
What do humans and single-celled choanoflagellates have in common? More than you'd think. New research into the choanoflagellate genome shows these ancient organisms have similar levels of proteins that cells in more complex organisms, including humans, use to communicate with each other. view more (2008-07-02)
Brown-led study rearranges some branches on animal tree of life
A study led by Brown University biologist Casey Dunn uses new genomics tools to answer old questions about animal evolution. The study is the most comprehensive animal phylogenomic research project to date, involving 40 million base pairs of new DNA data taken from 29 animal species. view more (2008-03-06)
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