physorg.com:Spotlight stories

Researchers use nanotechnology to develop new treatment for endometriosis Scientists have developed a precise, nanotechnology-based treatment to alleviate the pain and fertility problems associated with endometriosis, a common gynecological condition in women of childbearing age.
Lifestyle trumps geography in determining makeup of gut microbiome Apes in U.S. zoos host bacterial communities in their intestinal tracts that are more similar to those of people who eat a non-Western diet than to the gut makeup of their wild ape cousins, according to a new study from Washington University in St. Louis. Further, even wild apes that have never encountered antibiotics harbor microbes with antibiotic resistance genes.
Great Barrier Reef suffers worst-ever coral bleaching: scientists Australia's Great Barrier Reef has suffered its most widespread coral bleaching on record, scientists said Tuesday in a dire warning about the threat posed by climate change to the world's largest living organism.
Catch this week's supermoon, biggest and brightest of year A supermoon rises in the sky this week, looking to be the biggest and brightest of the year.
More pavement, more flooding problems Think your daily coffee, boutique gym membership and airport lounge access cost a lot? There may be an additional, hidden cost to those luxuries of urban living, says a new Johns Hopkins University study: more flooding.
Innovative birds are less vulnerable to extinction Bird species that have the capacity to express novel foraging behaviours are less vulnerable to extinction than species that do not, according to a collaborative study involving McGill University and CREAF Barcelona and published today in Nature Ecology & Evolution.
Scientists' warning to humanity on insect extinctions Some of the tiniest creatures on the planet are vital for the environment. But there is a worldwide fall in insect numbers after an accelerating rate of extinction.
Societal transformations and resilience in Arabia across 12,000 years of climate change Today, the Arabian Peninsula is one of the most arid regions in the world. But its climate has not always been the same, and the past has seen both greater aridity and more humidity at different points in time. As a region at risk of water stress in a heating world, Arabia is of significant interest to scientists studying climate change.
The ocean's 'biological pump' captures more carbon than expected Every spring in the Northern Hemisphere, the ocean surface erupts in a massive bloom of phytoplankton. Like plants, these single-celled floating organisms use photosynthesis to turn light into energy, consuming carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen in the process. When phytoplankton die or are eaten by zooplankton, the carbon-rich fragments sinks deeper into the ocean, where it is, in turn, eaten by other creatures or buried in sediments. This process is key to the "biological carbon pump," an important part of the global carbon cycle.
Climate change encouraged colonisation of South Pacific Islands earlier than first thought Research led by scientists at the University of Southampton has found settlers arrived in East Polynesia around 200 years earlier than previously thought.
Indigenous knowledge could reveal ways to weather climate change on islands Some islands have such low elevation, that mere inches of sea-level rise will flood them, but higher, larger islands will also be affected by changes in climate and an understanding of ancient practices in times of climate change might help populations survive, according to researchers.
Sulfur 'spices' alien atmospheres They say variety is the spice of life, and now new discoveries from Johns Hopkins researchers suggest that a certain elemental 'variety'—sulfur—is indeed a 'spice' that can perhaps point to signs of life.
The Milky Way's satellites help reveal link between dark matter halos and galaxy formation Just as the sun has planets and the planets have moons, our galaxy has satellite galaxies, and some of those might have smaller satellite galaxies of their own. To wit, the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), a relatively large satellite galaxy visible from the Southern Hemisphere, is thought to have brought at least six of its own satellite galaxies with it when it first approached the Milky Way, based on recent measurements from the European Space Agency's Gaia mission.
The ocean responds to a warming planet We're familiar with how climate change is impacting the ocean's biology, from bleaching events that cause coral die-offs to algae blooms that choke coastal marine ecosystems, but it's becoming clear that a warming planet is also impacting the physics of ocean circulation.
Climate change to affect fish sizes and complex food webs Global climate change will affect fish sizes in unpredictable ways and, consequently, impact complex food webs in our oceans, a new IMAS-led study has shown.