Earth

As the largest single chunk of melting snow and ice in the world, the massive ice sheet that covers about 80 percent of Greenland is recognized as the biggest potential contributor to rising sea levels due to glacial meltwater.

Until now, however, scientists' attention has mostly focused on the ice sheet's aquamarine lakes -- bodies of meltwater that tend to abruptly drain -- and on monster chunks of ice that slide into the ocean to become icebergs.

Bisphenol A, known as BPA, is used around the world in consumer products, including household plastics. In response to public concerns, many manufacturers have replaced BPA with a chemical called bisphenol S (BPS), which is often labeled as "BPA-free" and presumed to be safer.

In a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), Deborah Kurrasch of the University of Calgary and colleagues write up their study showing that BPA and BPS cause alterations in brain development leading to hyperactivity in zebrafish.

Interbreeding of two malaria mosquito species in the West African country of Mali has resulted in a "super mosquito" hybrid that's resistant to insecticide-treated bed nets.

Sex or no sex? Using various species of the evening primrose (Oenothera) as his model, Jesse Hollister, a former University of Toronto post-doctoral fellow, and his colleagues have demonstrated strong support for a theory that biologists have long promoted: species that reproduce sexually, rather than asexually, are healthier over time, because they don't accumulate harmful mutations.

Land-based plants respond to hormones in order to survive and it was once assumed that such hormone signaling machinery only existed in these relatively complex plants but new research shows that some types of freshwater algae can also detect ethylene gas - the same stress hormone found in land plants - and might use these signals to adapt to changing environmental conditions.

A team of scientists has identified how a "sixth sense" in fish allows them to detect flows of water, which helps resolve a long-standing mystery about how these aquatic creatures respond to their environment. The work in Physical Review Letters illustrates how sensory systems evolve in accordance with physical principles while also offering a framework for understanding how sensory networks are structured.

After wild teosinte grass was first domesticated in southern Mexico, maize, commonly called corn, took both a high road and a coastal low road as it moved into what is now the U.S. Southwest, reports an international research team which did DNA analysis of corn cobs dating back over 4,000 years and provides the most comprehensive tracking to date of the origin and evolution of maize in the Southwest and settles a long debate over whether maize moved via an upland or coastal route into the U.S.

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 in a combined one-two punch in lakes.

A new analysis suggests that large-scale wave energy systems developed in the Pacific Northwest could provide steady, dependable energy and be integrated into the overall energy grid at lower costs than other forms of alternative energy, like wind power.

Up to 10% of adults living in developed countries fish for food and recreation, they are not commercial fishermen. In the Mediterranean Sea that could be up to 10% of the total production of fisheries. Commercial fishing gets a lot of attention because it is a well-monitored and well-managed industry but a new study says recreational fishing and the authors are demanding greater control.

Researchers have looked at a species of fish to help unravel one of the biggest mysteries in evolutionary biology.

In many species of plants and animals, individuals from the same population often come in different color variants. But the mystery has remained as to why one color doesn't eventually replace the other through natural selection.

Research published in the Journal of Evolutionary Biology has looked at a species of Central American freshwater fish to look at how different colors are maintained in the species.

After a forest fire burns a large swath across timberlands, logging companies often are not far behind. They come in to do what is called salvage logging--salvaging the timber that has not been completely destroyed by the fire.

It sounds like a good idea, since even the timber from burned trees can be used for lumber. Economic benefit can come from otherwise devastated land. Even the name has a warm, fuzzy ring to it: salvage logging.

The only problem is, the ecological effects are unknown.

The global warming that has not occurred over the last 15 years has been partly caused by small volcanic eruptions, according to two papers by researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

The heated national debate on complex issues related to costs of health care was ignited by the implementation the Affordable Health Care Act (ACA) in January 2014. There is no national system that adequately records and quantifies the wide range of issues related to health care costs, so the arguments have been based primarily on undocumented opinion.

Food items are covered in plastic to make them last longer and protect them from microbes but there are concerns about environmental impact due to use of this material. Plastic bottles and films take between 100 and 400 years to degrade, so the quest for alternative materials to plastics is an environmental priority.