“Give and Receive”: Protecting Our Reef
The Great Barrier Reef is one of the natural wonders of the world, located off the coast of Queensland, Australia. This beauty consists of over 3000 individual reef systems, coral cays, and hundreds of “picturesque tropical islands.” Unfortunately, this Australian treasure is being destroyed at its worst in the last 39 years. However, according to research at CSIRO, it is possible to preserve the Great Barrier Reef for at least another 55 years.
Rapid Thinning of Greenland Ice Sheet Identified by Satellite
A gigantic frozen lake winds between the Greenland mountains blanketed in snow. The European Space Agency (ESA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are using satellites to observe this ice sheet and have noticed a change between 2010 to 2023.
Killer Whales Use Clever Technique to Prey on Whale Sharks
Killer whales have been seen by locals using a unique technique to hunt whale sharks in the Gulf of California.
New Evidence Shows Different Ancient Human Species Coexisted
Over 1.5 million years ago, two early hominin species walked within hours, or days, of each other. Ancient footprint fossils were found by palaeontologist Louise Leakey and her Kenyan research team on the edge of a lake surrounding a large dish-like, natural structure in Turkana Basin, Kenya.
Recycling Old Textiles to Make Concrete Stronger
In 2024, PhD scholar Nayanatara Ruppegoda Gamage and Dr Chamila Gunasekara, from RMIT University (Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology) worked together on a ground-breaking project. They discovered a way to recycle old textiles and use them to strengthen concrete.
Orcas Hunt the World’s Biggest Fish. What’s Next?
From wearing salmon as hats to massaging on rocks, orcas display some playful and interesting behaviours. Recently, in the Gulf of California, a pod of orcas has been seen doing something very interesting: hunting the world’s biggest fish, the whale shark.
The Future of the Great Barrier Reef
Climate change is loading up for its next shots on the Great Barrier Reef. But while so many reefs are suffering from mass bleaching events, the Ribbon Reefs, the Swains, and Pompey Reefs are curiously evading severe bleaching. As for how these reefs manage to consistently evade climate change’s shots, the CSIRO’s new research shows these reefs curiously evade bleaching because of cold water from the deep.
“Chicken Nuggets of the Forest” Discover Scuba Tech
Water Anoles – a type of semi-aquatic lizard that lives in the forests of Costa Rica – have found a way to escape predators by jumping into the water and producing a special bubble around their nostrils. Lindsey Swierk, a professor at Binghamton University, New York, first saw these lizards when she was walking near streams in the mountains of Costa Rica.
Grumpy Gophers, Happy Soil, Happy Plants: the Official Formula
In 1980, Mount St. Helen, in southwest Washington State, erupted, killing 57 people. Three years later, scientists brought two pocket gophers into an enclosed space on the northern side of the mountain. These two pocket gophers were not happy being moved from their home of Butte Camp to the northern side of the mountain. After their helicopter trip, the two grumpy gophers were released to do what they wanted to do, which, for gophers, is digging. After one day of the grumpy gophers’ digging, the places where the gophers had dug exploded with new life.
Dengue Cases on the Rise
In 2023, there were 6.5 million Dengue Fever cases. Now the number of cases has almost doubled. There are two culprits. Firstly, mosquitoes. Dengue Fever is a disease spread by two types of mosquitoes: the yellow fever mosquito and the tiger mosquito. These mosquitoes bite humans and transmit the disease to them. But these mosquitoes have always been buzzing around, biting people, so what’s caused the number of dengue cases to double to 12.7 million?