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331 news posts in Earth and beyond

Climate action

29 Nov 2021

Estimating the impact of ‘eco’ jet fuel: How much could it reduce CO2 emissions by 2050?

By Colm Gorey, Frontiers science writer Image: Thiago B Trevisan/Shutterstock.com The aviation sector is seen as a very visible contributor of CO2 emissions globally, but will efforts to clean up the industry pay off? New research published with Frontiers has calculated what impact ‘sustainable aviation fuel’ (SAF) will have, showing CO2 emissions between 4% and 23% lower than if no SAF was used, even if airlines exceed pre-Covid-19 demand. However, while the use of SAF can help contribute to international targets, SAF alone will not be enough to meet 2050 net-zero CO2 goals for aviation. Much in the same way that the automotive industry is shifting gears to produce more environmentally-friendly cars to offset the effects of the climate crisis, the aviation sector is trying to find ways to significantly cut down on its CO2 emissions. Estimates suggest that the sector is responsible for about 2.5% of global carbon emissions and equivalent to the release of more than 900m metric tons of CO2 annually just prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, with entirely electric-powered aircraft some way off from becoming commonplace and limited in range, airlines have turned to cleaner jet fuels to help reduce their impact on the planet […]

Space sciences and astronomy

29 Nov 2021

DNA of future deep-space explorers could become more ‘error prone’ in microgravity

By Mischa Dijkstra, Frontiers science writer During parabolic flight to simulate weightless conditions in space, researchers show for the first time that a DNA polymerase enzyme derived from bacteria makes 10-140% more errors while copying DNA in microgravity. Combined with the known greater rate of DNA damage from space radiation, this inaccuracy of DNA replication is likely to pose a threat to the health of future astronauts on long missions. On 22 May 2019, scientists from Queen’s University boarded a modified Falcon 20 aircraft at Ottawa airport. Scheduled was a ‘vomit comet’ flight, where the plane repeatedly climbs to 8km in a steep parabola, alternating with a descent in freefall. During freefall, at a rate of over 3.3km in 20 seconds, only gravity but no lift, thrust, or drag work on the plane, resulting in weightlessness. The scientists’ mission under these difficult conditions was to test whether the enzymes that copy DNA are as accurate under weightlessness as under earthbound conditions. This question is of paramount importance for future space exploration, as the health of astronauts will depend on accurate DNA replication during cell division. “So-called DNA polymerases are essential enzymes that copy and repair DNA. Inevitably, they aren’t perfect: […]

Space sciences and astronomy

09 Nov 2021

Off-world colony simulation reveals changes in human communication over time with Earth

By Colm Gorey, Frontiers science writer Image: SciePro/Shutterstock.com Future planetary colonists will experience isolation like no other group in human history, which is why scientists on Earth are attempting to see how we communicate in the most extreme situations. In a paper published with Frontiers, researchers in Russia observed volunteers in isolation attempting to replicate life in deep space to see how it would impact their mood and communication styles. Despite some initial differences, the eventual cohesion of the team offers hope for future moon and Mars colonists. Elton John famously sang that Mars “ain’t the kind of place to raise your kids”, but one day space agencies across the globe hope to prove him wrong by seeing the first human establishing the first colony on the Red Planet, and elsewhere in the solar system. However, those who make the journey will not only have to survive on a freezing planet with no breathable atmosphere, but live in isolation unlike any other explorers in human history. At its closest proximity, Mars is still almost 55m km away from Earth, making communication delays and supply issues between the two worlds unavoidable. This requires crew members to effectively cope with stressful conditions […]

Environment

26 Oct 2021

Waters off French coast in winter may be a deadly trap for small, foraging turtles

By Tania Fitzgeorge-Balfour, Science writer A tracked loggerhead turtle on the beach with satellite tracker attached to its shell. Image: Oceane Cottier Aquarium La Rochelle SAS Turtle habitat boundaries should be updated to include European waters, suggests a new study tracking stranded turtles rescued from the French coast. Their movements after release back into the Bay of Biscay appear related to their size, with larger individuals swimming westwards towards their birth home in the US or Africa, and smaller individuals potentially trapped in the region for winter. These findings will inform strategies to ensure stranded turtles survive after their release. The documented habitat boundaries of the loggerhead, Kemp’s ridley and green turtles are questioned by a new study suggesting that stranded turtles rescued from European French Atlantic and Channel waters could be visiting the area to forage for food. Published in Frontiers in Marine Science, satellite tracking data reveals that while some turtles may be able to return home, after their rehabilitation and release to Florida in the US, or Cape Verde off the African coast, younger individuals are at risk of being trapped in the region. “Stranded turtles that were tracked swimming westwards presumably towards their birth homes, after […]

Environment

06 Oct 2021

Surprising discovery in Arctic songbird may reveal how it survives challenging migrations

By K.E.D Coan, science writer Snow buntings in winter. Image: Mircea Costina/Shutterstock.com There is still much to learn about how Arctic migratory birds adjust their physiology during different phases of their life. For example, between winter and summer habitats, or during migration. A recent study published to Frontiers shows the first evidence that snow buntings keep their winter traits through migration. These findings may help researchers understand why snow bunting populations are declining, as well as expanding what is known about how buntings, and other species, endure Arctic weather. Snow buntings are equipped for winter even while migrating to their breeding grounds, shows a recent study in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. There have been major declines in biodiversity around the world and the snow bunting population has dropped 60% over the last 45 years. The specific cause of this drop is unknown, and this study is among the first to look at the physiological changes that occur during the different life stages of this species (ie between winter and migration). This work provides clues into the future survival of snow buntings, as well as new insights into how species generally endure the harsh cold of the Arctic. ► Read original […]

Environment

23 Sep 2021

Bat guts become less healthy through diet of ‘fast food’ from banana plantations

By Tania Fitzgeorge-Balfour, science writer Pallas’s long-tongued bat (Glossophaga soricina) feeding on banana flowers. Image credit: Julian Schneider New research reveals there is a stark difference between the gut bacteria of nectar-feeding bats foraging in conventional monoculture banana plantations and those bats who forage in their natural forest habitat or organic plantations. This is the first study to show an association between habitat alteration, sustainable agriculture and the gut microbiota of wildlife. Nectar-feeding bats foraging in intensively managed banana plantations in Costa Rica have a less diverse set of gut microbes in comparison to bats feeding in their natural forest habitat or organic plantations, reveals new research published today in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. This the first study to show an association between habitat alteration, sustainable agriculture and the gut microbiota of wildlife. “Organic and conventional monoculture banana plantations both provide a very reliable food source for some nectar-feeding bat species. However, bats foraging in the intensively managed plantations had a reduced diversity of gut microbes, which could be a sign of gut dysbiosis, an unhealthy imbalance of its microbial symbionts,” explains Priscilla Alpízar, first author of this study, a doctoral student at the Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and […]

Climate action

14 Sep 2021

Prof Iain Stewart: “It’s important that challenges to the ‘business as usual’ are not constrained behind a paywall”

By Prof Iain Stewart, Royal Scientific Society, Amman, Jordan/Colm Gorey, Frontiers science writer Prof Iain Stewart speaking at a conference. Image: Prof Iain Stewart Prof Iain Stewart of the Royal Scientific Society in Amman, Jordan has appeared on our television screens to educate us on the fantastic field of geoscience. Now, collaborating with Frontiers, he has highlighted what role universities have in building a more sustainable world. The profound threat to the long-term wellbeing of society as a whole, both present and future generations, is arguably the most acute threat humanity has ever faced. But what is the culpability of universities in allowing this systemic unsustainability to emerge? And how can this existential threat be dealt with if academic institutions are not firmly in the vanguard? This fundamental question is the focus of a research topic (RT) published by Frontiers launched earlier this year, overseen by topic editors including Prof Iain Stewart, titled ‘Re-Purposing Universities for Sustainable Human Progress’. Regular watchers of BBC science documentaries will be familiar with his work, particularly in the field of geoscience, that spanned 15 years. In 2016, Stewart decided to step away from the small screen to become director of the University of Plymouth’s […]

Earth science

16 Aug 2021

Secret to speediness of ancient bipedal reptile has been revealed

By Clarissa Wright, Frontiers science writer Close-up of a reptile eye, but not the ancient Eudibamus cursoris. Image Aedka Studio/Shutterstock.com The Early Permian marked a time of major seasonal changes on the planet, as reptiles rapidly diversified. A key innovation is seen in bolosaurids with the ability to run at high speeds on two legs. Scientists from California State University and Carnegie Museum of Natural History in the US and University of Toronto Mississauga, Canada, collaborated in a study recently published to Frontiers presenting the first comprehensive description of the earliest known bipedal reptile from the Early Permian – a type of bolosaurid called Eudibamus cursoris. For the first time, its unique style of locomotion that achieved high running speeds on two legs has been revealed. The Permian period (between 298.9m and 252.2m years ago) was the last period of the Paleozoic Era. The Earth was warming out of an ice age, while weather intensified. Remnants of carboniferous rainforests disappeared, replaced by open desert. Facing these environmental changes, reptiles rapidly diversified and showed remarkable innovations during the Permian. Bolosaurids are the oldest family belonging to the ancient group of extinct reptiles known as Parareptilla (or parareptiles), and are considered a […]