Microplastics found in all sea turtle species
Reading Time: < 1 minuteTESTS on more than 100 sea turles – spanning three oceans and all seven species – have revealed microplastics in the guts of every single turtle. Researchers from the University of Exeter and Plymouth Marine Laboratory, working with the Greenpeace Research Laboratories, looked for synthetic particles (less than 5mm in length) including microplastics in 102 […]
Human actions impact wild salmon’s ability to evolve
Reading Time: 3 minutesONCE spring-run chinook salmon disappear, they are not likely to re-emerge, indicates genetic analysis of the revered wild fish in a study led by the University of California, Davis. Prompt conservation action could preserve spring-run chinook, as well as their evolutionary potential. The study, published online recently in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy […]
Study shows how mussels handle microplastic fibre
Reading Time: 2 minutesHUMAN-MADE microplastics exist throughout the global ocean, from busy coastal areas to remote regions far from human habitation. They have myriad impacts: microplastics are eaten by tiny animals called zooplankton, play host to bacterial colonies, and can even change how energy and nutrients flow through ocean ecosystems. “The big pieces of plastic you find on […]
Recycle your old mobile phone to save gorilla populations
Reading Time: 2 minutesARE you among the 400 million people around the world who have relegated an old mobile phone to the top drawer in the past year? Do you realise your reluctance to recycle that discarded phone could be linked to the dramatic decline of gorilla populations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo? The link between hoarding disused mobile phones and the decimation of Grauer […]
World govts set targets for sustainability development by 2050
Reading Time: < 1 minuteONE HUNDRED and ninety-six Governments have agreed to scale up investments for sustainable development and harmonious coexistence of all life on Earth by 2050. This was during the United Nations Biodiversity Conference held from Nov 17-29, in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. Addressing the convention, His Excellency, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, President of the Arab Republic of […]
Why do volcanoes erupt?
Reading Time: < 1 minuteVOLCANOES are just a natural way that the Earth and other planets have for cooling off and releasing internal heat and pressure. Volcanoes erupt because of density and pressure. The lower density of the magma relative to the surrounding rocks causes it to rise (like air bubbles in syrup). It will rise to the surface […]
More bioplastics do not necessarily contribute to climate change mitigation
Reading Time: 3 minutesBIOPLASTICS are often promoted as an environmentally and climate-friendly alternative to conventional petroleum-based plastics. However, a recent study from the University of Bonn suggests that shifting to plant-based plastics could have less positive effects than expected. Specifically, an increased consumption of bioplastics in the following years is likely to generate increased greenhouse gas emissions from cropland expansion on a global scale. The study […]
‘Give science its rightful place at global summits’
Reading Time: 5 minutesThe Petri Dish Editor-in-Chief MAHALETCHUMY ARUJANAN who attended the recently concluded UN Biodiversity Conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, says such meetings set the direction and basis for national laws, bilateral mechanisms and international trade in relation to modern biotechnology – but unwittingly cast science in the backseat. THE Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), Cartagena Protocol […]
Scientists theorise new origin story for Earth’s water
Reading Time: 2 minutesEARTH’S WATER may have originated from both asteroidal material and gas left over from the formation of the Sun, according to new research. The new finding could give scientists important insights about the development of other planets and their potential to support life. In a new study in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, a […]
Indonesia’s Bt sugarcane sees the light of day
Reading Time: 4 minutesThe Petri Dish editor-in-chief Dr Mahaletchumy Arujanan hosted an email Q&A with Prof Bambang Sugiharto (BS) and Dr Agus Pakpahan (AP) who were both involved in the development of the country’s first biotech crop. Bambang is from the Center for Development of Advanced Science and Technology (CDAST) and Department of Biology, Faculty of Mathematics and […]