Captain Robert Scott’s Antarctic Discovery expedition took place over 100 years ago—and yet its participants recently racked up another contribution to science. Thanks to the samples of bacterial mats they collected from polar ponds—samples that were pressed, dried, and stored … Continue reading
Journal Club
Highlighting recently published papers selected by Academy members
Category Archives: Environmental Sciences
Journal Club: Engineered enzyme could streamline synthesis of nitrogen containing compounds
Researchers have re-engineered a bacterial enzyme to transform abundant alkanes into industrially important nitrogen-containing compounds that can be used to synthesize pharmaceuticals. In principle, the enzyme, now called P411CHA, could help streamline some methods for creating synthetic molecules, which often … Continue reading
Categories: Chemistry | Environmental Sciences | Journal Club | Sustainability Science
Tagged benzylamine, cytochrome P450, drugs, enzyme, green chemistry
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Journal Club: In a first, deep sea robots get a close look at giant larvaceans, a key player in the biological carbon pump
Closer inspection of the giant larvacean, seen here in an undersea video taken by a remotely operated vehicle, could reveal clues about how the deep sea sequesters carbon. Image Credit: © 2017 MBARI In the deeps off Monteray Bay, Calif., … Continue reading
Journal Club: Geometry of Greenland’s glaciers helps predict future ice melt
The changing climate is just one factor contributing to the melting and thinning of the slow-moving rivers of ice that terminate in spots such as Greenland’s fjords. Each glacier’s geometry—including its thickness and how steeply it flows—also makes a difference. … Continue reading
Categories: Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences | Environmental Sciences | Journal Club
Tagged climate change, Greenland, ice sheet, iceberg
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Journal Club: In some cases, water management practices exacerbated California drought, according to model
Many of California’s reservoirs are now fuller than they’ve been in years thanks to an extraordinarily wet winter. Yet drought conditions are likely to return based on historical cycles, even without accounting for climate change. And California’s depleted groundwater is … Continue reading
Journal Club: Layer-cake chemistry offers up a cheap way to perform chemical tests
Sana Jahanshahi-Anbuhi started her study with a trip to the supermarket to buy Listerine breath strips, the sort that melt on your tongue in seconds. But the chemical engineering postdoc at McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada wasn’t worried about bad … Continue reading
Categories: Biochemistry | Chemistry | Environmental Sciences | Journal Club | Microbiology | Pharmacology
Tagged chemical test, drugs, E. coli, genome sequencing, lab on a chip
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Journal Club: Why do trees fix nitrogen in certain forests and not others? Model offers insights with big implications for the biosphere
Many trees can generate their own fertilizer from nitrogen in the air. But it remains a mystery as to why they grow where they do – for example, few grow in the nitrogen-poor soils of temperate forests but many thrive … Continue reading
Categories: Ecology | Environmental Sciences | Journal Club | Plant Biology
Tagged forests, model, nitrogen, pollution, trees
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Journal Club: Maya altered their environment significantly, for better or worse
The ancient Maya once had a civilization in the Americas that stretched over an area the size of Texas. Now scientists detail a number of key ways the Maya left behind a lasting impact on the environment during the so-called … Continue reading
Categories: Agriculture | Anthropology | Ecology | Environmental Sciences | Journal Club
Tagged climate change, ecosystem, environment, Maya, soil
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Journal Club: Epigenetic marks may reveal how the environment affected ancient societies
Ancient DNA can shed light on the past in myriad ways — for instance, genes and mutations may reveal important adaptations or physiological changes. But gene-regulating molecules latched onto the DNA, known as epigenetic marks, may also reveal important clues. … Continue reading
Categories: Anthropology | Environmental Sciences | Evolution | Genetics | Journal Club
Tagged ancient DNA, ancient humans, epigenetics, methylation
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New forests change land temperatures
Thirty years ago China began launching ambitious reforestation projects, aiming to undo some of the massive environmental damage caused by years of clear cutting. Each year the country adds around 2 million hectares of new trees, with no sign of … Continue reading