Discoveries

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Study co-author Nathan Chrismas collecting surface ice for analysis.

Algae growth plays a part in Greenland ice melting

2 years 3 months ago By Annie Won

It is natural for algae to grow on the Greenland ice sheet. However, warmer weather has led to an increase in algal growth, contributing to the darkening of the ice sheet.

Hagfish's loose skin is life-saver

2 years 3 months ago By Annie Won

Although hagfishes are not much to look at, they have an enviable defence mechanism that protects them from predators. Whenever predators like sharks bite them, they are forced to release them due to the slime released by the hagfish.  

Professor Boaz Pokroy in the experimental hutch of ESRF ID16B beamline with ESRF's scientist Julie Villanova.

Brittle star shows the way to tougher ceramics

2 years 4 months ago By Annie Won

The brittle star appears to hold the key to stronger ceramics. The brittle star can be found in coral reefs and has hundreds of focal lenses on its body. These powerful calcite lenses serve as its eyes.

Why you won't find sea snakes in the Atlantic

2 years 4 months ago By Annie Won

With a flattened tail, sea snakes are good swimmers and spend all of their lives in the water. Since they don't have gills, they have to come up to the surface for air to breathe.

Cave explorer Bil Phillips, also a member of the Texas A&M-led team, uses a flashlight and line to navigate the underwater cave.

Bacteria and microbes in underwater cave feed on methane

2 years 4 months ago By Annie Won

When exploring the underwater flooded cave passages within the Ox Bel Ha cave network in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, researchers discovered that methane is an important food source for the bacteria and other microbes there; in fact, they are the f

Giant clams may one day help to improve biofuel production.

Giant clams may be key to enhancing biofuel production

2 years 5 months ago By Annie Won

Giant clams can absorb bright sunlight at a very high rate and the lustrous cells on the clam’s surface scatter it over a large surface area.

The hermit crab that lives in a coral

2 years 6 months ago By Annie Won

When studying a specimen of walking coral retrieved from the Oshima Strait in southern Japan, ecologist Professor Makoto Kato and his colleague Momoko Igawa made an unexpected discovery.

Dr Rachel Lance, Conrad Wise Chapman, USS Housatonic , American Civil War, HL Hunley, submarine, blast injury, Rosemary E Lunn, Roz Lunn, XRay Mag, X-Ray Magazine

American Civil War sub crew accidentally killed themselves, researchers find

2 years 7 months ago By Rosemary E Lunn

Despite her small size, the 12m (40ft) mini-submarine was one of the first subs to be used in conflict.

Associate Professor of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science Amy Baco-Taylor, standing next to a submersible in which she has conducted research.

Deep-sea reefs found in inhospitable North Pacific

2 years 8 months ago By Annie Won

Deep-sea scleractinian reefs can be found in places like the North Atlantic and South Pacific, but this is not the case for the North Pacific.

High pregnancy failure in southern resident killer whales due to nutritional reasons

2 years 9 months ago By Annie Won

From 2007 to 2014, 35 pregnancies were detected among the endangered southern resident killer whales in the inshore waters of Washington State and British Columbia. Eleven of these were successful and resulted in the birth of a calf.

Shrinking size of whales can signal impending population collapse

2 years 9 months ago By Annie Won

Research data from the past has revealed that one of the signs of impending global collapse of the population of whales is the shrinking sizes of the whales.

Size of marine predators increases, but prey size remains constant

2 years 9 months ago By Annie Won

By analyzing the attack marks on fossilized shells of marine prey, researchers discovered that the size of predators have increased over the last 500 million years, even though the size of their prey has stayed constant.

Cichlids can recognise their friends

2 years 9 months ago By Annie Won

The cichlid (Julidochromis transcriptus) is a small fish found in Lake Tanganyika in East Africa. It lives in rock crevices hidden by vegetation at the lakebed.

How glass eels find their way to European coastline

2 years 10 months ago By Annie Won

The life of the glass eel (Anguilla anguilla) is an epic one (and considering its tiny size, the description is an understatement). After hatching in the Sargasso Sea, they travel thousands of kilometres across the Atlantic Ocean.

Human activity led to downfall of scallops and brachiopods in 19th century

2 years 10 months ago By Annie Won

Paleontologists discovered that the site had hosted thriving communities of scallops and shelled marine organisms (called brachiopods) for thousands of years in the past.