By Ellie Shechet Humans have produced unfathomable quantities of plastic waste, threatening ecosystems and potentially human health. A new study in the journal Environmental Advances, aimed to figure out how microplastics were accumulating in the salt marshes of southeastern New England, vegetation-filled wetlands which punctuate the transition between land and sea. “Scientists all over the
MBL Fellow Linda Amaral-Zettler is featured in this story, originally published in Orion Magazine. By Meera Subramanian Early in 2004, a buoy was released into the waters off Argentina. Half of the buoy was dark and the other light, like a planet in relief. The buoy sailed east, accompanied by the vastness of the ocean
.entry-header https://www.sciencefriday.com/articles/cephalopod-week-events-2021/ Join Bret Grasse, MBL’s manager of cephalopod operations, on June 24 as Science Friday celebrates Cephalopod Week! Grasse and members of his animal care team at MBL (Danielle Dallis and Taylor Sakmar) will be interviewed in the lab alongside their octopus charges after a showing of the hit video, “Cephalopod Inc.” The program
MBL’s Kristin Gribble, who studies the rotifer to explore the biology of aging, comments in this article. By Marion Renault Bdelloid rotifers may be the toughest, tiniest animal you’ve never heard of. The microscopic, multicellular creatures have complex anatomies and are one of the planet’s most radiation-resistant animals. They can withstand extreme acidity, starvation, low
This article on big missions to sample and catalog the microbes in the ocean includes comments from the MBL’s Mitchell Sogin, who organized one of the earliest such expeditions, the International Census of Marine Microbes, in the 2000s. By Shawna Williams Stéphane Pesant was on deck finishing up processing samples and preparing gear after a
End Google Tag Manager MBL aquaculture specialist Gretchen Grebe comments on the use of seaweed for pollution remediation. Grebe works with MBL Associate Scientist Loretta Roberson, who is leading a a large Department of Energy-funded project to cultivate seaweed in U.S. tropical waters for remediation and for biofuels production. By Virginia Gewin In May 2019,
THun (tuna) fish and dolphins, but also some species of squid, can travel very quickly thanks to their streamlined body. Jellyfish are not among the fastest swimmers. But in terms of energy efficiency, these cnidarians, which have populated the oceans for 500 million years, outperform all other sea creatures. Jellyfish don’t just drift passively with
MBL cephalopod scientist and Hibbitt Fellow Carrie Albertin discusses regeneration in octopuses in this Mental Floss story. By Jake Rossen In the 2020 Oscar-nominated documentary My Octopus Teacher, filmmaker Craig Foster strikes up a fascinating friendship with a wild octopus in a South Africa kelp forest. In one scene—mild spoiler here—the mollusk suffers what appears
MBL Distinguished Scientist Mitch Sogin talks about microbial diversity in this feature from Mongabay.com. By Ian Morse Scientists are clear: the number of plant and animal species on Earth is declining. The climate crisis, habitat loss, pollution and the illegal wildlife trade are all pushing species toward extinction. Researchers especially worry that losing too much
By Patrick Greenfield A new study has highlighted how little is known about microbes – the hidden majority of life on Earth. Life on the planet relies on an enormous quantity of bacteria, fungi and other tiny organisms. They generate oxygen, keep soils healthy and regulate the climate. Microbes play a crucial role in food