Australia’s Great Barrier Reef Suffers Most Severe Coral Bleaching

According to scientists, the Great Barrier Reef in Australia witnessed the worst coral bleaching occurrence in March 2021. Researchers at James Cook University in Queensland, Australia made the most recent discovery of coral bleaching. The most recent coral bleaching case is noted to be the result of unusually high temperatures in the region over the last few months. The Great Barrier Reef covers roughly 348,000 square kilometers of area, making it home to the world’s largest array of coral reefs as well as thousands of various kinds of marine life. Coral is a group of small aquatic organisms that work together to build large, hard structures known as reefs. When the ocean water becomes too warm, corals release the protective algae that live in their tissues, resulting in bleaching. The method turns corals white and makes them sick, killing them in some situations. Reefs are vital to the ocean’s health and all the life it holds.

US Scientists: Honeybees Show Improvement After Bad Year

According to a recent report, the American honeybee population is steadily recovering after experiencing substantial declines. Between October 1, 2019, and March 31, 2020, beekeepers in the United States lost a mere 22.2 percent of their honeybee colonies. This is less than the 28.6% deficit observed on average during the winter season. According to the survey, winter 2019’s deficit was the second-lowest in 14 years of study. Researchers discovered that the loss in the recent winter was smaller than that of 2018-2019 when a reported 37.7% of colonies died off. The losses occurred after that season, with beekeepers noting a 32 percent loss rate in the summer of 2019. The rate was notably higher than the summer failure average of 21.6 percent. According to experts, honeybee colonies typically have good years after poor ones. Keith Delaplane, an insect researcher, says that beekeepers in the United States can move their colonies to weather-resistant areas during the winter to boost their chances of survival. 

Scientists Discover 7,000-year-old Tools Off Australia’s West Coast

Archaeologists claim to have uncovered the country’s first underwater archeological sites off Australia’s west coast. The archaeological sites are thought to be 7,000 years old and the area where they were discovered was once dry ground. The two ancient sites are now submerged in the Dampier Archipelago island group, as discovered by divers from Flinders University in Adelaide, South Australia. The area was also well-known for its ancient history and rock carvings. However, the two sites are the first confirmed underwater locations in Australia and the surrounding area that contain signs of human culture. Scientists have also found thousand-year-old cutting and grinding tools in the sites. The data gathered from the finding is being used to determine the age of the objects. The radiocarbon dating process and an analysis of sea-level changes, on the other hand, suggest that the areas are at least 7,000 years old. Archaeologists claim that researching the hundreds of uncovered artifacts will help them better understand Australia’s aboriginal people’s history and technological progress.

How Future Space Travel Could Create Language Communication Problems

Scientists and engineers are planning for potential exploration into interstellar space, the zone between stars, in the far future. To date, only two spacecraft have traveled into the enigmatic realm of interstellar space. Interstellar space is characterized by scientists as the region outside of the sun’s particles and magnetic fields. Experts predict that designing the technologies and infrastructure required to bring humans to this uncharted region of space would take several years. Huge spaceships will take astronauts on long journeys to distant stars if this occurs. Two American researchers looked at one potential issue with such travel. Recent research looks at the topic of language changes during long space flights. The researchers talked about how developments in human language could grow over time and trigger big communication difficulties with people on Earth. Languages evolve gradually as cultures become more distant from one another, according to the researchers. Long-term separation can cause people’s vocabulary to diverge to the point that it would be difficult for community members back home to understand.

More Seals off US Northeast Means Learning to Live with Sharks

According to wildlife experts, a healthy seal population along the Northeastern United States would possibly result in further shark attacks on humans. Seals are a favorite meal of big sharks like the great white, but conservation efforts have helped in preventing this in parts of the Northeast. However, there has been an increase in human assaults in recent years because sharks mistook humans for seals, according to scientists. The most recent attack occurred on July 27, 2020, when a 63-year-old swimmer was killed by a great white shark about 9 to 12 meters off the coast of Harpswell, Maine. It was the first reported fatal shark attack in the history of the state. Researchers suggest that the sharks are not hunting for humans, but they are a reason for swimmers to be careful. Additionally, as sharks begin to chase seals for food, the chances of them encountering humans are increasing.

Scientists Study Chernobyl Fungus as Protection Against Space Radiation

Researchers are working with a fungus that grows well in high-radiation conditions to see how it can protect astronauts traveling in space. In the areas around the former Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, one of the fungi being researched survived. An explosion and fire of a certain reactor in the area happened in 1986, dumping large quantities of radiation into the atmosphere. Chernobyl was the worst nuclear accident in history, which caused widespread harm to people and other living things in the surrounding area. Several forms of fungi, on the other hand, have continued to thrive in the highly radioactive environment. Melanin, a compound present in certain fungi, is being researched by scientists. It is a pigment that provides color to the skin, hair, and eyes. Melanin in the cell walls of certain fungi has been found to absorb radiation and transform it into chemical energy in experiments. An International Space Station (ISS) study is being done to see if melanin from the fungus can protect astronauts and equipment in space. However, according to one of the researchers, Radamés J.B. Cordero, radiation is a significant problem for health care professionals and patients who are exposed to the substance through medical procedures.

Scientists Discover First Evidence of Deadly Cancer in Dinosaur

Researchers from Canada claim to have found the first recorded instance of a dinosaur suffering from cancer. The claim was supported by evidence of a fossil leg bone found in Alberta, Canada in 1989. It was from a Centrosaurus, a six-meter-long, plant-eating animal that lived 77 million years ago. According to the scientists, the lower leg bone known as the fibula was severely malformed based on the fossil, which was most likely caused by the healing mechanism of a fractured leg. However, recent studies on the fossil have prompted scholars to conclude that the malformation was most likely caused by osteosarcoma, an aggressive bone cancer. Health experts who study and detect cancer in humans were part of the research team. According to the medical publication Lancet Oncology, osteosarcoma is a rare and lethal bone cancer, with a global incidence of 3.4 cases per million people per year. The cancer commonly manifests itself as a disorganized bone development that affects children and young adults, eventually spreading to other organs and bones.

Study: Heatwaves Can Force Ocean Life to Flee Great Distances

According to a new study, heatwaves will cause fish and other ocean species to migrate thousands of kilometers in search of cooler waters. The research was published by scientists at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Their study is based on a novel method of calculating heatwaves known as “thermal displacement.” It refers to the distance that fish, whales, and other mobile animals must migrate to find cooler ocean surface temperatures, and the pace at which weather condition varies around the ocean determines the calculation. Earlier studies, according to NOAA, focused on how hot weather can gradually raise ocean surface temperatures. Heatwaves alter the ocean climate, causing vast numbers of seabirds to perish and corals and other sea life to suffer. The research discovered that cooler water can be close to warmer waters in certain areas, such as where various parts of the ocean intersect. Any sea creature will have to travel more than 2,000 kilometers to reach cooler water in tropical regions, where temperature differences are typically negligible. The analysis might give us an idea of how the environment might evolve in the future, according to the researchers. This may, for example, help fishermen estimate how long they will have to go to catch the fish they want.