Trees attacked by invasive caterpillars develop defense mechanisms that can harm native insects, studies show
Adult native Polyphemus moths have a wingspan of more than 6 inches, distinctive eyespots, and larvae that like leaves on many of the same trees as gypsy moth caterpillars. Photo credit: Rick Lindroth An invasive insect with a voracious appetite…
Ancient tree resin artifacts provide the earliest known evidence of human spread across the Pacific
Image of the tree resin artifact from the lateral (A), dorsal (B), ventral (C), and other ventral (D) sides. Image credit: Gaffney et al. 2024 Exactly when and how humans dispersed into and through the Pacific remains a hotly debated…
The report on murdered and missing indigenous women and children does not hold anyone accountable – that is not enough
by Chay Brown, Connie Shaw, Kayla Glynn-Braun and Shirleen Campbell, The Conversation Image credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains references to a deceased person. After two years and 16 hearings,…
The banana apocalypse is coming, but biologists may have found a key to its survival
Banana Fusarium wilt is currently decimating the Cavendish banana – the world’s most popular commercially available banana. Once the fungus is present in a banana field, it cannot be eradicated, making future production of Cavendish bananas almost impossible. Photo credit:…
Tree deaths could lead to carbon tipping point in the Amazon region by 2050
Evolution of changes in the maximum cumulative water deficit (MCWD). Source: The future of the earth (2024). DOI: 10.1029/2023EF003740 The Amazon rainforest is home to a diverse range of plant and animal life. This vibrant, green landscape also plays a…
What happens when they die?
Image credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain To prevent California’s six million urban trees from destroying power lines, crashing through houses, or ending up lying across the street when they die, humans must intervene. A handful of arborists and members of the…
NASA telescopes determine the diet of a black hole
Photo credit: NASA/CXC/M.Weiss Using new data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and Neil Gehrel’s Swift Observatory and ESA’s XMM-Newton, a team of researchers has made important advances in understanding how and when a supermassive black hole absorbs and then consumes…
Researchers pump additional CO₂ into an oak forest and discover that the trees will be “woodier” in the future
The Face project of the Birmingham Institute of Forest Research (BIFoR) is located in a woodland in Staffordshire, north of Birmingham. Image credit: University of Birmingham / Norbury Estate Oak trees accumulate more wood when there is more carbon dioxide…
Study shows: Urban trees suffer more from heat waves and drought than their rural counterparts
Researchers examined core samples of trees from urban areas and found that they are more affected by climate stress than their rural counterparts and are less exposed to high carbon emissions. Image credit: Anthony Cak A recently published study in…
Wind tunnel experiments show why bowling with an almost horizontal arm makes hitting more difficult
Influence of cross-spin of a cricket ball on the pressure distribution in the vicinity. Image credit: Aafrein Begam Faazil, Abdul Rahim Farhatnuha and Kizhakkelan Sudhakaran Siddharth The key to winning a cricket match is outwitting the other team’s batsmen –…
