Coral Polyps Kiss And Fight Turf Wars
Corals and coral reefs have been in the news a lot recently, mostly as a marker for human-induced climate change that is fast degrading large swathes of the natural heritage along Australia’s coastline. Now, a new underwater microscope designed at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego provides “a never-before-seen […]
Toxic Algae Could Power “Super Batteries” of Tomorrow
Alga blooms may have earned a bad reputation underwater, but above ground, they could rise to power in a very noble way. Below the surface, these swarms of algae cut off oxygen in the water, threatening wildlife, livestock, and humans by making the water too toxic to drink or use for anything else. But one […]
Power Plant Will Use Ocean Tides to Power 155K Homes
This planned power plant in Wales may look like the Guggenheim Museum but its benefits far outweigh the beauty: it will use the rise and fall of ocean tides to generate enough renewable electricity to power 155,000 homes for 120 years. When completed, the structure will produce electricity enough to displace more than a quarter […]
New Birth Control For Pets Could Make Spaying And Neutering Obsolete
Pets of the future, rejoice! Expensive and uncomfortable spay and neuter surgery could be a thing of the past- a simple shot in the haunches will do the job. Researchers at the California Institute of Technology (CalTech) may soon be able to change that with what they call “vectored contraception.” Meet The Woman Who Saves […]
It’s World Octopus Day! Here Are Eight Awesome Octopodes
Hooray—it’s world octopus day. Today we celebrate the excellent eight-legged creatures that grace our oceans, and occasionally even venture out of the water. (Even Aristotle knew: “the only cephalopod to go out on to dry land is the octopus.”) What other animal has three hearts, a brain-like set of nerves in each leg and blue […]
Celebrate World Animal Day – Speak up for those who have no voice
Harmonie Hefley-Lawson, STEAMRegister.com Today is World Animal Day, so let’s party like we’re all animals! The mission of World Animal Day is “To raise the status of animals in order to improve welfare standards around the globe. Building the celebration of World Animal Day unites the animal welfare movement, mobilizing it into a global force […]
Seafood is being wasted at staggering levels
Seafood is being wasted at staggering levels Lola Gayle, STEAMRegister.com We’re a nation of consumers, but sometimes our eyes are much bigger than our stomachs, and we give little thought to tossing out uneaten or ‘ugly’ food. And that goes for seafood as well. According to new research, as much as 47 percent of the […]
Which species will survive the Earth’s sixth mass extinction?
Matthew Wills, University of Bath Scientists recently suggested that the Earth’s sixth mass extinction has begun. As terrifying as that sounds, surely humans are too smart and too important to get wiped out? Palaeontologists have long tried to shed light on this question by looking for general rules that might predict the survival of a […]
Gigantic ‘Supertree of Life’ covers 2.3 million species
STEAM Register Staff The first draft of the “tree of life” for the roughly 2.3 million named species of animals, plants, fungi and microbes has been released. This circular family tree of Earth’s lifeforms is considered a first draft of the 3.5-billion-year history of how life evolved and diverged. Credit: opentreeoflife.org The tree depicts the […]
Microbeads Were a Terrible Idea And They’re Coming Back to Haunt Us
Microbeads—the tiny plastic spheres used as exfoliants in face wash, toothpaste and just about any other beauty products on the shelves—were a really, really bad idea. Our wastewater treatment plants aren’t designed to handle them, they don’t biodegrade and there are now a mind-boggling volume of microbeads winding up in all the wrong places. A […]
