Climate and Environment

Midges on the Move: Tracking The Oropouche Virus Into New Territory

Posted on by Anna Bennett

For decades, Oropouche virus (OROV) was considered a problem limited to the Amazon Rainforest. OROV is transmitted to humans and animals through the bite of tiny blood-feeding insects called Culicoides midges. The virus causes Oropouche fever, which leads to debilitating symptoms like a high fever and severe headache1. While the virus was first isolated in Trinidad in 1955, it has since been associated primarily with outbreaks in the Amazon Basin. However, in the last two years, over 29,000 confirmed cases have been reported across the Americas, suggesting the virus has expanded well beyond its historical range.

One of the most concerning expansions is the state of Minas Gerais in southeastern Brazil. Unlike the Amazon, Minas Gerais sits within the Atlantic Forest biome, a heavily fragmented landscape shaped by agriculture, urbanization, and a climate distinct from the humid tropics where OROV has traditionally circulated. With more than 1,600 cases of Oropouche fever since January 2024, a consortium of researchers from universities in Brazil and the US have combined their efforts to try to understand the urgent question: what is driving OROV transmission in this unfamiliar territory2?

Image of flies swarming in the sky.
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From a Dying Reef in French Polynesia to a Global Restoration Mission: Meet the Coral Gardeners

Posted on by Alena Nickolenko

Titouan Bernicot founded Coral Gardeners, a nonprofit driving coral reef restoration, at just 18 years old. He was born on a pearl farm on a small atoll, a ring-shaped coral island, in French Polynesia. Instead of playing in the dirt with neighborhood friends after school, Bernicot, the only kid on the little atoll, spent his childhood in the water, immersed in the colorful and flourishing life around him (1). With no shops or markets, the community sustained themselves only with what the island had to offer, therefore relying on a thriving local ecosystem. “A really connected-to-nature way of living” says Bernicot (2). Largely disconnected from the rest of the human world but uniquely integrated with the natural one.

Photo Credit: Coral Gardeners

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Why Antibiotic Resistance Is an Environmental Problem Too

Posted on by Shannon Sindermann
Antibiotics and Bacteria

Antibiotic resistance has an obvious suspect: antibiotics. The more we use them across human and animal medicine, the more we select for the bacteria that survive them (1). But that pressure doesn’t only come from the drugs we designed to kill bacteria. A growing line of research points to the fields, soils and waterways where our food is grown, and to chemicals that were never meant to be antibiotics at all (2,3). It is a reminder of what researchers mean by One Health: human, animal and environmental health are one connected system, not three separate problems, and resistance travels the connections between them (1,3).

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Promega Builds Opportunity to Appreciate Hidden Wetland

Posted on by Jordan Villanueva
Nevin Springs now features a 720-foot boardwalk constructed by Promega.

There’s a turkey in the middle of the boardwalk. A large female, she pauses for a while and surveys the wetland around her. Then, with two steps and a hop, she disappears into the tall grasses.

A rose-breasted grosbeak sings from the treeline. Warblers chase each other above the dry remnants of last year’s cattails. And nearby, the namesake artesian springs bubble from the earth as they have year-round, unseen by almost anyone, since before the recorded history of the land begins.

This protected parcel of wetland, called Nevin Springs, plays an important role in the local ecosystem and broader watershed. Now, thanks to a boardwalk built by Promega Corporation, these hidden springs can be accessed and appreciated for the first time.

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Polar Bears, Shrinking Sea Ice and a Scientific Surprise

Posted on by Kelly Grooms
A polar bear sits on a snow-covered ice floe in the Arctic Ocean, gazing toward the horizon as sunlight filters through clouds over icy water.

When you think about climate change in the Arctic, you might imagine melting sea ice or maybe hungry polar bears. After all, polar bears depend on sea ice to hunt seals, and seals are their main source of energy. The negative effects of decreasing sea ice on polar bear body condition index (BCI), survival and reproduction have been documented in polar bear populations from regions such as the Western Hudson Bay and the Southern Beaufort Sea. So, when researchers started studying the polar bears in Svalbard, Norway (Barents Sea region), which is losing sea ice at a faster rate than any other region, they expected the BCI of those bears would also be declining. Except it isn’t.

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The Science of Slipping… Blame the Molecules!

Posted on by Shannon Sindermann

Whether it’s Home Alone’s booby-trapped icy steps, Bambi learning his legs have zero traction, or an Ice Age chase scene defying gravity, ice has been comedy gold for decades. In real life, the joke lands a little harder (sometimes literally).

Slippery Ice

We all know ice is slippery. The more surprising part is why it’s slippery and how long it took scientists to start agreeing on something closer to an answer. Researchers have long known the surface of ice behaves like it’s wearing a microscopic “wet” layer that lubricates motion. What they’ve argued about for nearly 200 years is what creates that layer in the first place (3,4).

So, let’s treat this like a mystery. Ice is the crime scene. Your dignity is the victim. Here are the main suspects.

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Life on Mars? Proteomic Secrets of Bacterial Survival in Martian Brines

Posted on by Sara Millevolte

Could bacteria survive on Mars? While images of the red planet might spark thoughts of barren landscapes and lifeless deserts, Mars holds a fascinating possibility: under suitable conditions, pockets of salty, perchlorate-rich brines could temporarily form on or near its surface. These brines are formed by salts that naturally absorb water from their surroundings. By lowering the temperature at which water freezes, these salts can stabilize liquid water, raising intriguing questions about the potential for microbial life. But what exactly would it take for bacteria to survive there? New research from Kloss et al. published in Scientific Reports sheds light on this cosmic question.

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World Wildlife Conservation Day: Reflecting on the Role of Science in Protecting Threatened or Endangered Species and Ecosystems  

Posted on by Kelly Grooms
A sign reading “Wildlife Conservation Area — Please keep to marked footpaths” stands in the foreground of a grassy field, with rows of young crops and a line of trees under a partly cloudy sky.

December 4 marks World Wildlife Conservation Day, a day set aside to highlight global efforts to protect endangered species and preserve the biodiversity and ecosystems that sustain our planet. It is an opportunity to call attention to the serious threats posed by wildlife crimes, such as poaching and illegal trafficking, and a time to stand together against ongoing dangers to wildlife and their habitat.  

Every organism, from myxozoans to blue whales, has a place in the delicate balance of ecosystems. When these systems become unstable, the impact can be far reaching—affecting anything from crop loss and soil fertility to water and air quality. This World Wildlife Conservation Day we want to reflect on the role science can play in understanding and protecting the wildlife and ecosystems that support us all.  

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How The OceanOmics Centre is Using the Maxwell RSC to Scale eDNA Biodiversity Monitoring

Posted on by Promega

This blog is written by guest blogger Ben Rushton, Application Specialist/Territory Manager at Promega Australia.

When you’re monitoring marine biodiversity at scale, every drop of seawater tells a story. At Minderoo OceanOmics Centre at the University of Western Australia, scientists are uncovering that story through environmental DNA (eDNA)—and automation is helping them listen more clearly.

Laura Missen, a Scientific Officer at OceanOmics Centre, shares how automating their DNA extraction workflow with the Maxwell® RSC 48 system has transformed how they gather and interpret data from marine ecosystems.

(Image credit: Giacomo d’Orlando / Ronin_Lab)
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Avoid the Summertime Blue-Greens— Know about Cyanobacteria Before You Hit the Water

Posted on by Kelly Grooms
Warning sign reading "ALGAE BLOOM – NO SWIMMING" posted in a lake with visible green algae floating on the water's surface, surrounded by lily pads and aquatic plants under a clear blue sky.

The weather is warming up (at least in the Northern Hemisphere). There is nothing more refreshing on a hot summer day than a dip in cool lake waters, so people everywhere are digging out their swimsuits and hitting the beach. Unfortunately, the same warm temperatures that drive us to the beach can also cause a potentially deadly overgrowth of blue-green algae —also called harmful algal blooms (HABs)—in the water of our favorite pond or lake.

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