First large-scale experiment shows fire whirls burn oil spills faster and cleaner than fire pools, proving their game-changing potential for ocean cleanups.

Tiny plastic particles disrupt the distribution, composition, and function of gut and fecal bacteria in marine copepods, with a shift toward plastic-degrading species and function. This alteration incurs resilience loss, exposing the potential risks of microplastic pollution.

In a recent paper published in Geology, scientists propose that certain kinds of wrinkle structures in sedimentary rock are the remnants of ancient microbial communites, similar to those found in deep ocean whale falls today. Geologists have long considered these wrinkle structures as physical in nature, formed by underwater landslides, because the deepsea environment wasn't thought to be hospitable to photosynthetic microbes. In their paper, the researchers demonstate how chemosynthetic microbes, which need no light to grow, could thrive in these environments and leave these wrinkles structures behind. 

Corals living in coastal bays with strongly fluctuating temperatures and environmental conditions are better able to withstand heat and other stressors than their counterparts on more stable reefs. This is shown by research conducted by marine biologist Sarah Solomon, whose work offers valuable insights into the mechanisms and trade-offs associated with the resilience of coral reefs in a rapidly changing climate. On Thursday 19 February, she will defend her PhD thesis at the University of Amsterdam.

As part of a new study researchers from Bournemouth University (BU) have discovered European eels, Anguilla anguilla, at the stage of silvering living in the inland waters of Cyprus for the first time.

Kyoto, Japan -- The enzyme Na⁺-NQR is a sodium pump that drives the respiration of many marine and pathogenic bacteria. Using redox reactions, the process of exchanging electrons between materials, it powers the transportation of sodium ions across the membrane, supporting the growth of the bacteria.

Yet there is a mystery behind this mechanism, as scientists have had trouble understanding exactly how the redox reactions are linked to sodium-pumping. In particular, the lack of structural information on the key intermediate states that form while the enzyme is operating has posed a major challenge; determining these structures is essential to understanding how the pump functions.

This gap in knowledge motivated a team of researchers at Kyoto University to investigate what powers this mysterious sodium pump. Using cryo-electron microscopy performed by co-first author Moe Ishikawa-Fukuda, the team was able to directly capture multiple intermediate structural states of the enzyme as it transformed during operation. They then combined these structural snapshots with molecular dynamics simulations performed by co-first author Takehito Seki.

During 2026, new legislation – the result of an agreement between the UK Government and the European Union – is planned to come into force for recreational pollack fishing that limits catches to three fish per angler per day. It will result in more fish being released after they are caught, but new research led by the University of Plymouth (UK) - and involving scientists and industry representatives across the UK - has suggested changing how that release happens could have a marked difference on the fisheries’ long-term sustainability.