A group of diatom species belonging to the Nitzschia genus, gave up on photosynthesis and now get their carbon straight from their environment, thanks to a bacterial gene picked up by an ancestor. Gregory Jedd of Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, Singapore, and colleagues report these findings in a new study published April 1^st in the open-access journal PLOS Biology.

MIT oceanographers discovered big fish like tuna and swordfish get a large fraction of their food from the ocean’s twilight zone — a cold, dark layer about half a mile below the surface.

New research reveals that PET-based glitter microplastics can actively influence biomineralisation processes in marine environments, raising fresh concerns about the long-term environmental impact of microplastic pollution on marine ecosystems. The research, led by a team from Trinity College Dublin’s School of Natural Sciences and published in the journal Environmental Sciences Europe, shows that these microplastics promote the crystallisation of calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) minerals, potentially affecting the growth and stability of marine calcifying organisms. 

A nearly complete specimen of Plesiopterys wildi from Germany provides fresh insights into plesiosaur diversity and regional specialisation

A newly described plesiosaur fossil from southern Germany is providing crucial evidence about the diversification of these ancient marine reptiles during the Early Jurassic. Published in PeerJ Life and Environment, the study details the discovery and analysis of an exceptionally well-preserved Plesiopterys wildi specimen, which offers new clues about the evolution and geographic distribution of plesiosaurs in Europe nearly 180 million years ago.

A study appearing Monday, March 31 in Nature Physics presents a striking example of cooperative organization among cells as a potential force in the evolution of multicellular life. Based on the fluid dynamics of cooperative feeding by Stentor, a relatively giant unicellular organism, the study originated from the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL), Woods Hole, Mass.