Oysters are one of the world’s most important seafood products, with farms producing about seven million metric tons each year. Now, researchers have unlocked the complete genetic code of a special hybrid oyster, providing a valuable tool that could help improve how these shellfish are farmed. The study, published in Scientific Data, presents the first […]
Research
Large Ice Sheets Existed Much Earlier Than Scientists Thought
Scientists have long reconstructed the extent of ancient ice sheets by analyzing chemical signatures in seafloor sediments. The traditional view held that the Northern Hemisphere ice sheets started small about 3 million years ago and gradually grew larger over time, reaching their maximum extent only in the last 800,000 years. This progression seemed to explain […]
Amino Acid Shortage Disrupts Vitamin A Distribution, Rutgers Study Finds
Groundbreaking PNAS research reveals a new pathway regulating vitamin A mobilization from the liver—independent of vitamin A status. Researchers at Rutgers University have discovered that amino acid scarcity—whether caused by diet or chemotherapy—impairs the liver’s ability to release vitamin A into the bloodstream, revealing a previously unrecognized mechanism for controlling vitamin A availability in the […]
Climate Intervention Techniques Could Reduce the Nutritional Value of Crops, New Study Finds
A new study published in the journal, Environmental Research Letters, reports that cooling the planet by injecting sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere—a proposed climate intervention technique—could reduce the nutritional value of the world’s crops. Scientists at Rutgers University used global climate and crop models to estimate how stratospheric aerosol intervention (SAI), one type of solar […]
Cultural Perspectives Key to Climate Resilience and Health in Immigrant Communities
A new study published in Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health reveals how cultural values and community ties shape the health, resilience, and well-being of immigrant communities—especially when facing natural disasters that are becoming more frequent and intense due to climate change. Victoria Ramenzoni, associate professor in the Department of Human Ecology and an affiliate […]
How Plants Remember Stress: A Key to Surviving Heat Waves
As global temperatures rise and heat waves become more common, farmers and gardeners face a growing challenge: how to keep plants healthy when it’s scorching hot. A new study offers hope by showing that plants can actually “remember” past stressful experiences and use that memory to better handle future heat. Bingru Huang, Distinguished Professor in […]
Blast Them: A Rutgers Scientist Uses Lasers to Kill Weeds
Imagine a tractor-size machine that can tell the difference between a vegetable and a weed – and then zaps the unwelcome plant with a laser. It’s not science fiction. It’s being tested in New Jersey by Rutgers University scientist Thierry Besançon. An associate professor with the Department of Plant Biology in the School of Environmental and […]
Ocean Currents Act Like Underwater Highways, Delivering Food to Antarctic Wildlife
In Antarctica’s frigid waters, tiny shrimp-like creatures called krill are the foundation of the entire ocean food web, feeding everything from penguins to whales. But how do these krill—and the microscopic plants they eat—end up in the right place at the right time? A new study reveals that ocean currents act like invisible highways, concentrating […]
Meltwater Pools on Greenland’s Ice Are Speeding Up Melting More Than Expected
Thousands of small pools and streams of melted water sitting on top of Greenland’s massive ice sheet are absorbing more heat from the sun than scientists previously realized, according to new research. This discovery means the ice sheet could be melting faster than current models predict, which has important implications for rising sea levels. Åsa […]
In a World First, Autonomous Robot Glider to Circle the Globe in Historic Ocean Mission
Guided by the rhythms of the sea and the promise of discovery, Teledyne Marine and Rutgers University set Redwing, an autonomous underwater vehicle, on its journey on Friday, Oct. 10, leading to its launch into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts. The launch marked the beginning of a five-year mission […]
