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Researchers at Oregon State University have proposed a new genus of bacteria that flourishes when coral reefs become polluted, siphoning energy from the corals and making them more susceptible to disease.

Lekima is now a typhoon and has triggered warnings in the Philippines. NASA’s Aqua satellite passed over the Northwestern Pacific Ocean and provided a visible image of the storm that shows a clear eye.

People who are the most optimistic tend to be better sleepers, a study of young and middle-aged adults found.

Tropical Storm Krosa continued on its journey northward in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean when NOAA’s NOAA-20 polar orbiting satellite passed overhead and captured a visible image of the strengthening storm in a classic tropical cyclone shape.

Soil organic matter has long been known to benefit farmers. 

Add another item to the ever-growing list of the dangerous impacts of global climate change: Warming oceans are leading to an increase in the harmful neurotoxicant methylmercury in popular seafood, including cod, Atlantic bluefin tuna and swordfish, according to research led by the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health (HSPH).

Lower air pollution levels saved an estimated 5,660 lives in New York State in 2012, compared to 2002 levels, according to a new study.

NASA’s Aqua satellite passed over the Sea of Japan and provided forecasters with a visible image of Tropical Storm Francisco as it was transitioning into an extra-tropical cyclone.

An international team of astrophysicists from Southampton, Oxford and South Africa have detected a very hot, dense outflowing wind close to a black hole at least 25,000 light-years from Earth.

Lead researcher Professor Phil Charles from the University of Southampton explained that the gas (ionised helium and hydrogen) was emitted in bursts which repeated every 8 minutes, the first time this behaviour has been seen around a black hole. The findings have been published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

The object Professor Charles's team studied was Swift J1357.2-0933 which was first discovered as an X-ray transient – a system that exhibits violent outbursts - in 2011. These transients all consist of a low-mass star, similar to our Sun and a compact object, which can be a white dwarf, neutron star or black hole. In this case, Swift J1357.2-0933 has a black hole compact object which is at least 6 times the mass of our Sun.

Read more at: University of Southampton

Schematic illustration of J1357.2-0933 (Photo Credit: John Paice)