northeast Pacific

New deep-sea droids probe the northeast Pacific for clues to climate-change impact

New deep-sea droids probe the northeast Pacific for clues to climate-change impact

A research facility at the University of Victoria is using new deep-sea droids to expand climate tracking in the northeast Pacific Ocean. Ocean Networks Canada (ONC) says five specialized data collecting tools, known as Argo floats, have been deployed to record conditions in the deepest parts of the northeast Pacific. Typically, an Argo float, which has a lifespan of four to five years, descends about two kilometres beneath the surface level for up to 10 days, then returns to the ocean surface to transmit data. It then dives back down again, repeating the process until it dies. 

New branch on tree of life includes ‘lions of the microbial world’

New branch on tree of life includes ‘lions of the microbial world’

There’s a new branch on the tree of life and it’s made up of predators that nibble their prey to death. These microbial predators fall into two groups, one of which researchers have dubbed “nibblerids” because they, well, nibble chunks off their prey using tooth-like structures. The other group, nebulids, eat their prey whole. And both comprise a new ancient branch on the tree of life called “Provora,” according to a paper published today in Nature.