Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Tetrodotoxin immobilises the female – who is about two to five times bigger than the male – so mating can occur, researchers observed Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Male blue-lined octopuses inject females with venom during sex, paralysing their larger mates to avoid being eaten, new research has found. The blue-lined octopus is a tiny, highly dangerous cephalopod found commonly in shallow reefs and tide pools. Continue reading...

'There's good news when it comes to the rivers in the northern rivers – all are receding,’ the New South Wales premier says, adding: ‘The immediate threat to the community has been reduced.' State Emergency Service deputy commissioner Damien Johnston says overnight rainfall was not significant enough to affect river systems but warns residents: ‘You do need to be vigilant’ Hell and high water: flooded-in northern rivers residents grapple with ‘no water, no phone or power’ Squatters in flood buyback homes to be evicted and properties demolished, NSW premier says Australia news updates Continue reading...

Alfred is being used as the latest front in an ideological war, but facts are relevant to how we prepare for a climate-changed future Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast It’s not a good time for climate science. The Trump administration has sacked more than a thousand staff from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the country’s leading agency for weather forecasting and climate science, potentially damaging its ability to do lifesaving work forecasting hurricanes and other extreme weather events. The New York Times reported plans are under way to fire another 1,000. If true, that will take the cuts to about 20% of the workforce. On Monday, it was announced Nasa was axing its chief scientist, Katherine Calvin, who had been appointed to lead the agency’s work on climate change. In trademark Donald Trump/Elon Musk style, there appears little care or sense in where cuts have been made. It’s destruction for destruction’s sake, with tens of thousands of peer-reviewed scientific papers underpinning the understanding of climate science dismissed as a “hoax” or, somehow, “woke”. As in most areas, what happens in the US on forecasting and science capability will have an impact beyond its borders. Continue reading...

Researchers say problem could increase number of people at risk of starvation by 400m in next two decades The pollution of the planet by microplastics is significantly cutting food supplies by damaging the ability of plants to photosynthesise, according to a new assessment. The analysis estimates that between 4% and 14% of the world’s staple crops of wheat, rice and maize is being lost due to the pervasive particles. It could get even worse, the scientists said, as more microplastics pour into the environment. Continue reading...