science news 10.4.2019

Today's selection of science news. Links are normally to press releases on EurekAlert (at the bottom end I may also add a couple of newspaper stories). I include quotes from the summary (using quotation marks) in cases where the title alone doesn't reveal what the story is about. My own thoughts appear without quotation marks, if I have any.


astrobiology

Life could be evolving right now on nearest exoplanets


earth

The oldest ice on Earth may be able to solve the puzzle of the planet's climate history

More than 90% of glacier volume in the Alps could be lost by 2100


evolution

The return of Cthulhu -- the small sea critter
"Researchers at Yale, Oxford, the University of Leicester, Imperial College London, and University College London have identified a 430-million-year-old fossil as a new species related to living sea cucumbers. They named the creature Sollasina cthulhu, after H.P. Lovecraft's tentacled monster, Cthulhu."



This is a life reconstruction of Sollasina cthulhu.
Credit: Elissa Martin/Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History


ecology

Astro-ecology: Counting orangutans using star-spotting technology
See also my latest feature on Orangutans.


environment

Tracking the sources of plastic pollution

Study shows potential for Earth-friendly plastic replacement
"New research from The Ohio State University has shown that combining natural rubber with bioplastic in a novel way results in a much stronger replacement for plastic, one that is already capturing the interest of companies looking to shrink their environmental footprints."


humans

Study explores how technology can help prompt positive memories for people with depression

Autism symptoms reduced nearly 50% two years after fecal transplant


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From the news media:

A woman lived 99 years with her organs in all the wrong places, reports The Guardian. But at least her heart was in the right place.