A Study of Food Webs – How Do Parasites Affect Complex Feeding Interactions?

This representation of an aquatic food web shows the connections between organisms. Here, red indicates free-living groups and blue indicates parasites. Image courtesy of Dr. Jennifer Dunne et al.

New research indicates that including metazoan parasites in food webs results in structural changes, but most are not unique to this group of organisms.

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Food Bacterial Contamination from Kitchen Surfaces

Food can get contaminated by bacteria. Photo by Cesarharada.

Food cross-contamination causes many people to get sick or die from food poisoning yearly. A new study raises questions about wet and dry kitchen surfaces.

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Can a Mosquito Kill a Killer Whale? Yes, Says New Case Report

Little mosquitoes cause a big problem for orcas. Image by the US Department of Agriculture

Mosquitoes are tiny, but they’re a big problem for captive marine mammals – these little bugs have been the cause of death for at least two orcas.

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Drought and Wind Fueling the 2013 California Wildfires

A satellite photo shows the extent of the Summit Fire. Photo: NASA / CC by 2.0

The 2013 California wildfire season is off to a challenging start, with the Summit, Panther, and Camarillo Springs Fire burning thousands of acres.

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What’s Bugging the Bees: Are Pesticides and High Fructose Corn Syrup to Blame?

honeybee-corn-syrup

Bee populations are declining. Could a lack of resistance to toxins in pesticides due to poor nutrition provided by high fructose corn syrup be the problem?

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