A 20-member panel of leading ocean scientists has concluded that global carbon dioxide emission are causing ocean acidification that could become a catastrophic problem worldwide. The panel, which presented their findings on April 4, was convened in 2013 at the request of state government officials. Their report states that “permanent and alarming changes” are impacting ocean chemistry, particularly along the West Coast, and that the threat requires a coordinated regional management strategy to resolve.

The issue results from the ever-increasing amounts of carbon dioxide being pumped into the air through human activities. Ocean waters absorb the gas, resulting in chemistry changes that cause ocean acidification and hypoxia, which is a lack of oxygen in the water. The report explains that the effects of ocean acidification will affect ecosystems into the future. “The scenario is that we’ll see a food web that’s radically different to today’s, and it won’t be able to support the kind of fish we value as a society,” said panel co-chair Dr. Francis Chan of Oregon State University.

The West Coast ocean waters are particularly susceptible to rising acidity levels because of ocean currents. Coastal upswelling churns low-oxygen, high CO2 water to the surface from deep in the ocean. This water is nutrient filled, and those nutrients fortify the water, triggering organic growth that sinks to the bottom as it dies, producing more CO2 and lowering oxygen levels even further.

As the oceans become increasingly acidic, certain creatures cannot survive. For instance, the shells of sea butterflies, which are a type of swimming snail that provide food for salmon and many other commonly consumed fish, are dissolving.

West Coast communities are endangered due to primary economies centered around fisheries. Washington state is already finding that shelled organisms are seeing high mortality rates due to difficulties forming their protective outer shells. The crisis is prompting the governments of Oregon, Washington, California and British Columbia to work with scientists to mitigate the effects.

The researchers have some solutions. Planting kelp beds and other seagrasses could help remove CO2 from the water. These plants use carbon dioxide to produce more seagrass and reduce the impact of ocean acidification. Chan says that, although this solution has a high chance of success, it may not work everywhere, since every coastline is different.

Chan remains optimistic. “What’s really kept us going is the receptivity of the decision makers at the state level. The governor has a clear interest in working with us, and legislators also want to know, ‘What are the things we can do, right now?’.”

In a press release issued yesterday, the University of Copenhagen announced that they have discovered reverse photosynthesis, a natural process through which the energy in solar rays breaks down plant materials, which can then be used to produce chemicals and energy. The research results, which have been published in Nature Communications, say the reduction in time needed to produce chemicals, biofuels and other products, along with the corresponding reduction in pollution, has the potential to “revolutionize industrial production.”

Although functioning society depends on the petrochemical industry it remains problematic for both the climate and environment. The Danish study’s researchers have made a breakthrough with the potential to transform humans’ use of Earth’s natural resources. Research head Professor Claus Felby said in the press release, “This is a game changer, one that could transform the industrial production of fuels and chemicals, thus serving to reduce pollution significantly.

Photosynthesis is the breakdown of plant material caused by the energy in solar rays. In the process of reverse photosynthesis, biomass such as straw or wood is combined with a natural enzyme, known as monooxygenases, that is found in certain bacteria and fungi. By adding chlorophyll and exposing the mixture to sunlight, sugar molecules found in the biomass are broken down into smaller pieces by a natural process. The biochemicals that result can then be converted into fuel and plastic through a much easier process than currently used, resulting in faster production, enhanced energy efficiency and lower temperatures for industrial biofuel production.

Nature itself uses light, chlorophyll and monooxygenases for reverse photosynthesis in organisms such as fungi and bacteria to access nutrients and sugars in plants, but researchers do not as yet know how widespread this is.

In the future reverse photosynthesis may be used to break down chemical bonds between hydrogen and carbon, then used under ambient conditions to convert biogas-plant sourced methane into methanol, which is a liquid fuel that can be processed into chemicals, fuels and other materials by the petrochemicals industry.

Felby said, “Photosynthesis by way of the sun doesn’t just allow things to grow, the same principles can be applied to break plant matter down, allowing the release of chemical substances. The immense energy in solar light can be used so that the processes can take place without additional energy input.”

Charles Bolden, NASA administrator and former astronaut, recently told CNBC’s On the Money that a mission to Mars may be a reality in the next 20 years. “We think we’re on the right trajectory to get humans to Mars in the 2030s.” He said he is confident that the space agency’s “Journey to Mars” goal can be accomplished, and says they have been sending “precursor missions to Mars for almost 50 years now.” Bolden said we are closer than ever before in the eventual journey to the Red Planet.

It may be the modern-day equivalent to a trip to the moon, but with a much greater significance. According to Bolden, reaching Mars is “critically important” in achieving a better understanding of Earth, since Mars is similar to our own planet in many ways. Although a cold desert half the diameter of Earth, Mars has seasons, weather, canyons and volcanoes, and nearly the same amount of dry land as our planet, although the water is long gone.

The question is where the Martian atmosphere went, and the answer could help us deal with climate change on Earth. Scientists believe that at some point the Red Planet must have had a thicker, denser atmosphere. Understanding what happened to it could help deal with the increasing amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) in Earth’s atmosphere, which is fueling dangerous climate change.

Unmanned satellites and rovers, along with meteorites from Mars, have helped us understand how an entire planet’s atmosphere can change due the transformation of CO2 into carbonate materials, essentially rocks. These carbonate materials absorb water, resulting in the planet losing both its atmosphere and its water. Studying the chemical evolution of that planet could help teach us about the same ongoing process on Earth.

According to Bolden, nuclear thermal propulsion is the best bet for getting humans to Mars. A great deal of help in building the systems and spaceships is coming from commercial civilian companies such as Boeing and SpaceX, who have already helped NASA send astronauts to the International Space Station. Those partnerships will continue, with the program calling for a core rocket to be built by Boeing.

Surprisingly enough, there is little communication between Earth climate change scientists and their counterparts who study Mars. Combining the knowledge pool of those two groups could go a long ways toward controlling Earth’s increasing climate problems, to which Mars may hold the secret.

A study published in the journal Science last Thursday revealed that gorillas and humans are more closely-related species than was previously thought. A new and more complete genome sequencing for a gorilla named Sue confirmed that there is a mere 1.6 percent divergence between gorilla and human genes. The closest human relatives in the great apes family are chimps and bonobos, which tie for first with a divergence of only 1.2 percent.

The study involved geneticists at the University of Washington’s Eichler lab, who produced a nearly complete gorilla genome. Previous gorilla genome sequencing contained more than 400,000 gaps. A technique known as long-read sequencing technology allowed the Eichler researchers to close more than 90 percent of those gaps. The new genome is known as Susie3, and it has already given some surprising insight into lowland gorillas’ evolutionary history. Christopher Hill, co-author of the study, said that patterns of genetic variation within the genome of gorillas can provide evidence of how climate change, disease and human activity affect the lowland gorilla populations.

“The new gorilla genome assembly provides us with a slightly different picture of the evolutionary history of the Western lowland gorilla,” said Hill. Prior studies showed that a bottleneck was seen in the gorilla population 50,000 years ago that occurred when the population was small and the species became inbred. The new analysis shows that this bottleneck was even more severe than originally thought.

The Eichler lab’s results may lead to improvements in the accuracy of sequencing other mammal genomes. They are already using the long-read sequencing technology to complete genomes of others in the great apes family, which includes gorillas, orangutans, chimpanzees and humans. These advances could provide a basis for future breakthroughs on the genetics of primate behavior and cognition.

Gorilla genomes are particularly important for study because they are so closely related to human genes. Hill says one of the goals of the Eichler lab is to create a comprehensive listing of the known genetic differences between humans and other great apes, which may aid researchers in identifying the parts of the human genome that are associated with behavior, cognition and neurological diseases.

For example, last year Duke University scientists located a gene regulator that causes human brains to grow large. It was found by tracking differences between chimpanzee and human genomes in the areas related to brain development. Knowing more about these close relatives can help scientists understand what changes occurred that made us so different from our great ape cousins. Understanding those differences can provide more indepth research on everything from disease to language.

Evan Eichler, study lead author from the University of Washington, said, “My motivation in studying human and great ape genomes is to try to learn what makes us tick as a species. He also hopes that genome sequencing for humans for clinical reasons may one day be able to experiencing such detail and accuracy. It doesn’t come cheap. He estimates that the new sequencing method costs $80,000 each.

Archaeologists using infrared images from a satellite 400 miles above earth have found strong evidence of a second Viking settlement in North America. The site, which was discovered last summer, is in Canada, on the southwest coast of Newfoundland. It is about 300 miles south of the only confirmed Viking settlement on the continent, which was discovered in 1960. Since that finding, archaeologists have been hunting without success for Viking landmarks in America that would have predated Columbus by 500 years.

Sarah H. Parcak is a leading space archaeologist working with Canadian experts and the NOVA science series, which is making a 2-hour television documentary. Vikings Unearthed will air on PBS next week. Parcak made the discovery along the coast between Baffin Island and Massachusetts. The “hot spots” revealed by the infrared images led to further examination. Magnetometer readings showed elevated iron readings at a remote site the researchers call Point Rosee.

Trenches were dug in the area that exposed Viking-style turf walls as well as ash residue, a fire-cracked boulder and roasted ore known as bog iron, all signs of metallurgy not consistent with the known native people of the region. Radiocarbon testing dated the materials to the Norse era. Scientists also found the site promising for Viking habitation due to the lack of historical objects associated with other cultures.

Parcak said that the find indicates either “an entirely new culture that looks exactly like the Norse, or its the westernmost Norse site that’s ever been discovered.”

Many previous searches of promising sites have led to disappointment, so scientists are trying not to get their hopes too high. However, according to Douglas Bolender of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Massachusetts, Boston and research assistant professor at Andrew Fiske Memorial Center for Archeological Research, there is no alternative evidence that the site is anything other than Norse. He said a buried structure there could be a smithy for making longboat weaponry and nails, which would be a strong indicator of Viking presence.

Parcak’s researched used a commercial satellite called WorldView-3 to search known Norse sites on the tiny island of Papa Stour in Scotland. The satellite used infrared technology to detect buried walls. Digging revealed some viking artifacts. Parcak then switched her search to the coastline between the Canadian Arctic and New England, where the hot spots were revealed.

Digging at the site will resume this summer.

Recent experiments in which scientists in Japan turned cells from the gums of mice into stem cells, then used those cells to grow deeply layered skin, have given hope for growing functional skin for human patients. The new lab-grown skin was transplanted onto nude mice, where it integrated well and even sprouted hairs.

Currently skin grafts function, but do not have hair follicles or sweat glands, meaning that they don’t work like real skin. The team hopes that within 5 to 10 years their system can grow skin from the cells of burn victims that can be transplanted back onto them. The findings of the studies were reported in the journal Science Advances on April 1.

Senior author of the paper Takashi Tsuji reported, “Up until now, artificial skin development has been hampered by the fact that the skin lacked the important organs, such as hair follicles and exocrine glands, which allow the skin to play its important role in regulation.” He said the new technique allowed the team to grow skin that replicates normally functioning tissue.

Tsuji described the process, which began by taking cells from the gums of mice and converting them to “induced pluripotent stem cells,” or iPSCs, by bathing them in chemicals that essentially reverse the development of the cells, allowing them to divide again as stem cells which can become nearly any type of cell in the body. This technique was discovered in 2006. The new achievement with the technique, however, was getting the cells to form the different layers of skin which allow them to be fully functional.

The layers of the new artificially-grown skin have glands that secrete sweat and oil, and three separate layers, just like normal skin. In the experiment, once the stem cells turned into skin tissue they were implanted into live mice. They then transplanted the cells out of those mice and put them into other mice, where they turned into skin tissue. About 2 weeks after that transplant, hair began to sprout.

One major improvement with the new skin is that the tissue made connections with nerve and muscle tissue, which allowed it to work as normal skin.

Tsuji said he believes the artificial skin takes scientists one step closer to producing actual organs for transplantation in a lab. The tissue could also be used as skin samples for drug and cosmetic company testing, rather than using animals.