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Science in the news

Science in the news

Media contacts

Journalists are encouraged to contact OSU's Department of News and Research Communications at 541-737-0787 for assistance. Media personnel seeking expert sources for their stories can contact OSU news editor Sean Nealon at 541-737-0787 or sean.nealon@oregonstate.edu.

For more specific content, science news writer Steve Lundeberg is also available at 541-737-4039, or steve.lundeberg@oregonstate.edu.

Media coverage highlights

The Oregonian -

Oregon’s underwater forests are vanishing. Can they be saved?

Sarah Gravem's study showing that sunflower sea stars could potentially regulate purple sea urchin populations and, as a result, restore and maintain healthy kelp forests, was shared in the Oregonian. The Oregonian article is part of a series documenting the sudden changes remaking ecosystems, transforming the fishing industry, reshaping offshore recreation and altering what's on local menus.

High Country News -

What happens to birds when it's smoky outside?

A community science initiative along the West Coast is using volunteer observations to study the effect of wildfire smoke on birds. COS researcher Jamie Cornelius shared her research, which involves catching, tagging and monitoring common forest songbirds in the smokiest Oregon regions.

National Geographic -

Why giant Antarctic sea spiders are surprisingly good dads

Any schoolkid will tell you seahorse dads carry their babies. But sea spiders? There are 1,500 species of these long, spindly-legged denizens, found in oceans worldwide, and most are doting fathers that care for their unborn young. They range from tiny creatures roaming intertidal pools to behemoths stalking the polar depths.

KOIN -

Oregon tide pools struggle to cope with climate change, study shows

Ocean life found in Oregon and Northern California’s tide pools is struggling to recover from a 15-year heat wave brought on by climate change, a new study conducted by Oregon State University researchers shows.

Oregon Public Broadcasting -

The promising potential of using iron instead of scarce metals in batteries

Iron is one of the cheapest and most abundant metals on the planet, unlike nickel and cobalt, which are used in lithium-ion batteries to power electric vehicles, and ubiquitous devices, from mobile phones to laptops. Oregon State University chemistry researcher Xiulei “David” Ji is an author of a new study that shows iron can be used to replace metals that are scarce, expensive and can be environmentally damaging to extract.

Mind Body Green -

The Underrated Link Between Gut Health & Vitamin D

While vitamin D is widely recognized for maintaining a balanced mood and robust immune function, emerging studies highlight its crucial influence on gut health and the beneficial bacteria within.

Ag Information Network -

Hops helps dementia

Dr. Adrian Gombart, professor of biochemistry and biophysics at Oregon State University is researching the benefits that hops and a derivative in hops called xanthohumol, can help fight metabolic syndrome affecting an estimated 35% of U.S. adults.

Cosmos -

Iron cathodes could slash costs, sustainability issues

Chemists are suggesting a relatively abundant metal could hold the key to more sustainable battery technology amid the intense demand for resources by industries in the green energy transition.

New York Post -

This cheap, widely available element could be the key to affordable electric cars

I-ron, not so far away.

A future where electric cars are cheaper, safer and more sustainable is coming — and affordable, easily obtained iron is the key, scientists say.

A team of researchers hopes to ignite the next green revolution by demonstrating that the extremely ordinary element — rather than rare, expensive cobalt and nickel — can be used to construct the cathode in lithium-ion batteries.

Interesting Engineering -

Iron cathodes make lithium batteries cheaper, safer, more sustainable

Scientists have recently developed a new type of cathode material using iron to make lithium-ion batteries for electric cars. This would replace the more expensive and scarce metals such as cobalt and nickel and pave the way for cheaper, safer, and more sustainable batteries with higher energy densities.

Technology Networks -

Iron Could Be Key to Cheaper, Greener Lithium-Ion Batteries

A collaboration co-led by an Oregon State University chemistry researcher is hoping to spark a green battery revolution by showing that iron instead of cobalt and nickel can be used as a cathode material in lithium-ion batteries.

YachatsNews -

A new hybrid non-native beach grass is spreading fast and hampering efforts to restore ocean dunes

Over a century ago, settlers altered the Pacific Coast’s natural shape with the introduction of two non-native grass species. Now, a new hybrid grass species is making headway and presenting challenges for dune restoration, say Oregon State scientists.

Phys -

Research explores ways to mitigate the environmental toxicity of ubiquitous silver nanoparticles

Despite the ubiquity of silver nanoparticles, little is known about their environmental toxicity or how it might be mitigated. Researchers at Oregon State University have taken a key step toward closing the knowledge gap with a study that indicates the particles' shape and surface chemistry play key roles in how they affect aquatic ecosystems.

Columbia Gorge News -

Oregon State scientists, collaborators say ocean biodiversity work needs improvement

An international collaboration that includes two Oregon State University scientists says the world’s largest marine protected areas aren’t collectively delivering the biodiversity benefits they could be because of slow implementation of management strategies and a failure to restrict the most impactful human activities.

The New York Times -

U.S. Plan to Protect Oceans Has a Problem, Some Say: Too Much Fishing

“Saying that these areas that are touted to be for biodiversity conservation should also do double duty for fishing as well, especially highly impactful gears that are for large-scale commercial take, there’s just a cognitive dissonance there,” said Kirsten Grorud-Colvert, a marine biologist at Oregon State University who led a group of scientists that in 2021 published a guide for evaluating marine protected areas.

Dirty Blue -

New discovery! A magenta pigment based on moon material!?

A video focused on a new magenta pigment discovery from Oregon State.

Quanta Magazine -

Ecologists Struggle to Get a Grip on ‘Keystone Species’

Ecologists today are working to refine what “keystone species” means and advocate for a more discerning application. With a more rigorous identification of keystone species, policymakers can better identify and safeguard species that have disproportionate impacts on ecosystems, they argue.

Mongabay -

Annual ocean conference raises $11.3b in pledges for marine conservation

From April 15-17, state delegates, organization representatives, academics and philanthropists met at the 9th Our Ocean Conference (OOC) in Athens to discuss the protection of the world’s oceans and pledge actions to safeguard their future. College of Science marine ecologists Kirsten Grorud-Colvert and Jenna Sullivan-Stack presented at the conference about the importance of highly protected marine areas.

KTVZ -

OSU researchers whose vivid blue made color history advance pigment chemistry with moon-inspired reddish magentas

An Oregon State University researcher who made color history in 2009 with a vivid blue pigment has developed durable, reddish magentas inspired by lunar mineralogy and ancient Egyptian chemistry.

International Paint&Coating Magazine -

Researchers Developed Moon-Inspired Magenta Pigments for Energy-Efficient Coatings

A group of researchers from the Oregon State University has recently published a new study illustrating how it has developed durable chromium-based reddish magenta pigments inspired by lunar mineralogy and ancient Egyptian chemistry, which can be employed during the manufacturing process of energy-efficient coatings for vehicles and buildings.