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Microhabitats: Potential for oil cleanup, extraterrestrial life

August 11, 2014

Results from an environmental study of the world’s largest asphalt lake shine new light on how life on Earth can survive in even the most inhospitable environments.

Scientists already knew that microbes can thrive at the boundary where water and oil meet, but the discovery at Pitch Lake on the Caribbean island of Trinidad that they can live within the oil and were found to be actively degrading the oil opens up new possibilities for using them to clean up spills.

“We discovered that there are additional habitats where we have not looked at where life can occur and thrive,” says Dirk Schulze-Makuch, co-author of the study and a professor in the WSU School of the Environment.

The wiliness of these microbes suggests that life on other planets — at least at the microscopic level — may not be so far-fetched after all.

Read more about the research, results, and possibilities:

WSU News
Science Magazine
Discover Magazine
Nature
The Daily Galaxy
China Topix
The Times of India
Astrobiology.com
Mother Nature Network
Photos: Live Science

WSU grad student wins highly competitive national scholarship

August 6, 2014

Graduate student Corinne Kane has received federal funding to study changes in coral fishes and their habitats, from shallow to deep waters. She intends to research the role deep-water coral reefs play in protecting fish and other dwellers of shallow-water reefs.

As one of three recipients of the Nancy Foster Scholarship from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Kane will receive an annual stipend of $30,000 and up to $12,000 annually as an education allowance. Additionally, recipients could see up to $10,000 to support a four- to six-week research collaboration at a NOAA facility.

“This extremely competitive program … nurtures development of the next generation of NOAA scientists,” said Daniel J. Basta, director of NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries.

NOAA received more than 200 applications for the scholarship.

Smarter than your average bear

June 3, 2014

Peeka, a 9-year-old grizzly housed at the WSU Bear Center, earns top place for demonstrating the most systematic ability to foil human security efforts. On her own, she learned a three-step process enabling her to slide open a door leading to an enclosed pen. Using her massive paw, she undid a spring-loaded clip; lifted a latch; then slid a bolt.

“Whenever I’d hear the clip hit the floor, I knew I had about two seconds to vacate the pen before the door would swing open,” said Charlie Robbins, a wildlife nutritionist who founded the one-of-a kind center in the 1980s. Robbins installed a more sophisticated type of latch on the pen, but Peeka figured that one out as well.

On special assignment at the WSU Bear Center

April 30, 2014

With human-bear encounters on the rise, Dennis Bragg, a reporter for KPAX-TV in Missoula, Montana, visits the WSU Bear Center to learn more about the very intelligent grizzly bear and our unique research center.

Watch the video

WSUV grad student receives Fulbright to study in Switzerland

April 23, 2014

Growing up in Florida, Eric Dexter was the only kid in his class who didn’t want to become a marine biologist. He barely graduated from high school. No one in his family had ever gone to college or traveled outside the country.

In September, the Washington State University Vancouver graduate student leaves for the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, on a Fulbright Fellowship. There he will receive specialized training on theoretical research techniques to further his research on invasive aquatic species on Lake Geneva, one of the largest lakes in Western Europe. The subject of aquatic invasive species is a matter of international concern.