Computer scientists develop Emu, an algorithm that uses long reads of genomes to identify the species of bacteria in a community. The program could simplify sorting harmful from helpful bacteria in microbiomes like those in the gut or in agriculture and the environment.

Using data gathered over the last four decades to study the effects of temperature changes and rain on the atmospheric concentration of methane, scientists have concluded that Earth could be both delivering more, and removing less, methane into the air than previously estimated, with the result that more heat is being trapped in the atmosphere. The study, published in the scientific journal Nature Communications on 23 June, addresses the large uncertainty about the impact of climate change on atmospheric methane. The study finds that this impact could be four times greater than that estimated in the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report.

A team of researchers surveyed couples about their ideas on climate change and found that while many partners exhibited similar beliefs and behaviors around the issue, there also were many discrepancies.

A class of viruses known to cause severe diarrheal diseases -- including the one famous for widespread outbreaks on cruise ships -- can grow in the salivary glands of mice and spread through their saliva, scientists have discovered. The findings show that a new route of transmission exists for these common viruses, which afflict billions of people each year worldwide and can be deadly.

New research suggests the brain function of otherwise-healthy individuals exposed to event trauma has the ability to 'bounce back' over time once the threat resolves. Researchers conducted a follow-up study on a group of Cantabrians, who had been exposed to trauma during the region's earthquakes over a decade ago.