Lichens
Lichens are ecologically important because they are sensitive to the atmospheric pollutants, and this is why they are called bio-indicators. The presence of some substances, such as sulphur dioxide, in the air produces changes in the growth of the lichen. The quality of the environment can be assessed by studying the growth of these organisms. Lichens are organisms that colonise an environment that has just settled. They are therefore the first organisms that we can find, for instance, on the rocks of a landslide or, on the mountains, on the rocks left behind by a withdrawing glacier. With time, lichens grow steadily and by studying their size one can determine the year in which the landslide fell or the rocks were left behind by the glacier. These dates are useful to the geologists to reconstruct historical events, to study and gain an insight of the surrounding environment. Many study projects on the movements of Alpine glaciers also rely on this dating system
Special reports
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18 December 2021
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16 June 2021
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8 March 2022
8 March. We remember Rosalind Franklin, the great female DNA scientist.
DNA was first isolated by Friedrich Miescher, a Swiss biochemist in 1869. It was a brilliant, but not complicated operation:…
27 February 2022
In search of the riders of icebergs
International Polar Bear Day, set up by Polar Bears International, a non-profit organisation, was held on 27 February. The aim…
-
12 February 2022
A naturalist’s voyage around the world
Charles Darwin was just 22 years old when he set sail on board HMS Beagle...
18 December 2021
The Christmas Star Tradition
Let's discover together stories and legends about the Christmas Star...
-
15 September 2021
Can you be intelligent without a brain?
Can you be intelligent without a brain? The answer is "in a certain sense, yes" and this is demonstrated by…
26 July 2021
Japanese beetles and other alien species
There is a beetle that has been invading the Italian countryside and cities for some time now, a small insect…
-
8 March 2022
8 March. We remember Rosalind Franklin, the great female DNA scientist.
DNA was first isolated by Friedrich Miescher, a Swiss biochemist in 1869. It was a brilliant, but not complicated operation:…
-
27 February 2022
In search of the riders of icebergs
International Polar Bear Day, set up by Polar Bears International, a non-profit organisation, was held on 27 February. The aim…
-
12 February 2022
A naturalist’s voyage around the world
Charles Darwin was just 22 years old when he set sail on board HMS Beagle...
From the Multimedia section
Facts
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Bread and cheese, wine or beer
Yeast is used to make wine, beer and bread. When mixed with the bread dough...
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Who lives well with low oxygen?
<i><span style="font-style: normal; " class="Apple-style-span"><i><em>Aquandriella fermentas</em> </i>lives in stagnant waters and can stand complete anaerobiosis...</span></i>
Responsible for fish-plagues
<em>Sporolegnia parasitica</em> is widely present in estuaries and fish tanks and that...
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Bacteria as Sherlock Holmes
A drop of blood, a fragment of skin or a hair found on the scene of a crime can supply…
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Bread and cheese, wine or beer
Yeast is used to make wine, beer and bread. When mixed with the bread dough...
-
Who lives well with low oxygen?
<i><span style="font-style: normal; " class="Apple-style-span"><i><em>Aquandriella fermentas</em> </i>lives in stagnant waters and can stand complete anaerobiosis...</span></i>
Responsible for fish-plagues
<em>Sporolegnia parasitica</em> is widely present in estuaries and fish tanks and that...
-
Bread and cheese, wine or beer
Yeast is used to make wine, beer and bread. When mixed with the bread dough...