Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. A close-up of organic material growing on the Great Wall of China. Large swaths of the Great Wall of China are held together ...

Think twice before stepping on that crunchy top layer of soil. It may be a vital ecosystem—one that you can help protect. By Jude Coleman / Knowable Magazine Published Sep 3, 2024 8:00 AM EDT This ...

The Great Wall of China, facing erosion and natural degradation, finds an unexpected protector in the form of biocrusts. These 'living skins' made up of plants and microorganisms cover 67% of the ...

Have you ever heard of biocrusts? No, it’s not a new kind of pizza crust. Biocrusts refer to a group of tiny desert organisms (like mosses, lichens, cyanobacteria, and fungi) that live on the surface ...

Rammed earth portions of the Great Wall of China — built by compressing natural materials with soils — have been regarded as a weak point in its structure. But these swaths of the iconic landmark ...

Biocrust in Utah Nihonjoe via Wikipedia under CC By-SA 3.0 Under the dry, piercing heat of the Utah sun, Sasha Reed is growing plots of plants—and bacteria, lichen and fungi, too. But Reed is no ...

The dark surfaces below the vertical cliffs are desert crust, undisturbed by humans but showing fine paths cut by deer. Click here to see larger image. Photo by Jeff Mitton. One morning, early, I ...

The functional diversity of bacteria and fungi changes significantly over the course of biocrust development Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are communities of cyanobacteria, lichens, algae and ...

Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more. These soil surfaces ...

Holly has a degree in Medical Biochemistry from the University of Leicester. Her scientific interests include genomics, personalized medicine, and bioethics.View full profile Holly has a degree in ...