Decline in elephant numbers may trigger the loss of dung beetle species. These large herbivores maintain savanna balance. A 15-year East African field study found dung beetles depend strongly on elephant waste. Beetle variety fell 23 percent and overall biomass dropped 51 percent without it. Smaller grazers such as zebras or cattle failed to replace the resource. The loss slows waste breakdown and cuts seed distribution.
Modified rice paper offers a new route to reclaim gold from discarded electronics. A chemical treatment creates pores that draw gold ions from mixed solutions like dissolved processors and convert them to nanoparticles. Burning the paper then yields pure metal.
Sea cucumber tissues can stay alive and expand for years. Parts such as tube feet and tentacles placed in seawater survived more than three years, resisted microbes with immune cells, and took up nutrients. The finding questions standard ideas of decay and supplies an ethical way to examine tissue repair.
