Study links rapid growth of ocean macroalgae to global heating and nutrient pollution

Scientists have warned of a potential “regime shift” in the oceans, as the rapid growth of huge mats of seaweed appears to be driven by global heating and excessive enrichment of waters from farming runoff and other pollutants.

Over the past two decades, seaweed blooms have expanded by a staggering 13.4% a year in the tropical Atlantic and western Pacific, with the most dramatic increases occurring after 2008, according to researchers at the University of South Florida.

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© Photograph: Orlando Barría/EPA

© Photograph: Orlando Barría/EPA

© Photograph: Orlando Barría/EPA

A research team has successfully imaged a nova in high resolution—and the images suggest that the nova was not a single, impulsive explosion.

Higher surface roughness of polythene cups may account for greater microplastic shedding, scientists say

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Or will they have you in pieces?

Today’s puzzles are all geometrical, and all from the mind of the UK’s most enduring and eloquent popular maths writer, Ian Stewart.

1. Bonnie Tiler

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© Photograph: Rebeca Mello/Getty Images

© Photograph: Rebeca Mello/Getty Images

© Photograph: Rebeca Mello/Getty Images