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Categories: Ecology: Nature, Physics: General
Published Mathematical model provides bolt of understanding for lightning-produced X-rays
(via sciencedaily.com) In the early 2000s, scientists observed lightning discharge producing X-rays comprising high energy photons -- the same type used for medical imaging. Researchers could recreate this phenomenon in the lab, but they could not fully explain how and why lightning produced X-rays. Now, two decades later, a team has discovered a new physical mechanism explaining naturally occurring X-rays associated with lightning activity in the Earth's atmosphere.
Published Ants took over the world by following flowering plants out of prehistoric forests
(via sciencedaily.com) Today, ants are pretty much everywhere. To learn more about how these insects conquered the world, scientists used a combination of fossils, DNA, and data on the habitat preferences of modern species to piece together how ants and plants have been evolving together over the past 60 million years. They found that when flowering plants spread out from forests, the ants followed, kicking off the evolution of the thousands of ant species alive today.
Published Researchers discover birds with neurotoxin-laden feathers
(via sciencedaily.com) An expedition into the jungle of New Guinea has resulted in the discovery of two new species of poisonous birds. Genetic changes in these bird species have allowed them to carry a powerful neurotoxin.
Published Charming experiment finds gluon mass in the proton
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Nuclear physicists may have finally pinpointed where in the proton a large fraction of its mass resides. A recent experiment has revealed the radius of the proton's mass that is generated by the strong force as it glues together the proton's building block quarks.
Published How the gut creates a cozy home for beneficial microbiome species
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The digestive tract of fruit flies remodels itself to accommodate beneficial microbiome species and maintain long-term stability of the gut environment, according to new research.
Published Earth prefers to serve life in XXS and XXL sizes
(via sciencedaily.com) Life comes in all shapes in sizes, but some sizes are more popular than others, new research has found. A survey of body sizes of all Earth's living organisms has uncovered an unexpected pattern. Contrary to what current theories can explain, our planet's biomass -- the material that makes up all living organisms -- is concentrated in organisms at either end of the size spectrum.
Published Moths are more efficient pollinators than bees, shows new research
(via sciencedaily.com) Moths are more efficient pollinators at night than day-flying pollinators such as bees, finds new research.
Published Can a solid be a superfluid? Engineering a novel supersolid state from layered 2D materials
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Physicists predict that layered electronic 2D semiconductors can host a curious quantum phase of matter called the supersolid. This counterintuitive quantum material simultaneously forms a rigid crystal, and yet at the same time allows particles to flow without friction, with all the particles belong to the same single quantum state.
Published Cooking up plasmas with microwaves
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have created plasmas with fusion-suitable densities, using microwave power with low frequency. The research team has identified three important steps in the plasma production: lightning-like gas breakdown, preliminary plasma production, and steady-state plasma. Blasting the microwaves without alignment of Heliotron J's magnetic field created a discharge that ripped electrons from their atoms and produced an especially dense plasma.
Published Conserving wildlife can help mitigate climate change
(via sciencedaily.com) Solving the climate crisis and biodiversity crisis are not separate issues. Animals remove billions of tons of carbon dioxide each year. Restoring species will help limit global warming, new science reveals.
Published Even Sonoran Desert plants aren't immune to climate change
(via sciencedaily.com) In North America's hottest, driest desert, climate change is causing the decline of plants once thought nearly immortal and replacing them with shorter shrubs that can take advantage of sporadic rainfall and warmer temperatures.
Published Turtles and crocodiles with unique characteristics are more likely to go extinct
(via sciencedaily.com) New study demonstrates that the most endangered turtles and crocodile species are those that have evolved unique life strategies. Many of the most threatened species carry out important ecosystem functions that other species depend on. Habitat loss was identified as the key overall threat to turtles and crocodiles, followed by climate change and global trade. Unique species faced additional pressure from local consumption, diseases, and pollution.
Published Highly charged ions melt nano gold nuggets
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Shooting ions is very different from shooting a gun: By firing highly charged ions onto tiny gold structures, these structures can be modified in technologically interesting ways. Surprisingly, the key is not the force of impact, but the electric charge of the projectiles.
Published Climate change threatens lemurs on Madagascar
(via sciencedaily.com) Even supposedly adaptable mammal species face increased risk of extinction.
Published What should we call evolution driven by genetic engineering? Genetic welding, says researcher
(via sciencedaily.com) With CRISPR-Cas9 technology, humans can now rapidly change the evolutionary course of animals or plants by inserting genes that can easily spread through entire populations. An evolutionary geneticist proposes that we call this evolutionary meddling 'genetic welding.' He argues that we must scientifically and ethically scrutinize the potential consequences of genetic welding before we put it into practice.
Published Extinction of steam locomotives derails assumptions about biological evolution
(via sciencedaily.com) When the Kinks' Ray Davies penned the tune 'Last of the Steam-Powered Trains,' the vanishing locomotives stood as nostalgic symbols of a simpler English life. But for a paleontologist, the replacement of steam-powered trains with diesel and electric engines, as well as cars and trucks, might be a model of how some species in the fossil record died out.
Published Nanophysics: The right twist
(via sciencedaily.com) Stacked layers of ultrathin semiconductor materials feature phenomena that can be exploited for novel applications. Physicists have studied effects that emerge by giving two layers a slight twist.
Published Earth's first plants likely to have been branched
(via sciencedaily.com) A new discovery changes ideas about the origin of branching in plants.
Published New type of entanglement lets scientists 'see' inside nuclei
(via sciencedaily.com) Nuclear physicists have found a new way to see inside nuclei by tracking interactions between particles of light and gluons. The method relies on harnessing a new type of quantum interference between two dissimilar particles. Tracking how these entangled particles emerge from the interactions lets scientists map out the arrangement of gluons. This approach is unusual for making use of entanglement between dissimilar particles -- something rare in quantum studies.
Published Photosynthesis: Varying roads lead to the reaction center
(via sciencedaily.com) Chemists use high-precision quantum chemistry to study key elements of super-efficient energy transfer in an important element of photosynthesis.