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Categories: Biology: Biochemistry, Mathematics: Modeling
Published How ancient sea creatures can inform soft robotics
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Fossils of a marine animal that lived 500 million years ago, combined with computer simulations, informed the design of a new soft robot.
Published The Complete Library of Charles Darwin revealed
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Charles Darwin -- arguably the most influential man of science in history, accumulated a vast personal library throughout his working life. Until now, 85 per cent of its contents were unknown or unpublished. This year, coinciding with Darwin's 215th birthday, The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online, a scholarly project, has released an online 300-page catalogue detailing Darwin's complete personal library, with 7,400 titles across 13,000 volumes and items including books, pamphlets and journals.
Published Why insects navigate more efficiently than robots
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Engineers have studied how insects navigate, for the purpose of developing energy-efficient robots.
Published Understanding chronic wasting disease in deer
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A new collaborative study analyzed fecal samples to shed light on how the fatal disease impacts the gut microbiome in deer, providing a promising tool for disease surveillance.
Published Surprisingly vibrant color of 12-million-year-old snail shells
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Snail shells are often colorful and strikingly patterned. This is due to pigments that are produced in special cells of the snail and stored in the shell in varying concentrations. Fossil shells, on the other hand, are usually pale and inconspicuous because the pigments are very sensitive and have already decomposed. Residues of ancient color patterns are therefore very rare. This makes a new discovery all the more astonishing: researchers found pigments in twelve-million-year-old fossilized snail shells.
Published Innovations in depth from focus/defocus pave the way to more capable computer vision systems
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In an image, estimating the distance between objects and the camera by using the blur in the images as clue, also known as depth from focus/defocus, is essential in computer vision. However, model-based methods fail when texture-less surfaces are present, and learning-based methods require the same camera settings during training and testing. Now, researchers have come up with an innovative strategy for depth estimation that combines the best of both the worlds to solve these limitations, extending the applicability of depth from focus/defocus.
Published Surprising behavior in one of the least studied mammals in the world
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Beaked whales are among the least studied mammals in the world. Now, a new study reveals surprising information about the Baird's beaked whale species.
Published Making AI a partner in neuroscientific discovery
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The past year has seen major advances in Large Language Models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT. The ability of these models to interpret and produce human text sources (and other sequence data) has implications for people in many areas of human activity. A new perspective paper argues that like many professionals, neuroscientists can either benefit from partnering with these powerful tools or risk being left behind.
Published Foul fumes pose pollinator problems
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Scientists have discovered that nighttime air pollution -- coming primarily form car exhaust and power plant emissions -- is responsible for a major drop in nighttime pollinator activity. Nitrate radicals (NO3) in the air degrade the scent chemicals released by a common wildflower, drastically reducing the scent-based cues that its chief pollinators rely on to locate the flower. The findings show how nighttime pollution creates a chain of chemical reactions that degrades scent cues, leaving flowers undetectable by smell. The researchers also determined that pollution likely has worldwide impacts on pollination.
Published Scientists debunk role of 'junk cells' in fight against malaria
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Researchers have discovered a previously unknown ability of a group of immune system cells, known as Atypical B cells (ABCs), to fight infectious diseases such as malaria. The scientists say ABCs could also be key to developing new treatments for chronic autoimmune conditions such as lupus.
Published Researchers uncover genetic factors for severe Lassa fever
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Researchers report the results of the first ever genome-wide association study (GWAS) of a biosafety level 4 (BSL-4) virus. The team found two key human genetic factors that could help explain why some people develop severe Lassa fever, and a set of LARGE1 variants linked to a reduced chance of getting Lassa fever. The work could lay the foundation for better treatments for Lassa fever and other similar diseases. The scientists are already working on a similar genetics study of Ebola susceptibility.
Published Surprise discovery of tiny insect-killing worm
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Scientists have discovered a tiny worm species that infects and kills insects. These worms, called nematodes, could control crop pests in warm, humid places where other beneficial nematodes are currently unable to thrive.
Published How fruit flies control the brain's 'steering wheel'
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A newly discovered neural circuit mediates between navigational brain cells, acting as a sort of mental steering wheel.
Published Friend or foe? Ancient partnership between moss and fungi
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Researchers have shed new light on the ancient relationship between moss and fungi. They discovered that intricate moss-fungi interactions often depended on a third variable -- the presence of endobacteria within the fungi themselves.
Published Scientists reveal why blueberries are blue
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Tiny external structures in the wax coating of blueberries give them their blue color, researchers reveal.
Published Researchers discover new cell that remembers allergies
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Researchers have made a groundbreaking discovery: a new cell that remembers allergies.
Published Replacing animal-based foods with alternative proteins would unlock land for carbon removal
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Researchers report that replacing 50% of animal products with alternative proteins by 2050 could free up enough agricultural land to generate renewable energy equivalent in volume to today's coal-generated power while simultaneously removing substantial CO2 from the atmosphere.
Published New research uncovers biological drivers of heart disease risk
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Over the past 15 years, researchers have identified hundreds of regions in the human genome associated with heart attack risk. However, researchers lack efficient ways to explore how these genetic variants are molecularly connected to cardiovascular disease, limiting efforts to develop therapeutics. To streamline analysis of hundreds of genetic variants associated with coronary artery disease (CAD), a team of researchers combined multiple sequencing and experimental techniques to map the relationship between known CAD variants and the biological pathways they impact.
Published Organic compound found in trees could prevent contact lens eye infections
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Researchers say hydroquinine could be an effective naturally occurring disinfecting solution for contact lenses and help combat keratitis infections.
Published A machine learning framework that encodes images like a retina
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Researchers have developed a machine learning approach to compressing image data with greater accuracy than learning-free computation methods, with applications for retinal implants and other sensory prostheses.