Showing 20 articles starting at article 1021
< Previous 20 articles Next 20 articles >
Categories: Biology: Molecular, Offbeat: General
Published Desert ants: The magnetic field calibrates the navigation system
(via sciencedaily.com)
Original source 
Desert ants find their way during an early learning phase with the help of the Earth's magnetic field. The associated learning process leaves clear traces in their nervous system.
Published Greetings from the island of enhanced stability: The quest for the limit of the periodic table
(via sciencedaily.com)
Original source 
Since the turn of the century, six new chemical elements have been discovered and subsequently added to the periodic table of elements, the very icon of chemistry. These new elements have high atomic numbers up to 118 and are significantly heavier than uranium, the element with the highest atomic number (92) found in larger quantities on Earth. This raises questions such as how many more of these superheavy species are waiting to be discovered, where -- if at all -- is a fundamental limit in the creation of these elements, and what are the characteristics of the so-called island of enhanced stability. In a recent review, experts in theoretical and experimental chemistry and physics of the heaviest elements and their nuclei summarize the major challenges and offer a fresh view on new superheavy elements and the limit of the periodic table.
Published Low-cost microbe can speed biological discovery
(via sciencedaily.com)
Original source 
Researchers have created a new version of a microbe to compete economically with E. coli -- a bacteria commonly used as a research tool due to its ability to synthesize proteins -- to conduct low-cost and scalable synthetic biological experiments.
Published New trial highlights incremental progress towards a cure for HIV-1
(via sciencedaily.com)
Original source 
A new clinical trial suggests that a combination of the drug vorinostat and immunotherapy can coax HIV-infected cells out of latency and attack them. The findings highlight how close -- yet still far -- researchers have come to developing a cure for HIV-1.
Published Why do flies fall in love? Researchers tease out the signals behind fruit fly courtship songs
(via sciencedaily.com)
Original source 
Researchers have pinpointed the group of neurons in the nerve cord -- a structure analogous to our spinal cord -- that produce and pattern the fly's two major courtship songs. They've also measured neuronal activity in these cells while flies were singing to understand how these neurons control each type of song.
Published Archaeologists discover oldest known bead in the Americas
(via sciencedaily.com)
Original source 
The bead found at the La Prele Mammoth site in Wyoming's Converse County is about 12,940 years old and made of bone from a hare.
Published Nutrients direct intestinal stem cell function and affect aging
(via sciencedaily.com)
Original source 
The capacity of intestinal stem cells to maintain cellular balance in the gut decreases upon aging. Researchers have discovered a new mechanism of action between the nutrient adaptation of intestinal stem cells and aging. The finding may make a difference when seeking ways to maintain the functional capacity of the aging gut.
Published How ancient sea creatures can inform soft robotics
(via sciencedaily.com)
Original source 
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 hidden rule for flight feathers -- and how it could reveal which dinosaurs could fly
(via sciencedaily.com)
Original source 
Scientists examined hundreds of birds in museum collections and discovered a suite of feather characteristics that all flying birds have in common. These 'rules' provide clues as to how the dinosaur ancestors of modern birds first evolved the ability to fly, and which dinosaurs were capable of flight.
Published Five dazzling new species of eyelash vipers discovered in Colombia and Ecuador
(via sciencedaily.com)
Original source 
Scientists have discovered five dazzling new species of eyelash vipers in the jungles and cloud forests of Colombia and Ecuador.
Published Surprisingly vibrant color of 12-million-year-old snail shells
(via sciencedaily.com)
Original source 
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 Surprising behavior in one of the least studied mammals in the world
(via sciencedaily.com)
Original source 
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 Researchers show classical computers can keep up with, and surpass, their quantum counterparts
(via sciencedaily.com)
Original source 
A team of scientists has devised means for classical computing to mimic a quantum computing with far fewer resources than previously thought. The scientists' results show that classical computing can be reconfigured to perform faster and more accurate calculations than state-of-the-art quantum computers.
Published Mysterious gap in size distribution of super-earths explained
(via sciencedaily.com)
Original source 
Astronomers have uncovered evidence of how the enigmatic gap in the size distribution of exoplanets at around two Earth radii emerges. Their computer simulations demonstrate that the migration of icy, so-called sub-Neptunes into the inner regions of their planetary systems could account for this phenomenon. As they draw closer to the central star, evaporating water ice forms an atmosphere that makes the planets appear larger than in their frozen state. Simultaneously, smaller rocky planets gradually lose a portion of their original gaseous envelope, causing their measured radius to shrink over time.
Published Scandinavia's first farmers slaughtered the hunter-gatherer population, study finds
(via sciencedaily.com)
Original source 
Following the arrival of the first farmers in Scandinavia 5,900 years ago, the hunter-gatherer population was wiped out within a few generations, according to a new study. The results, which are contrary to prevailing opinion, are based on DNA analysis of skeletons and teeth found in what is now Denmark.
Published Smart earrings can monitor a person's temperature
(via sciencedaily.com)
Original source 
Researchers introduced the Thermal Earring, a wireless wearable that continuously monitors a user's earlobe temperature. Potential applications include tracking signs of ovulation, stress, eating and exercise. The smart earring prototype is about the size and weight of a small paperclip and has a 28-day battery life.
Published New research uncovers biological drivers of heart disease risk
(via sciencedaily.com)
Original source 
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 Mimas' surprise: Tiny moon of Saturn holds young ocean beneath icy shell
(via sciencedaily.com)
Original source 
Saturn's moon Mimas harbors a global ocean beneath its icy shell, discovered through analysis of its orbit by Cassini spacecraft data. This ocean formed just 5-15 million years ago, making Mimas a prime candidate for studying early ocean formation and potential for life. This discovery suggests life-essential conditions might exist on seemingly inactive moons, expanding our search for life beyond Earth.
Published How teachers make ethical judgments when using AI in the classroom
(via sciencedaily.com)
Original source 
A teacher's gender and comfort with technology factor into whether artificial intelligence is adopted in the classroom, as shown in a new report.
Published Astrophysicists crack the case of 'disappearing' Sulphur in planetary nebulae
(via sciencedaily.com)
Original source 
Two astrophysicists have finally solved a 20-year-old astrophysical puzzle concerning the lower-than-expected amounts of the element sulphur found in Planetary Nebulae (PNe) in comparison to expectations and measurements of other elements and other types of astrophysical objects. The expected levels of sulphur have long appeared to be 'missing in action'. However, they have now finally reported for duty after hiding in plain sight, as a result of leveraging highly accurate and reliable data.