Showing 20 articles starting at article 8221
< Previous 20 articles Next 20 articles >
Categories: All Categories
Published Wildfire spread risk increases where trees, shrubs replace grasses
(via sciencedaily.com)
Original source 
A new study found that as woody plants like shrubs and trees replace herbaceous plants like grasses, spot fires can occur farther away from the original fire perimeter.
Published Perfection: The Enemy of Evolution
(via sciencedaily.com)
Original source 
Evolution is a sequence of design changes happening on their own in a discernible direction; it never weds itself to a single point on a drawing board. An evolving system or animal is free to simply go with what works. Not so much that its performance suffers greatly, but enough that it opens access to other options near the so-called optimal design. With scientists often looking to nature for clues to solve challenges, they should also free to miss the optimal mark and open a wider design space over time.
Published Out of the frying pan: Coyotes, bobcats move into human-inhabited areas to avoid apex predators -- only to be killed by people
(via sciencedaily.com)
Original source 
Conservationists have argued that the presence of wolves and other apex predators, so named because they have no known predators aside from people, can help keep smaller predator species in check. New research shows that in Washington state, the presence of two apex predators -- wolves and cougars -- does indeed help keep populations of two smaller predators in check. But by and large the apex predators were not killing and eating the smaller predators, known as mesopredators. Instead, they drove the two mesopredator species -- bobcats and coyotes -- into areas with higher levels of human activity. And people were finishing the job.
Published Amputees feel warmth in their missing hand
(via sciencedaily.com)
Original source 
An unexpected discovery about temperature feedback has led to new bionic technology that allows amputees to sense the temperature of objects ¬-- both hot and cold -- directly in the phantom hand. The technology opens up new avenues for non-invasive prosthetics.
Published In years after El Niño, global economy loses trillions
(via sciencedaily.com)
Original source 
Researchers report that the financial toll of the climate pattern known as El Niño can persist for several years and cost trillions in lost income worldwide. The study, which is among the first to evaluate the long-term costs of El Niño, found that the 1982 and 1997 events led to $4.1 trillion and $5.7 trillion in lost income in the five years following them. With El Niño projected to return this year, the researchers project that global economic losses for the 21st century will amount to $84 trillion as climate change potentially amplifies the events' frequency and strength.
Published Half of world's largest lakes losing water
(via sciencedaily.com)
Original source 
Fifty-three percent of the world's largest freshwater lakes are in decline, storing less water than they did three decades ago, according to a new study. The study analyzed satellite observations dating back decades to measure changes in water levels in nearly 2,000 of the world's biggest lakes and reservoirs. It found that climate change, human consumption and sedimentation are responsible.
Published Humanity's earliest recorded kiss occurred in Mesopotamia 4,500 years ago
(via sciencedaily.com)
Original source 
Written sources from Mesopotamia suggest that kissing in relation to sex was practiced by the peoples of the ancient Middle East 4,500 years ago.
Published Wiring up quantum circuits with light
(via sciencedaily.com)
Original source 
The number of qubits in superconducting quantum computers has risen rapidly during the last years, but further growth is limited by the need for ultra-cold operating temperatures. Connecting several smaller processors could create larger, more computationally powerful quantum computers -- however doing so poses new challenges. Researchers have now demonstrated quantum entanglement between optical and microwave photons that could lay the foundation for such a future quantum network.
Published New wireless system for greater 5G access
(via sciencedaily.com)
Original source 
A new paper on wireless connectivity introduces a new technique for increasing access to the 5G-and-beyond millimeter wave (mmWave) network.
Published Fossil of mosasaur with bizarre 'screwdriver teeth' found in Morocco
(via sciencedaily.com)
Original source 
Scientists have discovered a new species of mosasaur, a sea-dwelling lizard from the age of the dinosaurs, with strange, ridged teeth unlike those of any known reptile. Along with other recent finds from Africa, it suggests that mosasaurs and other marine reptiles were evolving rapidly up until 66 million years ago, when they were wiped out by an asteroid along with the dinosaurs and around 90% of all species on Earth.
Published Cancer cells use a new fuel in absence of sugar
(via sciencedaily.com)
Original source 
Researchers have discovered a new nutrient source that pancreatic cancer cells use to grow. The molecule, uridine, offers insight into both biochemical processes and possible therapeutic pathways. The findings show that cancer cells can adapt when they don't have access to glucose.
Published An electric vehicle battery for all seasons
(via sciencedaily.com)
Original source 
Scientists have developed a fluorine-containing electrolyte for lithium-ion batteries whose charging performance remains high in frigid regions and seasons. They also determined why it is so effective.
Published Uncovering universal physics in the dynamics of a quantum system
(via sciencedaily.com)
Original source 
New experiments using one-dimensional gases of ultra-cold atoms reveal a universality in how quantum systems composed of many particles change over time following a large influx of energy that throws the system out of equilibrium.
Published Past climate change to blame for Antarctica's giant underwater landslides
(via sciencedaily.com)
Original source 
Scientists found weak, biologically-rich layers of sediments hundreds of meters beneath the seafloor which crumbled as oceans warmed and ice sheets declined. The landslides were discovered in the eastern Ross Sea in 2017, by an international team of scientists during the Italian ODYSSEA expedition, and scientists revisited the area in 2018 as part of the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 374 where they collected sediment cores to understand what caused them.
Published Perfect 'pathogen' storm: Vibrio bacteria, Sargassum and plastic marine debris
(via sciencedaily.com)
Original source 
Little is known about the ecological relationship of Vibrio bacteria with Sargassum. Evidence also is sparse as to whether vibrios colonizing plastic marine debris and Sargassum could potentially infect humans. As summer kicks off and efforts are underway to find solutions to repurpose Sargassum, could these substrates pose a triple threat to public health? Results of a study representing the first Vibrio spp. genome assembled from plastic finds Vibrio pathogens have the unique ability to 'stick' to microplastics, harboring potent opportunistic pathogens.
Published New use for A.I.: Correctly estimating fish stocks
(via sciencedaily.com)
Original source 
A newly published artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm is allowing researchers to quickly and accurately estimate coastal fish stocks without ever entering the water.
Published Driving on sunshine: Clean, usable liquid fuels made from solar power
(via sciencedaily.com)
Original source 
Researchers have developed a solar-powered technology that converts carbon dioxide and water into liquid fuels that can be added directly to a car's engine as drop-in fuel.
Published Watch these cells rapidly create protrusions for exploration and movement
(via sciencedaily.com)
Original source 
In order to move, cells must be able to rapidly change shape. A team of researchers show that cells achieve this by storing extra 'skin' in folds and bumps on their surface. This cell surface excess can be rapidly deployed to cover temporary protrusions and then folded away for next time.
Published Climate change to push species over abrupt tipping points
(via sciencedaily.com)
Original source 
Climate change is likely to abruptly push species over tipping points as their geographic ranges reach unforeseen temperatures, finds a new study.
Published Scales or feathers? It all comes down to a few genes
(via sciencedaily.com)
Original source 
Scales, spines, feathers and hair are examples of vertebrate skin appendages, which constitute a remarkably diverse group of micro-organs. Despite their natural multitude of forms, these appendages share early developmental processes at the embryonic stage. Researchers have discovered how to permanently transform the scales that normally cover the feet of chickens into feathers, by specifically modifying the expression of certain genes.