ScienceDaily: Top News |
- Birds’ dazzling iridescence tied to nanoscale tweak of feather structure
- Exquisitely preserved embryo found inside fossilized dinosaur egg
- Engineers test an idea for a new hovering rover
- Crows keep special tools extra safe
- Plants as cold specialists from the ice age
- Swinging on the quantum level
- Extinct reptile discovery reveals earliest origins of human teeth, study finds
- An ancient relative of Velociraptor is unearthed in Great Britain
- IT security: Computer attacks with laser light
- Looking at factors that accelerate mass extinction in the fossil record as climate changes
- Millipedes ‘as big as cars’ once roamed Northern England, fossil find reveals
- Desert shrubs cranked up water use efficiency to survive a megadrought
- Comets’ heads can be green, but never their tails. After 90 years, we finally know why
- Could acid-neutralizing life-forms make habitable pockets in Venus' clouds?
- Air bubbles in Antarctic ice point to cause of oxygen decline
- Speeding the development of fusion energy
- Engineers produce the world’s longest flexible fiber battery
- 'Photosynthetic' algae can survive the dark
- Are black holes and dark matter the same?
- Understanding human-elephant conflict and vulnerability in the face of climate change
- Developmental origins of tooth classes in vertebrates: A new simple mechanism identified
- New muscle layer discovered on the jaw
- Scientists discover White-handed gibbons that have been evolving in the south of Malaysia
- Consciousness in humans, animals and artificial intelligence
- Years later, restored wetlands remain a shadow of former selves
- Solar power: 'Wonder material' phosphorene nanoribbons live up to hype in first demonstration
- Shellac for printed circuits
- School uniforms don't improve child behavior, study finds
- Space and time: How to better understand biological processes in plants
- People with high-risk prediabetes benefit from intensive lifestyle intervention
- Scientists create mind-blowing tool to 'see' millions of brain cell connections in mice
- How regular exercise can protect against fatty liver associated diseases
- Sneezes, rain clouds and ink jets: Optical microscopes to measure the volume of microdroplets
- Ostrich eggshell beads reveal 50,000-year-old social network across Africa
- 3D printed nanomagnets unveil a world of patterns in the magnetic field
- Measuring a quantum computer’s power just got faster and more accurate
| Birds’ dazzling iridescence tied to nanoscale tweak of feather structure Posted: 21 Dec 2021 10:35 AM PST Researchers found that the iridescent shimmer that makes birds such as peacocks and hummingbirds so striking is rooted in an evolutionary tweak in feather nanostructure that has more than doubled the range of iridescent colors birds can display. This insight could help researchers understand how and when iridescence first evolved in birds, as well as inspire the development of new materials that can capture or manipulate light. |
| Exquisitely preserved embryo found inside fossilized dinosaur egg Posted: 21 Dec 2021 10:35 AM PST A 72 to 66-million-year-old embryo found inside a fossilized dinosaur egg sheds new light on the link between the behavior of modern birds and dinosaurs, according to a new study. |
| Engineers test an idea for a new hovering rover Posted: 21 Dec 2021 07:28 AM PST MIT aerospace engineers are testing a concept for a hovering rover that levitates by harnessing the moon's natural charge. The design uses tiny ion beams to charge up the vehicle and the surface underneath, with little power needed. Such an ion boost could be strong enough to levitate a 2-pound vehicle on the moon and large asteroids. |
| Crows keep special tools extra safe Posted: 21 Dec 2021 07:27 AM PST Just like humans, New Caledonian crows are particularly careful when handling their most valuable tools, according to a new study. The research reveals that crows are more likely to store relatively complex and efficient foraging tools for future use than more basic tools. |
| Plants as cold specialists from the ice age Posted: 21 Dec 2021 07:27 AM PST Plants of the spoonweed group time-and-again quickly adapted to a changing climate during the Ice Ages of the last two million years. Evolutionary biologists and botanists used genomic analyses to study what factors favor adaptation to extreme climatic conditions. The evolutionary history of the Brassicaceae family provides insights into how plants may be able to cope with climate change in the future. |
| Posted: 21 Dec 2021 07:27 AM PST For many applications making use of quantum effects, the light has to be in a certain state -- namely a single photon state. But what is the best way of generating such single photon states? Researchers have now proposed an entirely new way. |
| Extinct reptile discovery reveals earliest origins of human teeth, study finds Posted: 21 Dec 2021 07:27 AM PST A new extinct reptile species has shed light on how our earliest ancestors became top predators by modifying their teeth in response to environmental instability around 300 million years ago. |
| An ancient relative of Velociraptor is unearthed in Great Britain Posted: 21 Dec 2021 07:27 AM PST A new bird-like dinosaur that used brute strength to overcome its prey has been found by palaeontologists combing through fossils found on the Isle of Wight, on the South Coast of Great Britain. |
| IT security: Computer attacks with laser light Posted: 21 Dec 2021 07:27 AM PST Computer systems that are physically isolated from the outside world (air-gapped) can still be attacked. This is demonstrated by IT security experts. They show that data can be transmitted to light-emitting diodes of regular office devices using a directed laser. With this, attackers can secretly communicate with air-gapped computer systems over distances of several meters. In addition to conventional information and communication technology security, critical IT systems need to be protected optically as well. |
| Looking at factors that accelerate mass extinction in the fossil record as climate changes Posted: 21 Dec 2021 07:27 AM PST The Late Devonian mass extinction (roughly 372 million years ago) was one of five mass extinctions in Earth's history, with roughly 75% of all species disappearing over its course. It happened in two 'pulses,' spaced about 800,000 years apart, with most of the extinctions happening in the second pulse. However, for one group of animals living in eastern North America, the first pulse dealt the deadlier blow. |
| Millipedes ‘as big as cars’ once roamed Northern England, fossil find reveals Posted: 20 Dec 2021 04:07 PM PST The largest-ever fossil of a giant millipede -- as big as a car -- has been found on a beach in the north of England. |
| Desert shrubs cranked up water use efficiency to survive a megadrought Posted: 20 Dec 2021 04:07 PM PST Shrubs in the desert Southwest have increased their water use efficiency at some of the highest rates ever observed to cope with a decades-long megadrought. Researchers found that although the shrubs' efficiency increases are unprecedented and heroic, they may not be enough to adapt to the long-term drying trend in the West. |
| Comets’ heads can be green, but never their tails. After 90 years, we finally know why Posted: 20 Dec 2021 04:06 PM PST A study has solved a 90-year-old mystery by proving the mechanism by which dicarbon -- the chemical that makes some comets' heads green -- is broken up by sunlight. This explains why the vibrant green color never reaches the comet's tail. |
| Could acid-neutralizing life-forms make habitable pockets in Venus' clouds? Posted: 20 Dec 2021 04:06 PM PST A new study supports the longstanding idea that if life exists, it might make a home in Venus' clouds. The study's authors identified a chemical pathway by which life could neutralize Venus' acidic environment, creating a self-sustaining, habitable pocket in the clouds. |
| Air bubbles in Antarctic ice point to cause of oxygen decline Posted: 20 Dec 2021 04:06 PM PST An unknown culprit has been removing oxygen from our atmosphere for at least 800,000 years, and an analysis of air bubbles preserved in Antarctic ice for up to 1.5 million years has revealed the likely suspect. |
| Speeding the development of fusion energy Posted: 20 Dec 2021 04:06 PM PST Profile of path-setting method to simulate the crazy-quilt movement of free electrons during experimental efforts to harness on Earth the fusion power that drives the sun and stars. The method cracks a complex equation that can enable improved control of the random and fast-moving moving electrons in the fuel for fusion energy. |
| Engineers produce the world’s longest flexible fiber battery Posted: 20 Dec 2021 10:13 AM PST Researchers have developed a rechargeable lithium-ion battery in the form of ultra-long fiber that could be woven into fabrics. The battery could enable a wide variety of wearable electronic devices, and might even be used to make 3D-printed batteries in virtually any shape. |
| 'Photosynthetic' algae can survive the dark Posted: 20 Dec 2021 10:13 AM PST Researchers have discovered how some species of single-celled algae lived through the last mass extinction, a finding that could change how we understand global ocean processes. |
| Are black holes and dark matter the same? Posted: 20 Dec 2021 09:08 AM PST Astrophysicists suggest that primordial black holes account for all dark matter in the universe. |
| Understanding human-elephant conflict and vulnerability in the face of climate change Posted: 20 Dec 2021 09:07 AM PST Researchers spent years investigating the dynamics between wildlife, people and the environment across the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area, the world's largest terrestrial transboundary conservation area, extending across five African countries. |
| Developmental origins of tooth classes in vertebrates: A new simple mechanism identified Posted: 20 Dec 2021 09:07 AM PST By taking a closer look at lizards, researchers found the first animal example of apparent changes in tooth type in specific regions of the jaw. The results are relevant to multiple research areas all the way from palaeontology to regenerative medicine. |
| New muscle layer discovered on the jaw Posted: 20 Dec 2021 09:07 AM PST Human anatomy still has a few surprises in store for us: researchers have discovered a previously overlooked section of our jaw muscles and described this layer in detail for the first time. |
| Scientists discover White-handed gibbons that have been evolving in the south of Malaysia Posted: 20 Dec 2021 09:07 AM PST Genetic assessment of captive gibbons to identify their species and subspecies is an important step before any conservation actions. A group of wildlife researchers recently discovered a previously unknown population of white-handed gibbons (subspecies lar) from Peninsular Malaysia. |
| Consciousness in humans, animals and artificial intelligence Posted: 20 Dec 2021 09:07 AM PST A new theory of consciousness provides experimental access to the study of this phenomenon. Not just in humans. |
| Years later, restored wetlands remain a shadow of former selves Posted: 20 Dec 2021 09:07 AM PST A study of restored wetlands on the Danish island of Funen reveals that plant species richness remains extremely poor many years after wetlands restoration. It is widely assumed that restored wetlands will increase local biodiversity and come to resemble natural wetlands over time. However, more must be done to catalyze recovery according to researchers behind the study. |
| Solar power: 'Wonder material' phosphorene nanoribbons live up to hype in first demonstration Posted: 20 Dec 2021 09:07 AM PST Researchers have incorporated phosphorene nanoribbons into new types of solar cells, dramatically improving their efficiency. |
| Posted: 20 Dec 2021 09:07 AM PST Intelligent packaging with sensors that monitor goods, such as vegetables, on long transport routes is a trend for the future. Yet printed and disposable electronics also cause problems: Metals in printing inks are expensive -- and disposing of them in an environmentally sound manner is costly and exacerbates the problem of electronic waste. |
| School uniforms don't improve child behavior, study finds Posted: 20 Dec 2021 09:07 AM PST Despite the belief of many parents and teachers, school uniforms don't seem to have any effect on young students' behavior or attendance overall, a new U.S. national study found. |
| Space and time: How to better understand biological processes in plants Posted: 20 Dec 2021 09:06 AM PST If the perspective of space and time is not properly applied to plant research, the understanding of biological processes is limited as well as the response to the threats that endanger the life of plants worldwide. |
| People with high-risk prediabetes benefit from intensive lifestyle intervention Posted: 20 Dec 2021 09:06 AM PST Intensive lifestyle intervention with plenty of exercise helps people with prediabetes improve their blood glucose levels over a period of years and thus delay or even prevent type 2 diabetes. In particular, individuals with prediabetes at highest risk benefited from intensive lifestyle intervention. |
| Scientists create mind-blowing tool to 'see' millions of brain cell connections in mice Posted: 20 Dec 2021 09:06 AM PST To solve the mysteries of how learning and memory occur, scientists have created a system to track millions of connections among brain cells in mice -- all at the same time -- when the animals' whiskers are tweaked, an indicator for learning. |
| How regular exercise can protect against fatty liver associated diseases Posted: 20 Dec 2021 09:06 AM PST Exercise not only trains the muscles but can also prevent the development of fatty liver. A new study shows which molecular adaptations, in particular of the liver mitochondria, can be observed in this process. |
| Sneezes, rain clouds and ink jets: Optical microscopes to measure the volume of microdroplets Posted: 20 Dec 2021 09:06 AM PST By improving the calibration of a conventional optical microscope, researchers have for the first time measured the volume of individual droplets smaller than 100 trillionths of a liter with an uncertainty of less than 1%. That is a tenfold improvement over previous measurements. |
| Ostrich eggshell beads reveal 50,000-year-old social network across Africa Posted: 20 Dec 2021 09:06 AM PST New archeological study shows ancient connection between populations 3,000 km apart, and provides first direct link between climate change and ancient human social behavior. |
| 3D printed nanomagnets unveil a world of patterns in the magnetic field Posted: 20 Dec 2021 09:06 AM PST Researchers have created DNA-like magnetic nanostructures that form strong inter-helix magnetic bonds. These produce topological textures in the magnetic field, opening the door to the next generation of magnetic devices, and patterning magnetic fields on the nanoscale. |
| Measuring a quantum computer’s power just got faster and more accurate Posted: 20 Dec 2021 09:06 AM PST What does a quantum computer have in common with a top draft pick in sports? Both have attracted lots of attention from talent scouts. Quantum computers, experimental machines that can perform some tasks faster than supercomputers, are constantly evaluated, much like young athletes, for their potential to someday become game-changing technology. |
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