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Categories: Chemistry: Organic Chemistry, Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
Published Butterfly and moth genomes mostly unchanged despite 250 million years of evolution
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Comparison of over 200 high-quality butterfly and moth genomes reveals key insights into their biology, evolution and diversification over the last 250 million years, as well as clues for conservation.
Published An awkward family reunion: Sea monsters are our cousins
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The sea lamprey, a 500-million-year-old animal with a sharp-toothed suction cup for a mouth, is the thing of nightmares. A new study discovered that the hindbrain -- the part of the brain controlling vital functions like blood pressure and heart rate -- of both sea lampreys and humans is built using an extraordinarily similar molecular and genetic toolkit.
Published Did neanderthals use glue? Researchers find evidence that sticks
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Neanderthals created stone tools held together by a multi-component adhesive, a team of scientists has discovered. Its findings, which are the earliest evidence of a complex adhesive in Europe, suggest these predecessors to modern humans had a higher level of cognition and cultural development than previously thought.
Published Advanced artificial photosynthesis catalyst uses CO2 more efficiently to create biodegradable plastics
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A research team that had previously succeeded in synthesizing fumaric acid using bicarbonate and pyruvic acid, and carbon dioxide collected directly from the gas phase as one of the raw materials, has now created a new photosensitizer and developed a new artificial photosynthesis technology, effectively doubling the yield of fumaric acid production compared to the previous method. The results of this research are expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and provide an innovative way to produce biodegradable plastics while reusing waste resources.
Published Mystery solved: The oldest fossil reptile from the alps is an historical forgery
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Palaeontological analysis shows that a renowned fossil thought to show soft tissue preservation is in fact just paint. The fossil discovered in 1931 was thought to be an important specimen for understanding early reptile evolution. While not all of the celebrated fossil is a forgery, scientists urge caution in how the fossil is utilized in future.
Published With just a little electricity, researchers boost common catalytic reactions
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A simple new technique could boost the efficiency of some key chemical processing, by up to a factor of 100,000, researchers report. The reactions are at the heart of petrochemical processing, pharmaceutical manufacturing, and many other industrial chemical processes.
Published Ancient retroviruses played a key role in the evolution of vertebrate brains
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers report that ancient viruses may be to thank for myelin -- and, by extension, our large, complex brains. The team found that a retrovirus-derived genetic element or 'retrotransposon' is essential for myelin production in mammals, amphibians, and fish. The gene sequence, which they dubbed 'RetroMyelin,' is likely a result of ancient viral infection, and comparisons of RetroMyelin in mammals, amphibians, and fish suggest that retroviral infection and genome-invasion events occurred separately in each of these groups.
Published Anthropologists' research unveils early stone plaza in the Andes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Located at the Callacpuma archaeological site in the Cajamarca Basin of northern Peru, the plaza is built with large, vertically placed megalithic stones -- a construction method previously unseen in the Andes.
Published Some Pre-Roman humans were buried with dogs, horses and other animals
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Some people from an ancient community in what is now northern Italy were interred with animals and animal parts from species such as dogs, horses and pigs. The reasons remain mysterious, but might indicate an enduring companion relationship between these humans and animals, or religious sacrificial practices, according to a new study.
Published Microscopy: Overcoming the traditional resolution limit for the fast co-tracking of molecules
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have developed an innovative method to simultaneously track rapid dynamic processes of multiple molecules at the molecular scale.
Published Great apes playfully tease each other
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Babies playfully tease others as young as eight months of age. Since language is not required for this behavior, similar kinds of playful teasing might be present in non-human animals. Now cognitive biologists and primatologists have documented playful teasing in four species of great apes. Like joking behavior in humans, ape teasing is provocative, persistent, and includes elements of surprise and play. Because all four great ape species used playful teasing, it is likely that the prerequisites for humor evolved in the human lineage at least 13 million years ago.
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 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 Not only in information technology: Restart also works in chemical simulations
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have discovered that a known practice in information technology can also be applied to chemistry. Researchers found that to enhance the sampling in chemical simulations, all you need to do is stop and restart.
Published Key advance for capturing carbon from the air
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A chemical element so visually striking that it was named for a goddess shows a 'Goldilocks' level of reactivity -- neither too much nor too little -- that makes it a strong candidate as a carbon scrubbing tool.
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 Towards A Better Way of Releasing Hydrogen Stored in Hydrogen Boride Sheets
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Hydrogen stored in hydrogen boride sheets can be efficiently released electrochemically, report scientists. Through a series of experiments, they demonstrated that dispersing these sheets in an organic solvent and applying a small voltage is enough to release all the stored hydrogen efficiently. These findings suggest hydrogen boride sheets could soon become a safe and convenient way to store and transport hydrogen, which is a cleaner and more sustainable fuel.
Published Illuminating the invisible: Detecting proteins linked to diseases
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Engineers have pioneered a new way to visualize the smallest protein clusters, skirting the physical limitations of light-powered microscopes and opening new avenues for detecting the proteins implicated in diseases like Alzheimer's and testing new treatments.
Published Greenhouse gas repurposed
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Cutting-edge research converted waste carbon dioxide into a potential precursor for chemicals and carbon-free fuel.
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.