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Categories: Energy: Nuclear, Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published Bacteria as Blacksmiths
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A hot bath is a place to relax. For scientists, it is also where molecules or tiny building blocks meet to form materials. Researchers take it to the next level and use the energy of swimming bacteria to forge materials. A recent study shows us how this works and the potential sustainability benefits that may arise from this innovative approach.
Published Bees and wasps use the same architectural solutions to join large hexagons to small hexagons
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Bees and wasps have converged on the same architectural solutions to nest-building problems, according to new research.
Published Fast electrical signals mapped in plants with new bioelectronic technology
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source What happens inside the carnivorous plant Venus Flytrap when it catches an insect? New technology has led to discoveries about the electrical signalling that causes the trap to snap shut. Bioelectronic technology enables advanced research into how plants react to their surroundings, and to stress.
Published Insect protein slows weight gain, boosts health status in obese mice
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study in mice suggests replacing traditional protein sources with mealworms in high-fat diets could slow weight gain, improve immune response, reduce inflammation, enhance energy metabolism, and beneficially alter the ratio of good to bad cholesterol.
Published Egg 'signatures' will allow drongos to identify cuckoo 'forgeries' almost every time, study finds
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Egg 'signatures' will allow drongos to identify cuckoo 'forgeries' almost every time, study finds. African cuckoos may have met their match with the fork-tailed drongo, which scientists predict can detect and reject cuckoo eggs from their nest on almost every occasion, despite them on average looking almost identical to drongo eggs.
Published Wormlike animals are first amphibians shown to pass microbes to their offspring
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Caecilians are an illusive type of snakelike amphibian that live in aquatic and subterranean environments. In some species, mothers produce a special type of nutrient-rich skin that juveniles consume, similar to the way in which humans breastfeed their children. A new study shows this behavior passes on microbes to juvenile caecilians, inoculating them to jump-start a healthy microbiome.
Published (How) cells talk to each other
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Like us, cells communicate. Well, in their own special way. Using waves as their common language, cells tell one another where and when to move. They talk, they share information, and they work together -- much like interdisciplinary teams. Researchers conducted research on how cells communicate -- and how that matters to future projects, e.g. application to wound healing.
Published Paleontologists identify two new species of sabertooth cat
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Sabertooth cats make up a diverse group of long-toothed predators that roamed Africa around 6-7 million years ago, around the time that hominins -- the group that includes modern humans -- began to evolve. By examining one of the largest global Pliocene collections of fossils in Langebaanweg, north of Cape Town in South Africa, researchers present two new sabertooth species and the first family tree of the region's ancient sabertooths. Their results suggest that the distribution of sabertooths throughout ancient Africa might have been different than previously assumed, and the study provides important information about Africa's paleoenvironment.
Published A non-covalent bonding experience
(via sciencedaily.com) Putting a suite of new materials synthesis and characterization methods to the test, a team of scientists has developed 14 organic-inorganic hybrid materials, seven of which are entirely new.
Published Unlocking the power of molecular crystals: A possible solution to nuclear waste
(via sciencedaily.com) A team researchers has discovered molecular crystals capable of capturing iodine -- one of the most common radioactive fission products -- and other pollutants. The versatile crystals could be used for nuclear waste management and other energy-related applications and move the world closer to a net-zero future.
Published 'Stunning' discovery: Metals can heal themselves
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers announce the first observation of a self-healing metal. If harnessed, the newly discovered phenomenon could someday lead to engines, bridges and airplanes that reverse damage caused by wear and tear, making them safer and longer-lasting.
Published 'Mind controlling' parasitic worms are missing genes found in every other animal
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Parasitic hairworms manipulate the behavior of their hosts in what's sometimes called 'mind control.' A new study reveals another strange trait shared by different hairworm species: they're missing about 30% of the genes that researchers expected them to have. What's more, the missing genes are responsible for the development of cilia, the hair-like structures present in at least some of the cells of every other animal known.
Published Search for dark matter
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have applied a promising new method to search for dark matter particles in a particle accelerator. The method is based on the observation of the spin polarization of a particle beam in a storage ring COSY.
Published Public support hydrogen and biofuels to decarbonize global shipping
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New research into public attitudes towards alternative shipping fuels shows public backing for biofuel and hydrogen. The study also found that nuclear was preferred to the heavy fuel oil (HFO) currently used in the global shipping industry, although both were perceived negatively. Ammonia had the least public support.
Published How urea may have been the gateway to life
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Urea reacts extremely quickly under the conditions that existed when our planet was newly formed. This new insight furthers our understanding of how life on Earth might have begun.
Published Octopus sleep is surprisingly similar to humans and contains a wake-like stage
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have closely examined the brain activity and skin patterning in octopuses (Octopus laqueus) during active sleep and discovered that it closely resembles neural activity and skin patterning behavior seen when awake.
Published New driver for shapes of small quark-gluon plasma drops?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New measurements of how particles flow from collisions of different types of particles at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) have provided new insights into the origin of the shape of hot specks of matter generated in these collisions. The results may lead to a deeper understanding of the properties and dynamics of this form of matter, known as a quark-gluon plasma (QGP).
Published Newly discovered Jurassic fossils in Texas
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have filled a major gap in the state's fossil record -- describing the first known Jurassic vertebrate fossils in Texas. The weathered bone fragments are from the limbs and backbone of a plesiosaur, an extinct marine reptile.
Published Orangutans can make two sounds at the same time, similar to human beatboxing, study finds
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Orangutans can make two separate sounds simultaneously, much like songbirds or human beatboxers, according to a new study.
Published Megalodon was no cold-blooded killer
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source How the megalodon, a shark that went extinct 3.6 million years ago, stayed warm was a matter of speculation among scientists. Using an analysis of tooth fossils from the megalodon and other sharks of the same period, a study suggests the animal was able to maintain a body temperature well above the temperature of the water in which it lived. The finding could help explain why the megalodon went extinct during the Pliocene Epoch.