Showing 20 articles starting at article 161
< Previous 20 articles Next 20 articles >
Categories: Engineering: Graphene, Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds
Published Dinosaurs were the first to take the perspectives of others
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Understanding that others hold different viewpoints from your own is essential for human sociality. Adopting another person's visual perspective is a complex skill that emerges around the age of two. A new study suggests that this ability first arose in dinosaurs, at least 60 million years before it appeared in mammals. These findings challenge the idea that mammals were the originators of novel and superior forms of intelligence in the wake of the dinosaur extinction.
Published Fossils of a saber-toothed top predator reveal a scramble for dominance leading up to 'the Great Dying'
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A tiger-sized saber-toothed creature called Inostrancevia has previously only been found in Russia. But scientists have discovered its fossils in South Africa, suggesting that it migrated 7,000 miles across the supercontinent Pangaea during the world's worst mass extinction 252 million years ago. Heading to South Africa allowed it to fill a gap in a faraway ecosystem that had lost its top predators.
Published New priming method improves battery life, efficiency
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Engineers have developed a readily scalable method to optimize a silicon anode priming method that increases lithium-ion battery performance by 22% to 44%.
Published Researcher uses mammal DNA to zoom into the human genome with unprecedented resolution
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have precisely identified base pairs of the human genome that remained consistent over millions of years of mammalian evolution, and which play a crucial role in human disease. The team analyzed the genomes of 240 mammals, including humans and identified base pairs that were 'constrained' -- meaning they remained generally consistent -- across mammal species over the course of evolution. The most constrained base pairs in mammals were over seven times more likely to be causal for human disease and complex trait, and over 11 times more likely when researchers looked at the most constrained base pairs in primates alone.
Published With new experimental method, researchers probe spin structure in 2D materials for first time
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In the study, a team of researchers describe what they believe to be the first measurement showing direct interaction between electrons spinning in a 2D material and photons coming from microwave radiation.
Published Symmetric graphene quantum dots for future qubits
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Quantum dots in semiconductors such as silicon or gallium arsenide have long been considered hot candidates for hosting quantum bits in future quantum processors. Scientists have now shown that bilayer graphene has even more to offer here than other materials. The double quantum dots they have created are characterized by a nearly perfect electron-hole-symmetry that allows a robust read-out mechanism -- one of the necessary criteria for quantum computing.
Published New tusk-analysis techniques reveal surging testosterone in male woolly mammoths
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Traces of sex hormones extracted from a woolly mammoth's tusk provide the first direct evidence that adult males experienced musth, a testosterone-driven episode of heightened aggression against rival males, according to a new study.
Published New research redefines mammalian tree of life
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists from around the globe are using the largest mammalian genomic dataset in history to determine the evolutionary history of the human genome in the context of mammalian evolutionary history. Their ultimate goal is to better identify the genetic basis for traits and diseases in people and other species.
Published Information 'deleted' from the human genome may be what made us human
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source What the human genome is lacking compared with the genomes of other primates might have been as crucial to the development of humankind as what has been added during our evolutionary history, according to a new study led by researchers at Yale and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. The new findings, published April 28 in the journal Science, fill an important gap in what is known about historical changes to the human genome.
Published Mammalian evolution provides hints for understanding the origins of human disease
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Even though it is important to know where these variations are located in the genome, it's also useful to know how or why these genetic variations happened in the first place.
Published Researchers design battery prototype with fiber-shaped cathode
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In a new study, researchers made a cathode, or the positive end of a battery, in the shape of a thread-like fiber. The researchers were then able to use the fiber to create a zinc-ion battery prototype that could power a wrist watch.
Published New findings pave the way for stable organic solar cells that may enable cheap and renewable electricity generation
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Organic solar cells show great promise for clean energy applications. However, photovoltaic modules made from organic semiconductors do not maintain their efficiency for long enough under sunlight for real world applications. Scientists have now revealed an important reason why organic solar cells rapidly degrade under operation. This new insight will drive the design of more stale materials for organic semiconductor-based photovoltaics, thus enabling cheap and renewable electricity generation.
Published X-ray analysis sheds new light on prehistoric predator's last meal
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source We now know more about the diet of a prehistoric creature that grew up to two and a half meters long and lived in Australian waters during the time of the dinosaurs, thanks to the power of x-rays. Researchers used micro-CT scans to peer inside the fossilized stomach remains of a small marine reptile -- a plesiosaur nicknamed 'Eric' after a song from the comedy group Monty Python -- to determine what the creature ate in the lead up to its death.
Published Graphene 'tattoo' treats cardiac arrhythmia with light
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have developed the first cardiac implant made from graphene, a two-dimensional super material with ultra-strong, lightweight and conductive properties. Similar in appearance to a child's temporary tattoo, the new graphene 'tattoo' implant is thinner than a single strand of hair yet still functions like a classical pacemaker.
Published Physicists discover transformable nano-scale electronic devices
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The nano-scale electronic parts in devices like smartphones are solid, static objects that once designed and built cannot transform into anything else. But physicists have reported the discovery of nano-scale devices that can transform into many different shapes and sizes even though they exist in solid states.
Published Fossils reveal the long-term relationship between feathered dinosaurs and feather-feeding beetles
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New fossils in amber have revealed that beetles fed on the feathers of dinosaurs about 105 million years ago, showing a symbiotic relationship of one-sided or mutual benefit.
Published Apes may have evolved upright stature for leaves, not fruit, in open woodland habitats
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Anthropologists have long thought that our ape ancestors evolved an upright torso in order to pick fruit in forests, but new research from the University of Michigan suggests a life in open woodlands and a diet that included leaves drove apes' upright stature.
Published Starting small and simple -- key to success for evolution of mammals
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The ancestors of modern mammals managed to evolve into one of the most successful animal lineages -- the key was to start out small and simple, a new study reveals.
Published Wonder material graphene claims yet another superlative
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers report record-high magnetoresistance that appears in graphene under ambient conditions.
Published Woolly mammoths evolved smaller ears and woolier coats over the 700,000 years that they roamed the Siberian steppes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A team of researchers compared the genomes of woolly mammoths with modern day elephants to find out what made woolly mammoths unique, both as individuals and as a species. The investigators report that many of the woolly mammoth's trademark features -- including their woolly coats and large fat deposits -- were already genetically encoded in the earliest woolly mammoths, but these and other traits became more defined over the species' 700,000+ year existence. They also identified a gene with several mutations that may have been responsible for the woolly mammoth's miniscule ears.