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Categories: Engineering: Robotics Research, Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published Geckos know their own odor
(via sciencedaily.com) Geckos can use their tongue to differentiate their own odor from that of other members of their species, as researchers have shown in a new experimental study. The findings show that geckos are able to communicate socially, meaning that they are more intelligent than was previously assumed.
Published How the fastest fish hunts its prey
(via sciencedaily.com) Scientists have designed a novel electronic tag package incorporating high-tech sensors and a video camera in order to document a detailed view of exactly how sailfish behave and hunt once they are on their own and out of view of the surface.
Published Kangaroo fecal microbes could reduce methane from cows
(via sciencedaily.com) Baby kangaroo feces might help provide an unlikely solution to the environmental problem of cow-produced methane. A microbial culture developed from the kangaroo feces inhibited methane production in a cow stomach simulator. After researchers added the baby kangaroo culture and a known methane inhibitor to the simulated stomach, it produced acetic acid instead of methane. Unlike methane, which cattle discard as flatulence, acetic acid has benefits for cows as it aids muscle growth.
Published Rats trade initial rewards for long-term learning opportunities
(via sciencedaily.com) Scientists have provided evidence for the cognitive control of learning in rats, showing they can estimate the long-term value of learning and adapt their decision-making strategy to take advantage of learning opportunities.
Published Scientists find world's oldest European hedgehog
(via sciencedaily.com) The world's oldest scientifically-confirmed European hedgehog has been found in Denmark by a citizen science project involving hundreds of volunteers. The hedgehog lived for 16 years, 7 years longer than the previous record holder.
Published Oldest spinosaur brains revealed
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have reconstructed the brains and inner ears of two British spinosaurs, helping uncover how these large predatory dinosaurs interacted with their environment.
Published Creating 3D objects with sound
(via sciencedaily.com) Scientists have created a new technology to assemble matter in 3D. Their concept uses multiple acoustic holograms to generate pressure fields with which solid particles, gel beads and even biological cells can be printed. These results pave the way for novel 3D cell culture techniques with applications in biomedical engineering.
Published Researchers develop new, automated, powerful diagnostic tool for drug detection
(via sciencedaily.com) Biomedical engineers present a robust new method for accurately measuring and identifying eight antidepressants most commonly prescribed to women.
Published Cockatoos know to bring along multiple tools when they fish for cashews
(via sciencedaily.com) Goffin's cockatoos have been added to the short list of non-human animals that use and transport toolsets. Researchers show that the cockatoos carry multiple tools to their worksite when the job calls for it. This behavior has only been previously reported in chimpanzees, our closest relatives.
Published 'It's me!' Fish recognizes itself in photographs, say scientists
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have demonstrated that fish think 'it's me' when they see themselves in a picture. The researchers found that the determining factor was not the fish seeing their own body but seeing their face.
Published Compact, non-mechanical 3D lidar system could make autonomous driving safer
(via sciencedaily.com) A new system represents the first time that the capabilities of conventional beam-scanning lidar systems have been combined with those of a newer 3D approach known as flash lidar. The nonmechanical 3D lidar system is compact enough to fit in the palm of the hand and solves issues of detecting and tracking poorly reflective objects.
Published Bite this! Mosquito feeding chamber uses fake skin, real blood
(via sciencedaily.com) Bioengineers and experts in tropical medicine have invented a new way of studying mosquito feeding behavior using technology instead of live volunteers. Their open-source design combines automated cameras, artificial intelligence and blood-infused, 3D-printed 'synthetic skin.'
Published Scientists develop new index based on functional morphology to understand how ancestors of modern birds used their wings
(via sciencedaily.com) Scientists have compared the relationship among the strength of flight bones, body mass, and the way modern birds fly to better understand the evolution of flight in birds and extinct animals, such as the Pteranodon.
Published Whiskers help nectar-eating 'acro bats' hover like hummingbirds
(via sciencedaily.com) A new study found that nectar-feeding bats evolved extra-long whiskers unlike those of any other bat species that allow them to hover as they feed on flowers, much like hummingbirds. The researchers used high-speed cameras to capture how the forward-facing whiskers provide enhanced spatial information for fast, precise flight maneuvers.
Published Caribou have been using same Arctic calving grounds for 3,000 years
(via sciencedaily.com) Caribou have been using the same Arctic calving grounds for more than 3,000 years. Female caribou shed their antlers within days of giving birth, leaving behind a record of their annual travels across Alaska and Canada's Yukon that persists on the cold tundra for hundreds or even thousands of years. Researchers recovered antlers that have sat undisturbed on the arctic tundra since the Bronze Age.
Published New Zealand one of few island nations with potential to produce enough food in a nuclear winter, researchers say
(via sciencedaily.com) New Zealand is one of only a few island nations that could continue to produce enough food to feed its population in a nuclear winter, researchers have found.
Published Can pigeons match wits with artificial intelligence?
(via sciencedaily.com) Can a pigeon match wits with artificial intelligence? Researchers tested pigeons' learning abilities and concluded the birds employ the same basic process, called associative learning, as the most advanced AI technologies.
Published Engineers devise a modular system to produce efficient, scalable aquabots
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers developed a new approach to building deformable underwater robots, using simple repeating substructures. The team demonstrated the new system in two different example configurations, one like an eel and the other a wing-like hydrofoil.
Published Interactive cyber-physical human: Generating contact-rich whole-body motions
(via sciencedaily.com) Performing human-like motions that involve multiple contacts is challenging for robots. In this regard, a researcher has envisioned an interactive cyber-physical human (iCPH) platform with complementary humanoid (physical twin) and simulation (digital twin) elements. iCPH combines human measurement data, musculoskeletal analysis, and machine learning for data collection and augmentation. As a result, iCPH can understand, predict, and synthesize whole-body contact motions.
Published Voiceless frog discovered in Tanzania
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers discovered a new species of frog in Africa that has an unusual trait: it's completely silent. The Ukaguru spiny-throated reed frog does not croak, sing or ribbit. Found in Tanzania's Ukaguru Mountains for which it is named, Hyperolius ukaguruensis is among the few frogs around the world that do not vocalize to other frogs.