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Soaring birds use their lungs to modify mechanics of flight      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An air-filled sac within the birds' lungs is believed to increase the force the birds use to power flight muscles while soaring.

Biology: Microbiology Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
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Ingestible microbiome sampling pill technology advances      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Significant progress has been made in the development of a small device, about the size of a vitamin pill, that can be swallowed and passed through the gastrointestinal tract to sample and help identify the full inventory of microbiome bacteria in an individual.

Biology: General Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: Sea Life Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
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No bones about it: 100-million-year-old bones reveal new species of pterosaur      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research has identified 100-million-year-old fossilized bones discovered in western Queensland as belonging to a newly identified species of pterosaur, which was a formidable flying reptile that lived among the dinosaurs.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology Physics: General Physics: Quantum Physics
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Uncovering the nature of emergent magnetic monopoles      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

To understand the unique physical phenomena associated with the properties of magnetic hedgehogs and antihedgehogs, which behave as virtual magnetic monopoles and antimonopoles respectively, it is essential to study their intrinsic excitations. In a new study, researchers revealed the dynamical nature of collective excitation modes in hedgehog lattices in itinerant chiral magnets. Their findings serve as the foundation for studying the dynamics of emergent magnetic monopoles in magnets.

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Are plants intelligent? It depends on the definition      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Goldenrod can perceive other plants nearby without ever touching them, by sensing far-red light ratios reflected off leaves. When goldenrod is eaten by herbivores, it adapts its response based on whether or not another plant is nearby. Is this kind of flexible, real-time, adaptive response a sign of intelligence in plants?

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
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Virus-like nanoparticles control the multicellular organization and reproduction of host bacteria      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have discovered that virus-like nanoparticles can promote the multicellular organization and reproduction of host bacteria. These particles, which are evolutionarily related to phages (viruses that infect bacteria), contain an enzyme that helps shape the multicellular architecture and ultimately enhances morphological differentiation.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Molecular Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Computer Science: General Energy: Alternative Fuels Energy: Technology Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
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Algae offer real potential as a renewable electricity source      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The need to transition away from fossil fuels to more sustainable energy production is critical. That's why a team of researchers is looking at a potential power source that not only produces no carbon emissions but removes carbon as it works: algae.

Anthropology: General Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geochemistry Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Fossils
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Scientists unlock secrets of how archaea, the third domain of life, makes energy      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An international scientific team has redefined our understanding of archaea, a microbial ancestor to humans from two billion years ago, by showing how they use hydrogen gas. The findings explain how these tiny lifeforms make energy by consuming and producing hydrogen. This simple but dependable strategy has allowed them to thrive in some of Earth's most hostile environments for billions of years.

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New technique could help build quantum computers of the future      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have demonstrated a new method that could enable the large-scale manufacturing of optical qubits. The advance could bring us closer to a scalable quantum computer.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Computer Science: General Computer Science: Quantum Computers Physics: General Physics: Optics Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
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Switching nanomagnets using infrared lasers      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Physicists have calculated how suitable molecules can be stimulated by infrared light pulses to form tiny magnetic fields. If this is also successful in experiments, the principle could be used in quantum computer circuits.

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Novel Genetic Clock discovers oldest known marine plant      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An international research team has discovered the oldest known marine plant using a novel genetic clock. This 1400-year-old seagrass clone from the Baltic Sea dates back to the Migration Period. The research project is a significant step towards better understanding and protecting marine ecosystems.

Physics: General Physics: Optics Physics: Quantum Physics
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'Quantum optical antennas' provide more powerful measurements on the atomic level      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A multi-institutional team has created atomic optical antennas in solids. The team used germanium vacancy centers in diamonds to create an optical energy enhancement of six orders of magnitude, a regime challenging to reach with conventional atomic antenna structures.

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Elephants have names for each other like people do, new study shows      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Wild African elephants address each other with name-like calls, a rare ability among nonhuman animals, according to a new study. Researchers used machine learning to confirm that elephant calls contained a name-like component identifying the intended recipient, a behavior they suspected based on observation. The study suggests elephants do not imitate the receiver's call to address one another but instead use arbitrary vocal labels like humans.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Physics: General Physics: Optics Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
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Perturbations simplify the study of 'super photons'      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Thousands of particles of light can merge into a type of 'super photon' under suitable conditions. Physicists call such a state a photon Bose-Einstein condensate. Researchers have now shown that this exotic quantum state obeys a fundamental theorem of physics. This finding now allows one to measure properties of photon Bose-Einstein condensates which are usually difficult to access.

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A new study reveals that marine cyanobacteria communicate      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A breakthrough study changes the way we understand cyanobacteria, which are essential for the sustenance of life. The study shows that these organisms do not operate in isolation, but rather physically interact through membrane-nanotubes, which function as exchange bridges between cells.

Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
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Novel diamond quantum magnetometer for ambient condition magnetoencephalography      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A highly sensitive diamond quantum magnetometer utilizing nitrogen-vacancy centers can achieve millimeter-scale resolution magnetoencephalography (MEG). The novel magnetometer, based on continuous-wave optically detected magnetic resonance, marks a significant step towards realizing ambient condition MEG and other practical applications.

Archaeology: General Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Sea Life Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals
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Researchers solve 2,000-year-old mystery of the shipworm      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

They bedeviled ancient Greek navies, helped shipwreck Christopher Columbus, aided in the sinking of the Spanish Armada and caused the wharves in San Francisco Bay to collapse into the sea, but until now, scientists have been unable to pinpoint exactly how shipworms -- a family of mollusks -- are able to cause such damage. A team of researchers has discovered that a population of symbiotic microbes, living in an overlooked sub-organ of the gut called the 'typhlosole,' have the ability to secrete the enzymes needed to digest lignin -- the toughest part of wood.