Environmental: Water Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Oceanography Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Paleontology: Climate
Published

Investigating newly discovered hydrothermal vents at depths of 3,000 meters off Svalbard      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Hydrothermal vents can be found around the world at the junctions of drifting tectonic plates. But there are many hydrothermal fields still to be discovered. During a 2022 expedition of the MARIA S. MERIAN, the first field of hydrothermal vents on the 500-kilometer-long Knipovich Ridge off the coast of Svalbard was discovered.

Computer Science: Quantum Computers Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Visual explanations of machine learning models to estimate charge states in quantum dots      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

To form qubit states in semiconductor materials, it requires tuning for numerous parameters. But as the number of qubits increases, the amount of parameters also increases, thereby complicating this process. Now, researchers have automated this process, overcoming a significant barrier to realizing quantum computers.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: General
Published

Last surviving woolly mammoths were inbred but not doomed to extinction      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The last population of woolly mammoths was isolated on Wrangel Island off the coast of Siberia 10,000 years ago, when sea levels rose and cut the mountainous island off from the mainland. A new genomic analysis reveals that the isolated mammoths, who lived on the island for the subsequent 6,000 years, originated from at most 8 individuals but grew to 200--300 individuals within 20 generations. The researchers report that the Wrangel Island mammoths' genomes showed signs of inbreeding and low genetic diversity but not to the extent that it can explain their ultimate (and mysterious) extinction.

Chemistry: Thermodynamics Energy: Technology Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Characterization of the extraordinary thermoelectric properties of cadmium arsenide thin films      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

If there's one thing we humans are good at, it's producing heat. Significant amounts, and in many cases most of the energy we generate and put into our systems we lose as heat, whether it be our appliances, our transportation, our factories, even our electrical grid.

Biology: General Biology: Marine Ecology: Sea Life Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Prehistoric 'Pompeii' discovered: Most pristine trilobite fossils ever found shake up scientific understanding of the long extinct group      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have described some of the best-preserved three-dimensional trilobite fossils ever discovered. The fossils, which are more than 500 million years old, were collected in the High Atlas of Morocco and are being referred to by scientists as 'Pompeii' trilobites due to their remarkable preservation in ash.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Researchers find genetic stability in a long-term Panamanian hybrid zone of manakin birds      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

We often think of species as separate and distinct, but sometimes they can interbreed and create hybrids. When this happens consistently in a specific area, it forms what's known as a hybrid zone. These zones can be highly dynamic or remarkably stable, and studying them can reveal key insights into how species boundaries evolve -- or sometimes blur. Researchers now describe a hybrid zone between two manakin species in Panama that has overall remained relatively stable over the past 30 years.

Computer Science: General Computer Science: Quantum Computers Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Understanding quantum states: New research shows importance of precise topography in solid neon qubits      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study shows new insight into the quantum state that describes the condition of electrons on an electron-on-solid-neon quantum bit, information that can help engineers build this innovative technology.

Physics: General Physics: Optics Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

A chip-scale Titanium-sapphire laser      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

With a single leap from tabletop to the microscale, engineers have produced the world's first practical Titanium-sapphire laser on a chip, democratizing a once-exclusive technology.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Precision instrument bolsters efforts to find elusive dark energy      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Dark energy -- a mysterious force pushing the universe apart at an ever-increasing rate -- was discovered 26 years ago, and ever since, scientists have been searching for a new and exotic particle causing the expansion. Physicists combined an optical lattice with an atom interferometer to hold atoms in place for up to 70 seconds -- a record for an atom interferometer -- allowing them to more precisely test for deviations from the accepted theory of gravity that could be caused by dark energy particles such as chameleons or symmetrons. Though they detected no anomalies, they're improving the experiment to perform more sensitive tests of gravity, including whether gravity is quantized.

Archaeology: General Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Paleontology: Fossils
Published

Almonds, pottery, wood help date famed Kyrenia shipwreck      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have identified the likeliest timeline of the famous Hellenistic-era Kyrenia shipwreck, discovered and recovered off the north coast of Cyprus in the 1960s.

Geoscience: Earth Science Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Space Paleontology: Climate Paleontology: General Space: General Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

Shocked quartz reveals evidence of historical cosmic airburst      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers continue to expand the case for the Younger Dryas Impact hypothesis. The idea proposes that a fragmented comet smashed into the Earth's atmosphere 12,800 years ago, causing a widespread climatic shift that, among other things, led to the abrupt reversal of the Earth's warming trend and into an anomalous near-glacial period called the Younger Dryas.

Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
Published

Study challenges popular idea that Easter islanders committed 'ecocide'      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Some 1,000 years ago, a small band of Polynesians sailed thousands of miles across the Pacific to settle one of the world's most isolated places -- a small, previously uninhabited island they named Rapa Nui. Eventually, their numbers ballooned to unsustainable levels, they wrecked the environment, and their civilization collapsed. At least that is the longtime story, told in academic studies and popular books. A new study challenges this narrative of 'ecocide' saying that Rapa Nui's population never spiraled to unsustainable levels.

Physics: General Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

New NOvA results add to mystery of neutrinos      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The international collaboration presented their first results with new data in four years, featuring a new low-energy sample of electron neutrinos and a dataset doubled in size.

Computer Science: General Computer Science: Quantum Computers Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Breakthrough may clear major hurdle for quantum computers      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The potential of quantum computers is currently thwarted by a trade-off problem. Quantum systems that can carry out complex operations are less tolerant to errors and noise, while systems that are more protected against noise are harder and slower to compute with. Now a research team has created a unique system that combats the dilemma, thus paving the way for longer computation time and more robust quantum computers.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Computer Science: Quantum Computers Energy: Alternative Fuels Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

New material puts eco-friendly methanol conversion within reach      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed innovative, eco-friendly quantum materials that can drive the transformation of methanol into ethylene glycol. This discovery opens up new possibilities for using eco-friendly materials in photocatalysis, paving the way for sustainable chemical production.