Showing 20 articles starting at article 681
< Previous 20 articles Next 20 articles >
Categories: Anthropology: General, Physics: Optics
Published Remains at Crenshaw site are local, ancestors of Caddo
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Hundreds of human skulls and mandibles recovered from the Crenshaw site in southwest Arkansas are the remains of ancestors of the Caddo Nation and not foreign enemies, according to a new study.
Published Scientists investigate the evolution of animal developmental mechanisms, show how some of Earth's earliest animals evolved
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Lacking bones, brains, and even a complete gut, the body plans of simple animals like sea anemones appear to have little in common with humans and their vertebrate kin. Nevertheless, new research shows that appearances can be deceiving, and that a common genetic toolkit can be deployed in different ways to drive embryological development to produce very different adult body plans. It is well established that sea anemones, corals, and their jellyfish relatives shared a common ancestor with humans that plied the Earth's ancient oceans over 600 million years ago. A new study from the Gibson Lab, published in Current Biology on June 13, 2023, illuminates the genetic basis for body plan development in the starlet sea anemone, Nematostella vectensis. This new knowledge paints a vivid picture of how some of the earliest animals on earth progressed from egg to embryo to adult.
Published New method traces ancestry of hybrid plants and animals
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Hybrid plants and animals have complicated genomes. A biologist has discovered a way to reveal their parent species.
Published New material transforms light, creating new possibilities for sensors
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new class of materials that can absorb low energy light and transform it into higher energy light might lead to more efficient solar panels, more accurate medical imaging and better night vision goggles.
Published Researchers demonstrate noise-free communication with structured light
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists used a new invariant property of vectorial light to encode information. This quantity, which the team call 'vectorness', scales from 0 to 1 and remains unchanged when passing through a noisy channel.
Published Mirror, mirror on the wall... Now we know there are chiral phonons for sure
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New findings settle the dispute: phonons can be chiral. This fundamental concept, discovered using circular X-ray light, sees phonons twisting like a corkscrew through quartz.
Published Lingering effects of Neanderthal DNA found in modern humans
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Recent scientific discoveries have shown that Neanderthal genes comprise some 1 to 4% of the genome of present-day humans whose ancestors migrated out of Africa, but the question remained open on how much those genes are still actively influencing human traits -- until now.
Published Life before air conditioning: Curly hair kept early humans cool
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Curly hair does more than simply look good -- it may explain how early humans stayed cool while conserving water, according to researchers who studied the role human hair textures play in regulating body temperature. The findings can shed light on an evolutionary adaptation that enabled the human brain to grow to modern-day sizes.
Published Ancient genomes show that the farming lifestyle in northwestern Africa was ignited by oversea-migrants from Iberia 7,400 years ago
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A genomic analysis of ancient human remains from Morocco in northwest Africa revealed that food production was introduced by Neolithic European and Levantine migrants and then adopted by local groups.
Published Remains of an extinct world of organisms discovered
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Newly discovered biomarker signatures point to a whole range of previously unknown organisms that dominated complex life on Earth about a billion years ago. They differed from complex eukaryotic life as we know it, such as animals, plants and algae in their cell structure and likely metabolism, which was adapted to a world that had far less oxygen in the atmosphere than today.
Published Researchers demonstrate secure information transfer using spatial correlations in quantum entangled beams of light
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have demonstrated the principle of using spatial correlations in quantum entangled beams of light to encode information and enable its secure transmission.
Published Buckle up! A new class of materials is here
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Would you rather run into a brick wall or into a mattress? For most people, the choice is not difficult. A brick wall is stiff and does not absorb shocks or vibrations well; a mattress is soft and is a good shock absorber. Sometimes, in designing materials, both of these properties are needed. Materials should be good at absorbing vibrations, but should be stiff enough to not collapse under pressure. A team of researchers from the UvA Institute of Physics has now found a way to design materials that manage to do both these things.
Published Flat fullerene fragments attractive to electrons
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have gained new insights into the unique chemical properties of spherical molecules composed entirely of carbon atoms, called fullerenes. They did it by making flat fragments of the molecules, which surprisingly retained and even enhanced some key chemical properties.
Published The 'breath' between atoms -- a new building block for quantum technology
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have discovered they can detect atomic 'breathing,' or the mechanical vibration between two layers of atoms, by observing the type of light those atoms emitted when stimulated by a laser. The sound of this atomic 'breath' could help researchers encode and transmit quantum information.
Published X-rays visualize how one of nature's strongest bonds breaks
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The use of short flashes of X-ray light brings scientists one big step closer toward developing better catalysts to transform the greenhouse gas methane into a less harmful chemical. The result reveals for the first time how carbon-hydrogen bonds of alkanes break and how the catalyst works in this reaction.
Published World's fastest electron microscope
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have succeeded in filming the interactions of light and matter in an electron microscope with attosecond time resolution.
Published A nanocrystal shines on and off indefinitely
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Optical probes have led to numerous breakthroughs in applications like optical memory, nanopatterning, and bioimaging, but existing options have limited lifespans and will eventually 'photobleach.' New work demonstrates a promising, longer-lasting alternative: ultra-photostable avalanching nanoparticles that can turn on and off indefinitely in response to near-infrared light from simple lasers.
Published Under pressure: Foundations of stellar physics and nuclear fusion investigated
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Research using the world's most energetic laser has shed light on the properties of highly compressed matter -- essential to understanding the structure of giant planets and stars, and to develop controlled nuclear fusion, a process that could harvest carbon-free energy.
Published Geneticists discover hidden 'whole genome duplication' that may explain why some species survived mass extinctions
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Geneticists have unearthed a major event in the ancient history of sturgeons and paddlefish that has significant implications for the way we understand evolution. They have pinpointed a previously hidden 'whole genome duplication' (WGD) in the common ancestor of these species, which seemingly opened the door to genetic variations that may have conferred an advantage around the time of a major mass extinction some 200 million years ago.
Published Fastest industry standard optical fiber
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source An optical fiber about the thickness of a human hair can now carry the equivalent of more than 10 million fast home internet connections running at full capacity.