Energy: Alternative Fuels Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Do wind instruments disperse COVID aerosol droplets?      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Orchestral ensembles have faced many challenges when starting to perform again during the COVID pandemic, and contamination is a chief concern: specifically, whether wind instruments are vectors of contamination through aerosol dispersion. Researchers worked with musicians to deepen our understanding of how much aerosol is produced and dispersed by wind instruments. They used visualization to characterize the flow, tracked fog particles in the air, and measured aerosol concentration from wind instruments with a particle counter. Then they combined these to develop an equation to describe aerosol dispersion.

Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Using sound and bubbles to make bandages stickier and longer lasting      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have discovered that they can control the stickiness of adhesive bandages using ultrasound waves and bubbles. This breakthrough could lead to new advances in medical adhesives, especially in cases where adhesives are difficult to apply such as on wet skin.

Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds
Published

Nearly a hundred genes have been lost during the woolly mammoth's evolution      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new study shows that 87 genes have been affected by deletions or short insertions during the course of the mammoth's evolution. The researchers note that their findings have implications for international efforts to resurrect extinct species, including the woolly mammoth.

Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds
Published

CT scanner captures entire woolly mammoth tusk      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers successfully captured CT images of an entire woolly mammoth tusk. Researchers were able to do a full scan of the tusk in its entirety -- or in toto -- using a newer clinical CT scanner. The new technology allows for large-scale imaging without having to do multiple partial scans.

Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Ultrasound could save racehorses from bucked shins      (via sciencedaily.com) 

When racehorses enter training at about 2 years old, they can develop tiny stress fractures and new bone formations in their legs. This condition, called bucked shin, occurs in about 70% of the animals. Researchers have now developed a method to screen for bucked shin using ultrasound. Axial transmission, in which an ultrasound emitter and receiver are placed on the skin to induce and measure wave velocities, is frequently used to study osteoporosis in humans. The method could detect bucked shin more easily and preserve the health and growth of young horses.

Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Leadership online: Charisma matters most in video communication      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Managers need to make a consistent impression in order to motivate and inspire people, and that applies even more to video communication than to other digital channels. Researchers investigated the influence that charismatic leadership tactics used in text, audio and video communication channels have on employee performance. They focused on mobile work and the gig economy, in which jobs are flexibly assigned to freelancers via online platforms.

Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Engineers develop stickers that can see inside the body      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Engineers designed an adhesive patch that produces ultrasound images of the body. The stamp-sized device sticks to skin and can provide continuous ultrasound imaging of internal organs for 48 hours.

Anthropology: Early Humans Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds
Published

Early hunting, farming homogenized mammal communities of North America      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Whether by the spear or the plow, humans have been homogenizing the mammal communities of North America for 10,000-plus years, says a new analysis of 8,831 fossils representing 365 species.

Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Improving image sensors for machine vision      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers highlight the latest nanostructured components integrated on image sensor chips that are most likely to make the biggest impact in multimodal imaging and detailed a promising approach to detect multiple-band spectra by fabricating an on-chip spectrometer. The developments could enable autonomous vehicles to see around corners instead of just a straight line, biomedical imaging to detect abnormalities at different tissue depths, and telescopes to see through interstellar dust.

Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds
Published

New study challenges old views on what's 'primitive' in mammalian reproduction      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Which group of mammals has the more 'primitive' reproductive strategy -- marsupials, with their short gestation periods, or humans and other placental mammals, which have long gestation periods? For decades, biologists viewed marsupial reproduction as 'more primitive.' But scientists have discovered that a third group of mammals, the long-extinct multituberculates, had a long gestation period like placental mammals. Since multituberculates split off from the rest of the mammalian lineage before placentals and marsupials had even evolved, these findings question the view that marsupials were 'less advanced' than their placental cousins.

Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Flexible method for shaping laser beams extends depth-of-focus for OCT imaging      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have developed a new method for flexibly creating various needle-shaped laser beams. These long, narrow beams can be used to improve optical coherence tomography (OCT), a noninvasive and versatile imaging tool that is used for scientific research and various types of clinical diagnoses.

Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds
Published

The size of mammal ancestors' ear canals reveal when warm-bloodedness evolved      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Warm-bloodedness is a key mammal trait, but it's been a mystery when our ancestors evolved it. A new study points to an unlikely source for telling a fossil animal's body temperature: the size of tiny structures in their inner ears. The fluid in our ears becomes runnier at higher temperatures, so animals with warm bodies don't need as big of canals for it to flow through. Turns out, mammal ancestors became warm-blooded nearly 20 million years later than previously thought.

Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds
Published

Australian vulture emerges from fossil record      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Australia's first fossil vulture has been confirmed more than 100 years after it was first described as an eagle. The discovery highlights the diversity of Australian megafauna and other animals many thousands of years ago in the Pleistocene period.

Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Music-making and the flow of aerosols      (via sciencedaily.com) 

If simply breathing can spread the SARS-CoV-2 virus to others nearby, what about blowing into a tuba? Researchers used fluid mechanics to study the movement of aerosols generated by professional musicians.

Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Eco-friendly sound absorbers from seaweed      (via sciencedaily.com) 

From airplanes to apartments, most spaces are now designed with sound-absorbing materials that help dampen the droning, echoing and murmuring sounds of everyday life. But most of the acoustic materials that can cancel out human voices, traffic and music are made from plastic foams that aren't easily recycled or degraded. Now, researchers have created a biodegradable seaweed-derived film that effectively absorbs sounds in this range.

Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Scientists invent 'quantum flute' that can make particles of light move together      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Physicists have invented a 'quantum flute' that, like the Pied Piper, can coerce particles of light to move together in a way that's never been seen before.

Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds
Published

Coevolution of mammals and their lice      (via sciencedaily.com) 

According to a new study, the first louse to take up residence on a mammalian host likely started out as a parasite of birds. That host-jumping event tens of millions of years ago began the long association between mammals and lice, setting the stage for their coevolution and offering more opportunities for the lice to spread to other mammals.

Anthropology: Early Humans Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds
Published

How placentas evolved in mammals      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The fossil record tells us about ancient life through the preserved remains of body parts like bones, teeth and turtle shells. But how to study the history of soft tissues and organs, which can decay quickly, leaving little evidence behind? In a new study, scientists use gene expression patterns, called transcriptomics, to investigate the ancient origins of one organ: the placenta, which is vital to pregnancy.

Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Hearing better with skin than ears      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A research team develops a sound-sensing skin-attachable acoustic sensor. The new sensor decreased in size and increased in flexibility and is applicable as auditory electronic skin.

Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds
Published

New kangaroo described -- from Papua New Guinea      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Australian palaeontologists have described a new genus of giant fossil kangaroo from the mountains of central Papua New Guinea. The new description of the fossil kangaroo has found that, rather than being closely related to Australian kangaroos, it most likely belongs to a unique genus of more primitive kangaroo found only in PNG.