Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds
Published

Ancient chickens lived significantly longer than modern fowl because they were seen as sacred, not food      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Ancient chickens lived significantly longer than their modern equivalents because they were seen as sacred -- not food -- archaeologists have found.

Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

New tool activates deep brain neurons by combining ultrasound, genetics      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A team has developed a new brain stimulation technique using focused ultrasound that is able to turn specific types of neurons in the brain on and off and precisely control motor activity without surgical device implantation.

Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Silicon chips combine light and ultrasound for better signal processing      (via sciencedaily.com) 

High-end wireless and cellular networks rely on light for the distribution of signals. The selective processing of such signals requires long delays: too long to support on a chip using light alone. A research team brought together light and ultrasonic waves to realize ultra-narrow filters of microwave signals, in silicon integrated circuits. The concept allows large freedom for filters design.

Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds
Published

Species losses on isolated Panamanian island show importance of habitat connectivity      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Free from human disturbance for a century, an inland island in Central America has nevertheless lost more than 25% of its native bird species since its creation as part of the Panama Canal's construction, and scientists say the losses continue.

Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Tiny, wireless, injectable chips use ultrasound to monitor body processes      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers report that they have built what they say is the world's smallest single-chip system, consuming a total volume of less than 0.1 mm3. The system is as small as a dust mite and visible only under a microscope. In order to achieve this, the team used ultrasound to both power and communicate with the device wirelessly.

Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds
Published

What can a dinosaur's inner ear tell us? Just listen      (via sciencedaily.com) 

If paleontologists had a wish list, it would almost certainly include insights into two particular phenomena: how dinosaurs interacted with each other and how they began to fly.

Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Release of drugs from a supramolecular cage      (via sciencedaily.com) 

How can a highly effective drug be transported to the precise location in the body where it is needed? Chemists now present a solution using a molecular cage that opens through ultrasonification.

Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Focused ultrasound enables precise noninvasive therapy      (via sciencedaily.com) 

New research demonstrates that noninvasive neuromodulation via low-intensity ultrasound can have cell-type selectivity in manipulating neurons.

Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Using sound waves to make patterns that never repeat      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Mathematicians and engineers have teamed up to show how ultrasound waves can organize carbon particles in water into a sort of pattern that never repeats. The results, they say, could result in materials called 'quasicrystals' with custom magnetic or electrical properties.

Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds
Published

Endangered songbird challenging assumptions about evolution      (via sciencedaily.com) 

New research looked at a newly discovered, endangered songbird located only in South America -- the Iberá Seedeater -- and found that this bird followed a very rare evolutionary path to come into existence at a much faster pace than the grand majority of species.

Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds
Published

Mummified parrots point to trade in the ancient Atacama desert      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Ancient Egyptians mummified cats, dogs, ibises and other animals, but closer to home in the South American Atacama desert, parrot mummies reveal that between 1100 and 1450 CE, trade from other areas brought parrots and macaws to oasis communities, according to an international and interdisciplinary team.

Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds
Published

Warriors' down bedding could ease journey to realm of the dead      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Feathers, an owl head and oars suggest the people in this Iron Age grave were prepared for a long journey.

Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds
Published

Giant fossil's 'bird-brain'      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The largest flightless bird ever to live weighed in up to 600kg and had a whopping head about half a meter long - but its brain was squeezed for space. Dromornis stirtoni, the largest of the 'mihirungs' (an Aboriginal word for 'giant bird'), stood up to 3m and had a cranium wider and higher than it was long due to a powerful big beak, leading Australian palaeontologists to look inside its brain space to see how it worked.

Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Reading minds with ultrasound: A less-invasive technique to decode the brain's intentions      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new brain imaging application uses ultrasound to predict intended movements before they happen.

Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Ultrasound has potential to damage coronaviruses, study finds      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new study suggests coronaviruses, including the virus that causes COVID-19, may be vulnerable to ultrasound vibrations. Simulations suggest ultrasound waves at medical imaging frequencies can cause the virus' shell and spikes to collapse and rupture.

Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds
Published

Extinct Caribbean bird's closest relatives hail from Africa, South Pacific      (via sciencedaily.com) 

In a genetic surprise, ancient DNA shows the closest family members of an extinct bird known as the Haitian cave-rail are not in the Americas, but Africa and the South Pacific, uncovering an unexpected link between Caribbean bird life and the Old World.

Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Quadruple fusion imaging via transparent ultrasound transducer      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists have developed a quadruple fusion optical and ultrasound imaging system using a transparent ultrasound transducer.

Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Life's rich pattern: Researchers use sound to shape the future of printing      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed a way to coax microscopic particles and droplets into precise patterns by harnessing the power of sound in air. The implications for printing, especially in the fields of medicine and electronics, are far-reaching.

Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Swimming upstream on sound waves      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have succeeded in propelling microvehicles against a fluid flow using ultrasound. In future, these tiny vehicles are set to be introduced into the human bloodstream, thereby revolutionizing the field of medicine.

Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds
Published

Quartz crystals in the stomach of fossil bird complicates the mystery of its diet      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The fossil of a bird that lived alongside the dinosaurs was found with some sort of rocks in its stomach. Previously, researchers thought that these rocks were swallowed on purpose to help clean its stomach, like modern birds of prey do, giving a hint at its diet. But in a new study, scientists discovered that these rocks are quartz crystals that likely formed after the bird died -- its diet is still a mystery.