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Categories: Paleontology: Fossils, Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published Fossil study sheds light on famous spirals found in nature



A 3D model of a 407-million-year-old plant fossil has overturned thinking on the evolution of leaves. The research has also led to fresh insights about spectacular patterns found in plants.
Published A 'spy' in the belly



To ensure that wounds remain tightly sealed in the abdomen after surgery, researchers have developed a patch with a sensor function. The polymer patch warns before the occurrence of dangerous leaks on sutures in the gastrointestinal tract take hold, while closes the areas on its own. A new material now enables a fast, easy and non-invasive leak diagnosis.
Published First side-necked turtle ever discovered in UK



The first side-necked turtle ever to be found in the UK has been discovered by an amateur fossil collector and palaeontologists.
Published Ancient herbivore's diet weakened teeth leading to eventual starvation, study suggests



Researchers have shed light on the life of the ancient reptile Rhynchosaur, which walked the earth between 250-225 million years ago, before being replaced by the dinosaurs.
Published Lost giants: New study reveals the abundance decline of African megafauna



A groundbreaking new paper focuses on the size and abundance of living and fossil African large mammals, shedding light on the ecological dynamics behind the decline of these iconic creatures. The findings challenge previous assumptions about the causes of megafaunal extinctions in Africa and provide new insights into the restructuring of ecosystems over millions of years.
Published South Africa, India and Australia shared similar volcanic activity 3.5 billion years ago



The Daitari greenstone belt shares a similar geologic make-up when compared to the greenstones exposed in the Barberton and Nondweni areas of South Africa and those from the Pilbara Craton of north-western Australia.
Published Remains of an extinct world of organisms discovered



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 Sponge makes robotic device a soft touch



A simple sponge has improved how robots grasp, scientists have found.
Published Geneticists discover hidden 'whole genome duplication' that may explain why some species survived mass extinctions



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 Actively reducing noise by ionizing air



Scientists show that a thin layer of plasma, created by ionizing air, could be promising as an active sound absorber, with applications in noise control and room acoustics.
Published The clams that fell behind, and what they can tell us about evolution and extinction



A new study examined how bivalves -- the group that includes clams, mussels, scallops, and oysters -- evolved among many others in the period of rapid evolution known as the Cambrian Explosion. The team found that though many other lineages burst into action and quickly evolved a wide variety of forms and functions, the bivalves lagged behind. The study has implications for how we understand evolution and the impact of extinctions.
Published Source-shifting metastructures composed of only one resin for location camouflaging



Acoustic source-shifters make observers mis-perceive the location of sound by reproducing a sound emanating from a location different from the actual location of a sound source. Researchers have now developed a design approach to produce high-performance source-shifters using a common polymer for location camouflage. Utilizing inverse design based on topology optimization, this development could pave the way for advanced augmented reality and holography technology.
Published 4,000-year-old plague DNA found -- the oldest cases to date in Britain



Researchers have identified three 4,000-year-old British cases of Yersinia pestis, the bacteria causing the plague -- the oldest evidence of the plague in Britain to date.
Published 107-million-year-old pterosaur bones: Oldest in Australia



A team of researchers have confirmed that 107-million-year-old pterosaur bones discovered more than 30 years ago are the oldest of their kind ever found in Australia, providing a rare glimpse into the life of these powerful, flying reptiles that lived among the dinosaurs.
Published Propellers are louder over ground



The effects of the ground on propeller noise have now been measured experimentally.
Published Fossils of a saber-toothed top predator reveal a scramble for dominance leading up to 'the Great Dying'



A tiger-sized saber-toothed creature called Inostrancevia has previously only been found in Russia. But scientists have discovered its fossils in South Africa, suggesting that it migrated 7,000 miles across the supercontinent Pangaea during the world's worst mass extinction 252 million years ago. Heading to South Africa allowed it to fill a gap in a faraway ecosystem that had lost its top predators.
Published A giant leap forward in wireless ultrasound monitoring for subjects in motion



Engineers have developed the first fully integrated wearable ultrasound system for deep-tissue monitoring, including for subjects on the go.
Published Ancient climate change solves mystery of vanished South African lakes



New evidence for the presence of ancient lakes in some of the most arid regions of South Africa suggests that Stone Age humans may have been more widespread across the continent than previously thought.
Published Humanity's earliest recorded kiss occurred in Mesopotamia 4,500 years ago



Written sources from Mesopotamia suggest that kissing in relation to sex was practiced by the peoples of the ancient Middle East 4,500 years ago.
Published Homo sapiens likely arose from multiple closely related populations



In testing the genetic material of current populations in Africa and comparing against existing fossil evidence of early Homo sapiens populations there, researchers have uncovered a new model of human evolution -- overturning previous beliefs that a single African population gave rise to all humans.