Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Endangered Species Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Barley plants fine-tune their root microbial communities through sugary secretions      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Different types of barley recruit distinct communities of soil microbes to grow around their roots by releasing a custom mix of sugars and other compounds, according to a new study.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: General
Published

Computer vision researcher develops privacy software for surveillance videos      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Computer vision can be a valuable tool for anyone tasked with analyzing hours of footage because it can speed up the process of identifying individuals. For example, law enforcement may use it to perform a search for individuals with a simple query, such as 'Locate anyone wearing a red scarf over the past 48 hours.'

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: General Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

With hybrid brains, these mice smell like a rat      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Mice lacking an olfactory system have had their sense of smell restored with neurons from rats, the first time scientists have successfully integrated the sensory apparatus of one species into another.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Zoology Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

How do birds flock? Researchers do the math to reveal previously unknown aerodynamic phenomenon      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

How do birds fly in a coordinated and seemingly effortless fashion? Part of the answer lies in precise, and previously unknown, aerodynamic interactions, reports a team of mathematicians. Its breakthrough broadens our understanding of wildlife, including fish, who move in schools, and could have applications in transportation and energy.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Computer Science: General Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Nature Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Artificial intelligence helps scientists engineer plants to fight climate change      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists are using artificial intelligence software to analyze plant root systems, laying out a protocol that can be applied to gather data on crop and model plant phenotypes (physical characteristics) more efficiently and with equal or greater accuracy than existing methods.

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

Scientists tune the entanglement structure in an array of qubits      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new technique can generate batches of certain entangled states in a quantum processor. This advance could help scientists study the fundamental quantum property of entanglement and enable them to build larger and more complex quantum processors.

Biology: Microbiology Computer Science: General Mathematics: Modeling
Published

Artificial intelligence can develop treatments to prevent 'superbugs'      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Cleveland Clinic researchers developed an artficial intelligence (AI) model that can determine the best combination and timeline to use when prescribing drugs to treat a bacterial infection, based solely on how quickly the bacteria grow given certain perturbations. PNAS recently published their findings.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Cells may possess hidden communication system      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Cells constantly navigate a dynamic environment, facing ever-changing conditions and challenges. But how do cells swiftly adapt to these environmental fluctuations? A new study is answering that question by challenging our understanding of how cells function. A team of researchers suggests that cells possess a previously unknown information processing system that allows them to make rapid decisions independent of their genes.

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

These giant, prehistoric salmon had tusk-like teeth      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Oncorhynchus rastrosus, a giant species of salmon that lived in the North American Pacific Northwest a few million years ago, sported a pair of front teeth that projected out from the sides of its mouth like tusks, according to a new study.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Molecular Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Color variants in cuckoos: The advantages of rareness      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Every cuckoo is an adopted child -- raised by foster parents, into whose nest the cuckoo mother smuggled her egg. The cuckoo mother is aided in this subterfuge by her resemblance to a bird of prey. There are two variants of female cuckoos: a gray morph that looks like a sparrowhawk, and a rufous morph. Male cuckoos are always gray.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: General Engineering: Robotics Research Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
Published

Why can't robots outrun animals?      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Robotics engineers have worked for decades and invested many millions of research dollars in attempts to create a robot that can walk or run as well as an animal. And yet, it remains the case that many animals are capable of feats that would be impossible for robots that exist today.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Zoology Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Zebra finch chicks don't babble for no reason      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Their first vocalizations help young zebra finch males to memorize the songs of adults.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: General
Published

Computer game in school made students better at detecting fake news      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A computer game helped upper secondary school students become better at distinguishing between reliable and misleading news.

Computer Science: General Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR) Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General Physics: Optics
Published

Holographic displays offer a glimpse into an immersive future      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have invented a new optical element that brings us one step closer to mixing the real and virtual worlds in an ordinary pair of eyeglasses using high-definition 3D holographic images.

Computer Science: General
Published

Opening up the potential of thin-film electronics for flexible chip design      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The mass production of conventional silicon chips relies on a successful business model with large 'semiconductor fabrication plants' or 'foundries'. New research by shows that this 'foundry' model can also be applied to the field of flexible, thin-film electronics.

Anthropology: General Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Marine Ecology: Nature Ecology: Sea Life Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Fossils
Published

Bioluminescence first evolved in animals at least 540 million years ago      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Bioluminescence first evolved in animals at least 540 million years ago in a group of marine invertebrates called octocorals, according to the results of a new study. The study focuses on an ancient group of marine invertebrates that includes soft corals, pushes back the previous oldest dated example of trait by nearly 300 million years.

Biology: General Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: Nature Ecology: Sea Life Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Squids' birthday influences mating      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The day a male spear squid hatches determines which mating tactic he will use throughout his life, according to new research. Spear squid (Heterololigo bleekeri) that hatch earlier in the season become 'consorts' which fight for mating opportunities. Those which hatch later become 'sneakers,' which use more clandestine mating tactics. Researchers found that the mating tactic determined by the birth date was fixed for the squid's whole life. Understanding how mating tactics are influenced by birth date, and the environmental conditions at that time, can help researchers consider how squid might be affected by climate change and the implications for marine resource management.

Biology: General Ecology: Animals Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Nature Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Frog species evolved rapidly in response to road salts      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

When we think of evolution, we think of a process that happens over hundreds or thousands of years. In research recently published, a species of frog that has evolved over the course of merely 25 years. The adaptation was spurred on by something many assume is innocuous: salt.

Computer Science: Encryption Computer Science: General
Published

This tiny chip can safeguard user data while enabling efficient computing on a smartphone      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new chip can efficiently accelerate machine-learning workloads on edge devices like smartphones while protecting sensitive user data from two common types of attacks -- side-channel attacks and bus-probing attacks.