Biology: Zoology Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geology Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: General
Published

Did a magnetic field collapse trigger the emergence of animals?      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers uncovered compelling evidence that Earth's magnetic field was in a highly unusual state when the macroscopic animals of the Ediacaran Period -- 635 to 541 million years ago -- diversified and thrived. Their study raises the question of whether these fluctuations in Earth's ancient magnetic field led to shifts in oxygen levels that may have been crucial to the proliferation of life forms millions of years ago.

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

Stretchable e-skin could give robots human-level touch sensitivity      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A stretchy electronic skin could equip robots and other devices with the same softness and touch sensitivity as human skin, opening up new possibilities to perform tasks that require a great deal of precision and control of force.

Computer Science: General
Published

Science has an AI problem: This group says they can fix it      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A team of 19 prominent researchers has published guidelines for the responsible use of machine learning in science. They say it could avert a crisis that's smoldering in every field.

Computer Science: General Computer Science: Quantum Computers
Published

Physicists build new device that is foundation for quantum computing      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have adapted a device called a microwave circulator for use in quantum computers, allowing them for the first time to precisely tune the exact degree of nonreciprocity between a qubit, the fundamental unit of quantum computing, and a microwave-resonant cavity. The ability to precisely tune the degree of nonreciprocity is an important tool to have in quantum information processing. In doing so, the team derived a general and widely applicable theory that simplifies and expands upon older understandings of nonreciprocity so that future work on similar topics can take advantage of the team's model, even when using different components and platforms.

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

Researchers unlock potential of 2D magnetic devices for future computing      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A research team has created an innovative method to control tiny magnetic states within ultrathin, two-dimensional van der Waals magnets -- a process akin to how flipping a light switch controls a bulb.

Computer Science: General Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Mathematics: General Mathematics: Modeling Paleontology: Climate
Published

New computer algorithm supercharges climate models and could lead to better predictions of future climate change      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A study describes a new computer algorithm which can be applied to Earth System Models to drastically reduce the time needed to prepare these in order to make accurate predictions of future climate change. During tests on models used in IPCC simulations, the algorithm was on average 10 times faster at spinning up the model than currently-used approaches, reducing the time taken to achieve equilibrium from many months to under a week.

Computer Science: General Environmental: Water Mathematics: Modeling
Published

Improved AI process could better predict water supplies      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new computer model uses a better artificial intelligence process to measure snow and water availability more accurately across vast distances in the West, information that could someday be used to better predict water availability for farmers and others. The researchers predict water availability from areas in the West where snow amounts aren't being physically measured.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Nature Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Fading lights: Multiple threats to North America's firefly populations      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have applied a data-driven approach to understanding firefly population dynamics on a continental scale. Key findings from this new study indicate that fireflies, part of the beetle order, are sensitive to various environmental factors, from short-term weather conditions to longer climatic trends, including the number of growing-degree days related to temperature accumulations.

Computer Science: General Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR)
Published

Researchers develop a new way to instruct dance in Virtual Reality      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Virtual reality dance made easier with crowd wave technique. Open source code can be downloaded for Quest 2 and 3.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: Sea Life Geoscience: Environmental Issues Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Fixin' to be flexitarian: Scrap fish and invasive species can liven up vegetables      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Greening the way we eat needn't mean going vegetarian. A healthy, more realistic solution is to adopt a flexitarian diet where seafoods add umami to 'boring' vegetables. A gastrophysicist puts mathematical equations to work in calculating the umami potential of everything from seaweed and shrimp paste to mussels and mackerel.

Computer Science: Encryption Computer Science: General
Published

Computer scientists unveil novel attacks on cybersecurity      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have found two novel types of attacks that target the conditional branch predictor found in high-end Intel processors, which could be exploited to compromise billions of processors currently in use.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Computer Science: General Computer Science: Quantum Computers Mathematics: General Mathematics: Modeling Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

From disorder to order: Flocking birds and 'spinning' particles      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have demonstrated that ferromagnetism, an ordered state of atoms, can be induced by increasing particle motility and that repulsive forces between atoms are sufficient to maintain it. The discovery not only extends the concept of active matter to quantum systems but also contributes to the development of novel technologies that rely on the magnetic properties of particles, such as magnetic memory and quantum computing.

Computer Science: General
Published

New circuit boards can be repeatedly recycled      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed a new PCB that performs on par with traditional materials and can be recycled repeatedly with negligible material loss. Researchers used a solvent that transforms a type of vitrimer -- a cutting-edge class of polymer -- into a jelly-like substance without damage, allowing solid components to be plucked out for reuse or recycling. With these 'vPCBs' (vitrimer printed circuit boards), researchers recovered 98% of the vitrimer and 100% of the glass fiber.

Anthropology: Cultures Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Biology: Biochemistry Ecology: Endangered Species Geoscience: Environmental Issues Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Fossils
Published

Ancient Maya blessed their ballcourts      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Using environmental DNA analysis, an international team of researchers identified a collection of plants used in ceremonial rituals in the ancient Maya city of Yaxnohcah in Mexico. The plants, known for their religious associations and medicinal properties, were discovered beneath a plaza floor where a ballcourt was built.

Computer Science: General
Published

High-precision blood glucose level prediction achieved by few-molecule reservoir computing      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A collaborative research team has successfully developed a cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) device that executes brain-like information processing through few-molecule reservoir computing. This innovation utilizes the molecular vibrations of a select number of organic molecules. By applying this device for the blood glucose level prediction in patients with diabetes, it has significantly outperformed existing AI devices in terms of prediction accuracy.

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: 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.