Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Smallest arm bone in human fossil record sheds light on the dawn of Homo floresiensis      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study reports the discovery of extremely rare early human fossils from the Indonesian island of Flores, including an astonishingly small adult limb bone. Dated to about 700,000 years old, the new findings shed light on the evolution of Homo floresiensis, the so-called 'Hobbits' of Flores whose remains were uncovered in 2003 at Liang Bua cave in the island's west.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
Published

Hydraulic lift technology may have helped build Egypt's iconic Pyramid of Djoser      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The Pyramid of Djoser, the oldest of Egypt's iconic pyramids, may have been built with the help of a unique hydraulic lift system, according to researchers. A new study suggests that water may have been able to flow into two shafts located inside the pyramid itself, where that water could have been used to help raise and lower a float used to carry the building stones.

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

AI for mental health screening may carry biases based on gender, race      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A growing body of AI tools screen how people talk, searching for subtle changes that could indicate mental health concerns like depression or anxiety. A study finds that these tools don't perform consistently across people from different genders and races.

Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Zoology Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Half a billion-year-old spiny slug reveals the origins of mollusks      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Exceptional fossils with preserved soft parts reveal that the earliest mollusks were flat, armored slugs without shells. The new species, Shishania aculeata, was covered with hollow, organic, cone-shaped spines. The fossils preserve exceptionally rare detailed features which reveal that these spines were produced using a sophisticated secretion system that is shared with annelids (earthworms and relatives).

Anthropology: General Mathematics: Statistics Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
Published

Modern behavior explains prehistoric economies      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

What if the 'Market Economy' always existed? Archaeologists tried to answer this question by researching how much Bronze Age people used to spend to sustain their daily lives. Their results show that, starting at least 3,500 years ago, the spending habits of prehistoric Europeans were not substantially different from what they are today.

Computer Science: General Energy: Technology Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Pursuing the middle path to scientific discovery      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have made significant strides in understanding the properties of a ferroelectric material under an electric field. This breakthrough holds potential for advances in computer memory, lasers and sensors for ultraprecise measurements.

Computer Science: General Computer Science: Quantum Computers Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
Published

Bright prospects for engineering quantum light      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Computers benefit greatly from being connected to the internet, so we might ask: What good is a quantum computer without a quantum internet?

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

Researchers develop general framework for designing quantum sensors      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have designed a protocol for harnessing the power of quantum sensors. The protocol could give sensor designers the ability to fine-tune quantum systems to sense signals of interest, creating sensors that are vastly more sensitive than traditional sensors.

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

Optical fibers fit for the age of quantum computing      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new generation of specialty optical fibers has been developed by physicists to cope with the challenges of data transfer expected to arise in the future age of quantum computing.

Chemistry: Thermodynamics Computer Science: General Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR) Energy: Technology Physics: General
Published

AI method radically speeds predictions of materials' thermal properties      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers developed a machine-learning framework that can predict a key property of heat dispersion in materials that is up to 1,000 times faster than other AI methods, and could enable scientists to improve the efficiency of power generation systems and microelectronics.

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

Generative AI pioneers the future of child language learning      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers create a storybook generation system for personalized vocabulary learning.

Anthropology: General Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: Zoology Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Nature Ecology: Trees Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: General
Published

The ancestor of all modern birds probably had iridescent feathers      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Birds tend to be more colorful in the tropics, and scientists wanted to find out how they got there: if colorful feathers evolved in the tropics, or if tropical birds have brightly-colored ancestors that came to the region from somwhere else. Scientists built a database of 9,409 birds to explore the spread of color across the globe. They found that iridescent, colorful feathers originated 415 times across the bird tree of life, and in most cases, arose outside of the tropics -- and that the ancestor of all modern birds likely had iridescent feathers, too.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Molecular Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Lampreys possess a 'jaw-dropping' evolutionary origin      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Lampreys are one of only two living jawless vertebrates Jaws are formed by a key stem cell population called the neural crest New research reveals the gene regulatory changes that may explain morphological differences between jawed and jawless vertebrates.

Computer Science: General
Published

Researchers develop state-of-the-art device to make artificial intelligence more energy efficient      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Engineering researchers have demonstrated a state-of-the-art hardware device that could reduce energy consumption for artificial intelligent (AI) computing applications by a factor of at least 1,000.

Computer Science: General Computer Science: Quantum Computers
Published

Folded peptides are more electrically conductive than unfolded peptides      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

What puts the electronic pep in peptides? A folded structure, according to a new study. Researchers combined single-molecule experiments, molecular dynamics simulations and quantum mechanics to validate the findings.

Chemistry: General Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
Published

Chemical analyses find hidden elements from renaissance astronomer Tycho Brahe's alchemy laboratory      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Danish Tycho Brahe was most famous for his contributions to astronomy. However, he also had a well-equipped alchemical laboratory where he produced secret medicines for Europe's elite.

Biology: Zoology Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Rock art and archaeological record reveal humans' complex relationship with Amazonian animals      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Rock art explored by archaeologists in the Colombian Amazon has provided an insight into the complex relationship between the earliest settlers on the continent and the animals they encountered.

Chemistry: Thermodynamics Computer Science: General Energy: Technology Engineering: Robotics Research
Published

Next-gen cooling system to help data centers become more energy efficient      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Artificial intelligence (AI) is hot right now. Also hot: the data centers that power the technology. And keeping those centers cool requires a tremendous amount of energy. The problem is only going to grow as high-powered AI-based computers and devices become commonplace. That's why researchers are devising a new type of cooling system that promises to dramatically reduce energy demands.