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Categories: Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI), Environmental: Ecosystems
Published How ancient sea creatures can inform soft robotics
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Fossils of a marine animal that lived 500 million years ago, combined with computer simulations, informed the design of a new soft robot.
Published Global deforestation leads to more mercury pollution
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers find deforestation accounts for about 10 percent of global human-made mercury emissions. While it cannot be the only solution, they suggest reforestation could increase global mercury uptake by about 5 percent.
Published Why insects navigate more efficiently than robots
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Engineers have studied how insects navigate, for the purpose of developing energy-efficient robots.
Published When the global climate has the hiccups
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Climate changes usually happens over long periods of time, but during the last glacial period, extreme fluctuations in temperature occurred within just a few years. Researchers have now been able to prove the phenomenon also occurred during the penultimate glacial period.
Published Innovations in depth from focus/defocus pave the way to more capable computer vision systems
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In an image, estimating the distance between objects and the camera by using the blur in the images as clue, also known as depth from focus/defocus, is essential in computer vision. However, model-based methods fail when texture-less surfaces are present, and learning-based methods require the same camera settings during training and testing. Now, researchers have come up with an innovative strategy for depth estimation that combines the best of both the worlds to solve these limitations, extending the applicability of depth from focus/defocus.
Published Alien invasion: Non-native earthworms threaten ecosystems
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Analysis reveals imported earthworm species have colonized large swaths of North America, and represent a largely overlooked threat to native ecosystems. The researchers warn of the need to better understand and manage the invaders in our midst.
Published Industrial pollution leaves its mark in Mediterranean corals
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source For the first time, pollutants from burning fossil fuels have been found embedded in corals, offering scientists a potential new tool to track the history of pollution, finds a new study.
Published Replacing animal-based foods with alternative proteins would unlock land for carbon removal
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers report that replacing 50% of animal products with alternative proteins by 2050 could free up enough agricultural land to generate renewable energy equivalent in volume to today's coal-generated power while simultaneously removing substantial CO2 from the atmosphere.
Published New study sheds new light on forests' role in climate and water cycle
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Forests, which cover a third of Earth's land surface, are pivotal in carbon storage and the water cycle, though the full scope of their impact remains to be fully understood. In a new study, researchers provide new insights into the complex role forests play in the climate system and water cycle.
Published How kelp forests persisted through the large 2014-2016 Pacific marine heatwave
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New research reveals that denser, and more sheltered, kelp forests can withstand serious stressors amid warming ocean temperatures.
Published Complex tree canopies help forests recover from moderate-severity disturbances
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Extreme events wipe out entire forests, dramatically eliminating complex ecosystems as well as local communities. Researchers have become quite familiar with such attention-grabbing events over the years. They know less, however, about the more common moderate-severity disturbances, such as relatively small fires, ice storms, and outbreaks of pests or pathogens.
Published New study points to more climate extremes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study has found similarities between long-term climatic changes in South Australia and temperate agricultural areas in Argentina -- highlighting similarities across these Southern Hemisphere countries. As temperature records tumble, and the threat of bushfires and dry conditions looms large, researchers renew the urgency of calls to make more concerted efforts to prepare for climate extremes in South Australia.
Published Apex predators not a quick fix for restoring ecosystems
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source An experiment spanning more than two decades has found that removal of apex predators from an ecosystem can create lasting changes that are not reversed after they return -- at least, not for a very long time. The study challenges the commonly held belief that the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone National Park restored an ecosystem degraded by their absence.
Published Microbial division of labor produces higher biofuel yields
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have found a way to boost ethanol production via yeast fermentation, a standard method for converting plant sugars into biofuels. Their approach relies on careful timing and a tight division of labor among synthetic yeast strains to yield more ethanol per unit of plant sugars than previous approaches have achieved.
Published Small but mighty -- study highlights the abundance and importance of the ocean's tiniest inhabitants
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New research sheds light on tiny plankton, which measure less than 0.02mm in diameter but can make up more than 70% of the plankton biomass found in the ocean.
Published Study challenges the classical view of the origin of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and warns of its vulnerability
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The Circumpolar Current works as a regulator of the planet's climate. Its origins were thought to have caused the formation of the permanent ice in Antarctica about 34 million years ago. Now, a study has cast doubt on this theory, and has changed the understanding of how the ice sheet in Antarctic developed in the past, and what this could mean in the future as the planet's climate changes.
Published New technology unscrambles the chatter of microbes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have developed a new search tool to that can match microbes to the metabolites they produce with no prior knowledge, an innovation that could transform our understanding of both human health and the environment.
Published A sleeker facial recognition technology tested on Michelangelo's David
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Many people are familiar with facial recognition systems that unlock smartphones and game systems or allow access to our bank accounts online. But the current technology can require boxy projectors and lenses. Now, researchers report on a sleeker 3D surface imaging system with flatter, simplified optics. In proof-of-concept demonstrations, the new system recognized the face of Michelangelo's David just as well as an existing smartphone system.
Published How leafcutter ants cultivate a fungal garden to degrade plants and provide insights into future biofuels
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists developed a new method to map exactly how a fungus works with leafcutter ants in a complex microbial community to degrade plant material at the molecular level. The team's insights are important for biofuels development.
Published Permafrost alone holds back Arctic rivers -- and a lot of carbon
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study provides the first evidence that the Arctic's frozen soil is the dominant force shaping Earth's northernmost rivers, confining them to smaller areas and shallower valleys than rivers to the south. But as climate change weakens Arctic permafrost, the researchers calculate that every 1 degree Celsius of global warming could release as much carbon as 35 million cars emit in a year as polar waterways expand and churn up the thawing soil.