Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Earthquakes Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Oceanography Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General
Published

Warm liquid spewing from Oregon seafloor comes from Cascadia fault, could offer clues to earthquake hazards      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Oceanographers discovered warm, chemically distinct liquid shooting up from the seafloor about 50 miles off Newport. They named the unique underwater spring 'Pythia's Oasis.' Observations suggest the spring is sourced from water 2.5 miles beneath the seafloor at the plate boundary, regulating stress on the offshore subduction zone fault.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI)
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Kids judge Alexa smarter than Roomba, but say both deserve kindness      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Most kids know it's wrong to yell or hit someone, but what if that someone is a robot named Alexa? A new study asked kids how smart and sensitive they thought the virtual assistant was compared to a robotic vacuum. Four- to eleven-year-olds rated Alexa as more intelligent than the Roomba but felt neither deserve to be yelled at or otherwise harmed.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Ecology: Extinction Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues
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Scientists advocate for integration of biogeography and behavioral ecology to rapidly respond to biodiversity loss      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An interdisciplinary team of researchers is advocating for convergent research that integrates the fields of biogeography and behavioral ecology to more rapidly respond to challenges associated with climate change and biodiversity loss.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: General Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

AI-equipped eyeglasses read silent speech      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed a silent-speech recognition interface that uses acoustic-sensing and artificial intelligence to continuously recognize up to 31 unvocalized commands, based on lip and mouth movements.

Energy: Fossil Fuels Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
Published

Moving towards 3 degrees of warming -- the phasing out of coal is too slow      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The use of coal power is not decreasing fast enough. The Paris Agreement's target of a maximum of 2 degrees of warming appear to be missed, and the world is moving towards a temperature increase of 2.5 -- 3 degrees. At the same time it is feasible to avoid higher warming.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather
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Underground water could be the solution to green heating and cooling      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

About 12% of the total global energy demand comes from heating and cooling homes and businesses. A new study suggests that using underground water to maintain comfortable temperatures could reduce consumption of natural gas and electricity in this sector by 40% in the United States. The approach, called aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES), could also help prevent blackouts caused by high power demand during extreme weather events.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Severe Weather Paleontology: Climate
Published

Researchers correlate Arctic warming to extreme winter weather in midlatitude and its future      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A warmer Arctic has been linked to extreme winter weather in the midlatitude regions. But, it is not clear how global warming affects this link. In a new study, researchers show, using weather data and climate models, that while the 'Warm Arctic-Cold Continent' pattern will continue as the climate continues to warm, Arctic warming will become a less reliable predictor of extreme winter weather in the future.

Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Paleontology: Climate
Published

The unexpected contribution of medieval monks to volcanology      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

By observing the night sky, medieval monks unwittingly recorded some of history's largest volcanic eruptions. An international team of researchers drew on readings of 12th and 13th century European and Middle Eastern chronicles, along with ice core and tree ring data, to accurately date some of the biggest volcanic eruptions the world has ever seen. Their results uncover new information about one of the most volcanically active periods in Earth's history, which some think helped to trigger the Little Ice Age, a long interval of cooling that saw the advance of European glaciers.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: General Engineering: Robotics Research
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Robots predict human intention for faster builds      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Humans have a way of understandings others' goals, desires and beliefs, a crucial skill that allows us to anticipate people's actions. Taking bread out of the toaster? You'll need a plate. Sweeping up leaves? I'll grab the green trash can. This skill, often referred to as 'theory of mind,' comes easily to us as humans, but is still challenging for robots. But, if robots are to become truly collaborative helpers in manufacturing and in everyday life, they need to learn the same abilities. Computer science researchers aim to teach robots how to predict human preferences in assembly tasks, so they can one day help out on everything from building a satellite to setting a table.

Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Earthquakes Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geology
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Was plate tectonics occurring when life first formed on Earth?      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers used small zircon crystals to unlock information about magmas and plate tectonic activity in early Earth. The research provides chemical evidence that plate tectonics was most likely occurring more than 4.2 billion years ago when life is thought to have first formed on our planet. This finding could prove beneficial in the search for life on other planets.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geochemistry
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New insights into engineering climate-smart crops for the future      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research in the field of plant sciences has made significant advances towards understanding the underlying reasons behind why certain crops are better at generating more yield than others.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Nature Environmental: Biodiversity Geoscience: Earth Science
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A detailed map of the microverse: Microbial niches      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

What defines the habitat -- the ecological niche -- of a microorganism? It is a combination of environmental factors such as temperature, moisture, and nutrient content. But the exact contribution of each of these factors is difficult to predict. A research team has redefined microbial niches by determining which microorganisms live together.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: Encryption Engineering: Robotics Research
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New cyber software can verify how much knowledge AI really knows      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

With a growing interest in generative artificial intelligence (AI) systems worldwide, researchers have created software that is able to verify how much information an AI farmed from an organization's digital database.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
Published

Limiting warming to 2°C may avoid 80% of heat-related deaths in Middle East and North Africa      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Over 80% of predicted heat-related deaths in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) by the end of the century could be prevented if global warming is limited to 2°C, according to a modelling study.

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

Origami-inspired robots can sense, analyze and act in challenging environments      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A multidisciplinary team has created a new fabrication technique for fully foldable robots that can perform a variety of complex tasks without relying on semiconductors.

Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Extinction Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Paleontology: Climate
Published

Innovative method predicts the effects of climate change on cold-blooded animals      (via sciencedaily.com) 

In the face of a warming climate that is having a profound effect on global biodiversity and will change the distribution and abundance of many animals, a research team has developed a statistical model that improves estimates of habitat suitability and extinction probability for cold-blooded animals as temperatures climb.

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

Robotic hand can identify objects with just one grasp      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Newly created soft-rigid robotic fingers incorporate powerful sensors along their entire length, enabling them to produce a robotic hand that could accurately identify objects after only one grasp.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Rising temperatures alter 'missing link' of microbial processes, putting northern peatlands at risk      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers show that rising temperatures in northern regions may damage peatlands: critical ecosystems for storing carbon from the atmosphere -- and could decouple vital processes in microbial support systems.