Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Tag team of the James Webb Space Telescope and ALMA captures the core of the most distant galaxy protocluster      (via sciencedaily.com) 

An international research team has used the James Webb Space Telescope and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array to observe the most distant galaxy protocluster to date, 13.14 billion light-years away. The team has successfully captured the 'core region' of the galaxy protocluster, which corresponds to a metropolitan area with a particularly high number density of galaxies. The team has revealed that many galaxies are concentrated in a small area and that the growth of galaxies is accelerated. Furthermore, the team used simulations to predict the future of the metropolitan area and found that the region will merge into one larger galaxy within tens of millions of years. These results are expected to provide important clues regarding the birth and growth of galaxies.

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

Slow growth in crocodile ancestors pre-dated their semi-aquatic lifestyle      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A groundbreaking study is reshaping our understanding of crocodile evolution by pinpointing the onset of slow growth rates to the Late Triassic period, much earlier than the previously assumed Early Jurassic timeline. The research highlights newly discovered fossil crocodile ancestors (known as crocodylomorphs) that exhibited slow growth rates, similar to modern-day crocodilians. Intriguingly, these early crocodylomorphs were not the lethargic, semi-aquatic creatures we are familiar with today; they were small, active, and fully terrestrial. The study also suggests that this slow-growth strategy was not a mere evolutionary quirk but a survival mechanism, as only the slow-growing crocodylomorphs managed to survive the End-Triassic mass extinction. This stands in stark contrast to the fast-growing dinosaurs of the same era, setting the stage for the divergent evolutionary paths that would later define their modern descendants.

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

Spider silk is spun by silkworms for the first time, offering a green alternative to synthetic fibers      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists have synthesized spider silk from genetically modified silkworms, producing fibers six times tougher than the Kevlar used in bulletproof vests. The study is the first to successfully produce full-length spider silk proteins using silkworms. The findings demonstrate a technique that could be used to manufacture an environmentally friendly alternative to synthetic commercial fibers such as nylon.

Biology: Botany Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Environmental: Biodiversity Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Researchers issue urgent call to save the world's largest flower -Rafflesia -- from extinction      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study finds that most Rafflesia species, which produce the world's largest flowers, face extinction. Lack of protection at local, national, and international levels means that remaining populations are under critical threat.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Space Space: Cosmology Space: General
Published

New recipes for origin of life may point way to distant, inhabited planets      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Life on a faraway planet -- if it's out there -- might not look anything like life on Earth. But there are only so many chemical ingredients in the universe's pantry, and only so many ways to mix them. Scientists have now exploited those limitations to write a cookbook of hundreds of chemical recipes with the potential to give rise to life. Their ingredient list could focus the search for life elsewhere in the universe by pointing out the most likely conditions -- planetary versions of mixing techniques, oven temperatures and baking times -- for the recipes to come together.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

16 strange new parasitoid wasp species discovered in Vietnam      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have discovered 16 new species of strange-looking parasitoid wasps from the Loboscelidia group. The study also revealed for the first time the unique parasitic behavior of a captive female from one species, who after parasitizing her host egg, buried the egg in a hole in the soil.

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

Combustion powers bug-sized robots to leap, lift and race      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers combined soft microactuators with high-energy-density chemical fuel to create an insect-scale quadrupedal robot that is powered by combustion and can outrace, outlift, outflex and outleap its electric-driven competitors.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR)
Published

Assessing unintended consequences in AI-based neurosurgical training      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new study shows that human instruction is still necessary to detect and compensate for unintended, and sometimes negative, changes in neurosurgeon behavior after virtual reality AI training. This finding has implications for other fields of training.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Extinction Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

RNA for the first time recovered from an extinct species      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study shows the isolation and sequencing of more than a century-old RNA molecules from a Tasmanian tiger specimen preserved at room temperature in a museum collection. This resulted in the reconstruction of skin and skeletal muscle transcriptomes from an extinct species for the first time. The researchers note that their findings have relevant implications for international efforts to resurrect extinct species, including both the Tasmanian tiger and the woolly mammoth, as well as for studying pandemic RNA viruses.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Microbiology Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

That smell: New gut microbe produces smelly toxic gas but protects against pathogens      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Microbiologists have discovered a new intestinal microbe that feeds exclusively on taurine and produces the foul-smelling gas hydrogen sulfide. The researchers have thus provided another building block in the understanding of those microbial processes that have fascinating effects on health. This is also true of Taurinivorans muris: the bacterium shows a protective function against Klebsiella and Salmonella, two important pathogens.

Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Microbiology Biology: Zoology Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Brain-altering parasite turns ants into zombies at dawn and dusk      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

It takes over the brains of ants, causing them to cling to blades of grass against their will. The lancet liver fluke has an exceptional lifecycle strategy, in which snails, ants and grazing animals are unwitting actors. Researchers now reveal more about the mind-bending workings of this tiny parasite.

Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
Published

Making AI smarter with an artificial, multisensory integrated neuron      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The feel of a cat's fur can reveal some information, but seeing the feline provides critical details: is it a housecat or a lion? While the sound of fire crackling may be ambiguous, its scent confirms the burning wood. Our senses synergize to give a comprehensive understanding, particularly when individual signals are subtle. The collective sum of biological inputs can be greater than their individual contributions. Robots tend to follow more straightforward addition, but researchers have now harnessed the biological concept for application in artificial intelligence (AI) to develop the first artificial, multisensory integrated neuron.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineering: Robotics Research
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Groundbreaking soft valve technology enabling sensing and control integration in soft robots      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A research team has developed groundbreaking 'soft valve' technology -- an all-in-one solution that integrates sensors and control valves while maintaining complete softness.

Offbeat: General
Published

New evidence indicates patients recall death experiences after cardiac arrest      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Up to an hour after their hearts had stopped, some patients revived by cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) had clear memories afterward of experiencing death and had brain patterns while unconscious linked to thought and memory, report investigators.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

Snaps supersonic outflow of young star      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Herbig-Haro (HH) objects are luminous regions surrounding newborn stars, formed when stellar winds or jets of gas spewing from these newborn stars form shock waves colliding with nearby gas and dust at high speeds. This image of HH 211 from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope reveals an outflow from a Class 0 protostar, an infantile analog of our Sun when it was no more than a few tens of thousands of years old and with a mass only 8% of the present-day Sun (it will eventually grow into a star like the Sun).

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Mathematics: Modeling
Published

Verbal nonsense reveals limitations of AI chatbots      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The era of artificial-intelligence chatbots that seem to understand and use language the way we humans do has begun. Under the hood, these chatbots use large language models, a particular kind of neural network. But a new study shows that large language models remain vulnerable to mistaking nonsense for natural language. To a team of researchers, it's a flaw that might point toward ways to improve chatbot performance and help reveal how humans process language.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

Electrons from Earth may be forming water on the Moon      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Planetary scientists have discovered that high energy electrons in Earth's plasma sheet are contributing to weathering processes on the Moon's surface and, importantly, the electrons may have aided the formation of water on the lunar surface.