Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Nature Ecology: Sea Life Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Dinosaurs Paleontology: General
Published

Fossil of mosasaur with bizarre 'screwdriver teeth' found in Morocco      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have discovered a new species of mosasaur, a sea-dwelling lizard from the age of the dinosaurs, with strange, ridged teeth unlike those of any known reptile. Along with other recent finds from Africa, it suggests that mosasaurs and other marine reptiles were evolving rapidly up until 66 million years ago, when they were wiped out by an asteroid along with the dinosaurs and around 90% of all species on Earth.

Geoscience: Earthquakes Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography Paleontology: General
Published

Impact of ancient earthquake revealed      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

By combining the scientific powerhouses of genetics and geology, researchers have identified a new area of coastal uplift, which had been hiding in plain sight.

Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR)
Published

AI voice coach shows promise in depression, anxiety treatment      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A study found changes in patients' brain activity along with improved depression and anxiety symptoms after using Lumen.

Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Homo sapiens likely arose from multiple closely related populations      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In testing the genetic material of current populations in Africa and comparing against existing fossil evidence of early Homo sapiens populations there, researchers have uncovered a new model of human evolution -- overturning previous beliefs that a single African population gave rise to all humans.

Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geology Paleontology: Climate Paleontology: General
Published

Out of this world control on Ice Age cycles      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A research team, composed of climatologists and an astronomer, have used an improved computer model to reproduce the cycle of ice ages (glacial periods) 1.6 to 1.2 million years ago. The results show that the glacial cycle was driven primarily by astronomical forces in quite a different way than it works in the modern age. These results will help us to better understand the past, present, and future of ice sheets and the Earth's climate.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Ecology: Nature Geoscience: Geography Paleontology: General
Published

Butterfly tree of life reveals an origin in North America      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have discovered where butterflies originated and which plants the first butterflies relied on for food. To reach these conclusions, researchers created the world's largest butterfly tree of life, which they used as a guide to trace trace the evolution of butterflies through time in a four-dimensional puzzle that led back to North and Central America.

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

Better than humans: Artificial intelligence in intensive care units      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

With the help of extensive data from intensive care units of various hospitals, an artificial intelligence was developed that provides suggestions for the treatment of people who require intensive care due to sepsis. Analyses show that artificial intelligence already surpasses the quality of human decisions. However, it is now important to also discuss the legal aspects of such methods.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR) Engineering: Robotics Research Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
Published

Robotic proxy brings remote users to life in real time      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed a robot, called ReMotion, that occupies physical space on a remote user's behalf, automatically mirroring the user's movements in real time and conveying key body language that is lost in standard virtual environments.

Biology: General Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: Sea Life Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Dinosaurs Paleontology: General
Published

Giants of the Jurassic seas were twice the size of a killer whale      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

There have been heated debates over the size of Jurassic animals. The speculation was set to continue, but now a chance discovery in an Oxfordshire museum has led to palaeontologists publishing a paper on a Jurassic species potentially reaching a whopping 14.4 meters -- twice the size of a killer whale.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

A jumping conclusion: Fossil insect ID'd as new genus, species of prodigious leaper, the froghopper      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A fossil arthropod entombed in 100-million-year-old Burmese amber has been identified as a new genus and species of froghopper, known today as an insect with prodigious leaping ability in adulthood following a nymphal stage spent covered in a frothy fluid.

Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Oceanography Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Earth's first animals had particular taste in real estate      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Even without body parts that allowed for movement, new research shows -- for the first time -- that some of Earth's earliest animals managed to be picky about where they lived.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Zoology Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

New tusk-analysis techniques reveal surging testosterone in male woolly mammoths      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Traces of sex hormones extracted from a woolly mammoth's tusk provide the first direct evidence that adult males experienced musth, a testosterone-driven episode of heightened aggression against rival males, according to a new study.

Geoscience: Earth Science Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

'Golden' fossils reveal origins of exceptional preservation      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A recent study found that many of the fossils from Germany's Posidonia shale do not get their gleam from pyrite, commonly known as fool's gold, which was long thought to be the source of the shine. Instead, the golden hue is from a mix of minerals that hints at the conditions in which the fossils formed. The discovery is important for understanding how the fossils -- which are among the world's best-preserved specimens of sea life from the Early Jurassic -- came to form in the first place, and the role that oxygen in the environment had in their formation.

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

Joyful music could be a game changer for virtual reality headaches      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Listening to music could reduce the dizziness, nausea and headaches virtual reality users might experience after using digital devices, research suggests. Cybersickness -- a type of motion sickness from virtual reality experiences such as computer games -- significantly reduces when joyful music is part of the immersive experience, the study found. The intensity of the nausea-related symptoms of cybersickness was also found to substantially decrease with both joyful and calming music.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Biodiversity Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Fossil find in California shakes up the natural history of cycad plants      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

According to researchers, a new analysis of an 80-million-year-old permineralized pollen cone found in the Campanian Holz Shale formation located in Silverado Canyon, California, offers a more accurate cycad natural history -- one where the plants diversified during the Cretaceous.

Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR)
Published

Realistic simulated driving environment based on 'crash-prone' Michigan intersection      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The first statistically realistic roadway simulation has now been developed. While it currently represents a particularly perilous roundabout, future work will expand it to include other driving situations for testing autonomous vehicle software.

Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR) Mathematics: Puzzles
Published

Researchers explore why some people get motion sick playing VR games while others don't      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The way our senses adjust while playing high-intensity virtual reality games plays a critical role in understanding why some people experience severe cybersickness and others don't.

Anthropology: General Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Zoology Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Nature Environmental: Biodiversity Geoscience: Earth Science Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: General
Published

New research redefines mammalian tree of life      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists from around the globe are using the largest mammalian genomic dataset in history to determine the evolutionary history of the human genome in the context of mammalian evolutionary history. Their ultimate goal is to better identify the genetic basis for traits and diseases in people and other species.