Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR)
Published

When using virtual reality as a teaching tool, context and 'feeling real' matter      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Psychologists had people learn words from two phonetically similar languages in virtual reality environments. Those who learned each language in its own unique context mixed up fewer words and were able to recall 92% of the words they had learned. In contrast, participants who had learned both sets of words in the same VR context were more likely to confuse terms between the two languages and retained only 76% of the words. Regardless of group, those participants who felt immersed in the VR world remembered more than those who did not feel immersed.

Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR) Engineering: Robotics Research
Published

Researchers develop wireless, ultrathin 'Skin VR' to provide a vivid, 'personalized' touch experience in the virtual world      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Enhancing the virtual experience with the touch sensation has become a hot topic, but today's haptic devices remain typically bulky and tangled with wires. Researchers have now developed an advanced wireless haptic interface system, called WeTac, worn on the hand, which has soft, ultrathin soft features, and collects personalized tactile sensation data to provide a vivid touch experience in the metaverse.

Anthropology: Cultures Biology: Microbiology Paleontology: Climate Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: General
Published

Increasing forest cover in the Eifel region 11,000 years ago resulted in the local loss of megafauna      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Sediment cores obtained from Eifel maar sites provide insight into the presence of large Ice Age mammals in Central Europe over the past 60,000 years: Overkill hypothesis not confirmed. Herds of megafauna, such as mammoth and bison, have roamed the prehistoric plains in what is today's Central Europe for several tens of thousands of years. As woodland expanded at the end of the last Ice Age, the numbers of these animals declined and by roughly 11,000 years ago, they had completely vanished from this region. Thus, the growth of forests was the main factor that determined the extinction of such megafauna in Central Europe.

Geoscience: Geology Paleontology: Climate Paleontology: General
Published

Changes in Earth's orbit may have triggered ancient warming event      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Changes in Earth's orbit that favored hotter conditions may have helped trigger a rapid global warming event 56 million years ago. Researchers found the shape of Earth's orbit, or eccentricity, and the wobble in its rotation, or precession, favored hotter conditions at the onset of the PETM and that these orbital configurations together may have played a role in triggering the event.

Geoscience: Geology Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Fossil site reveals giant arthropods dominated the seas 470 million years ago      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Discoveries at a major new fossil site in Morocco suggest giant arthropods -- relatives of modern creatures including shrimps, insects and spiders -- dominated the seas 470 million years ago.

Archaeology: General Ecology: Endangered Species Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

True giant wombat gives Diprotodon podium a wobble      (via sciencedaily.com) 

While the Diprotodon -- the extinct megafauna species that is distantly related to wombats but was the size of a small car -- is commonly (but incorrectly) thought of as Australia's 'giant wombat', researchers have shed light on a large species that does belong in the modern-day wombat family. The complete skull of this true fossil giant wombat, found in a Rockhampton cave in Queensland, Australia and estimated to be around 80,000 years old, has been described for the first time.

Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR)
Published

Does throwing my voice make you want to shop here?      (via sciencedaily.com) 

By breaking the laws of physics in a virtual reality environment, researchers find that changing the location of a virtual assistant's voice in specific ways can be used as a tool to build rapport with customers.

Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Paleontology: Dinosaurs Paleontology: General
Published

Dinosaur teeth reveal what they didn't eat      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scratches on dinosaur teeth could reveal what they really ate. Dental microwear texture analysis (DMTA) has now been used to infer the feeding habits of large theropods, including Allosaurus and T. rex. By taking 3D images of individual teeth and analyzing the pattern of marks scratched into them, researchers could reason which dinosaurs may have frequently crunched on hard bone and which may have regularly eaten softer foods and prey. This technique opens up a new avenue of research for paleontology, helping us to better understand not only dinosaurs themselves but also the environment and communities in which they lived.

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

Immune system of modern Papuans shaped by DNA from ancient Denisovans, study finds      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Modern Papuans' immune system likely evolved with a little help from the Denisovans, a mysterious human ancestor who interbred with ancient humans, according to a new study.

Paleontology: General
Published

Fjords, small in size and number, are significant carbon reservoirs      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Fjords comprise a mere 0.1 percent of the surface area of the ocean yet store a whopping 11-12 percent of the carbon stored in the ocean. New research shows they sock away 18 million tons of carbon during interglacial periods, like the one we're in now.

Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR)
Published

Improving the accuracy of markerless gait analysis      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Gait analysis systems measure certain metrics to give their results. These results then drive clinical treatment for gait correction. However, detailed gait analysis requires expensive equipment, and a lot of space, markers, time. Measurements from markerless, video-based gait analysis systems, on the other hand, are inaccurate. To improve upon existing systems, researchers have now combined RGB camera-based pose estimation and an inertial measurement unit sensor for gait analysis. This significantly reduces errors in the process.

Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Smilodon's sabre teeth      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have tested the biting efficiency of Smilodon, an extinct species of carnivore close to the extant felines. Using high-precision 3D scans and simulation methods, the team has just revealed how these animals managed to bite despite the impressive length of their teeth.

Ecology: Endangered Species Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Paleontology: Climate Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Discovery of world's oldest DNA breaks record by one million years      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Two-million-year-old DNA has been identified -- opening a 'game-changing' new chapter in the history of evolution. Microscopic fragments of environmental DNA were found in Ice Age sediment in northern Greenland. Using cutting-edge technology, researchers discovered the fragments are one million years older than the previous record for DNA sampled from a Siberian mammoth bone. The ancient DNA has been used to map a two-million-year-old ecosystem which weathered extreme climate change.

Anthropology: Cultures Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: Wildfires Paleontology: General
Published

For 400 years, Indigenous tribes buffered climate's impact on wildfires in the American Southwest      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Devastating megafires are becoming more common, in part, because the planet is warming. But a new study suggests bringing 'good fire' back to the U.S. and other wildfire fire-prone areas, as Native Americans once did, could potentially blunt the role of climate in triggering today's wildfires.

Ecology: Endangered Species Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Paleontology: Dinosaurs Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: General
Published

Dinosaurs were on the up before asteroid downfall      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Dinosaurs dominated the world right up until a deadly asteroid hit the earth, leading to their mass extinction, some 66 million years ago, a landmark study reveals. Fresh insights into dinosaurs' ecosystems -- the habitats and food types that supported their lives -- suggests that their environments were robust and thriving, right up until that fateful day, at the end of the Cretaceous period.

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

Purchasing loot boxes in video games associated with problem gambling risk, says study      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Gamers who buy 'loot boxes' are up to two times more likely to gamble, shows new research.

Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR)
Published

Crowding makes time seem to pass more slowly      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Testing time perception in an unusually lifelike setting -- a virtual reality ride on a New York City subway train -- an interdisciplinary research team found that crowding makes time seem to pass more slowly.

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

Math approach may make drug discovery more effective, efficient      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have devised a computer-based platform for drug discovery that could make the process more effective, more efficient and less costly.

Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR)
Published

A navigation system with 10 centimeter accuracy      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have developed an alternative positioning system that is more robust and accurate than GPS, especially in urban settings. The working prototype that demonstrated this new mobile network infrastructure achieved an accuracy of 10 centimeter. This new technology is important for the implementation of a range of location-based applications, including automated vehicles, quantum communication and next-generation mobile communication systems.