Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR) Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: Earth and Climate
Published

Researchers unveil smart contact lens, capable of implementing AR-based navigation      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A research team has introduced core technology for smart contact lenses that can implement AR-based navigation through a 3D printing process.

Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR) Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

The future of touch      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Haptic holography promises to bring virtual reality to life, but a new study reveals a surprising physical obstacle that will need to be overcome.

Biology: Evolutionary Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds
Published

Parental investment may have aided evolution of larger brains      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A review of evidence from prior research provides new support for the possibility that the evolution of larger brains in some species was enabled through increased energy investment by parents in their offspring.

Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR) Offbeat: Computers and Math
Published

Augmented reality headset enables users to see hidden objects      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers developed an augmented reality headset called X-AR that combines computer vision and wireless perception to find hidden objects in a room and then guide the wearer to retrieve the targeted item.

Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR) Offbeat: Computers and Math
Published

Wireless, soft e-skin for interactive touch communication in the virtual world      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Sensing a hug from each other via the internet may be a possibility in the near future. A research team recently developed a wireless, soft e-skin that can both detect and deliver the sense of touch, and form a touch network allowing one-to-multiuser interaction. It offers great potential for enhancing the immersion of distance touch communication.

Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR) Offbeat: Computers and Math
Published

Hands-free tech adds realistic sense of touch in extended reality      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have demonstrated a new hands-free approach to convey realistic haptic feedback in virtual reality (VR). Their 'multisensory pseudo-haptics' uses a combination of headset visuals and tactile feedback from a wrist bracelet to convey sensations of touch.

Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR)
Published

How can the metaverse improve public health?      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The metaverse is a technological revolution in the field of virtual reality, with potential benefits to public health research. A new article proposes several new ways in which the metaverse can help us design, test, and experience health-promoting environments to minimize the risk of non-communicable diseases.

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

Virtual and augmented reality: Researchers pioneer process to stack micro-LEDs      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers are using emerging technology to demonstrate a process that will enable more immersive and realistic virtual and augmented reality displays with the world's smallest and thinnest micro-LEDs.

Ecology: Extinction Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: General
Published

Scientists develop new index based on functional morphology to understand how ancestors of modern birds used their wings      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists have compared the relationship among the strength of flight bones, body mass, and the way modern birds fly to better understand the evolution of flight in birds and extinct animals, such as the Pteranodon.

Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR) Engineering: Robotics Research Offbeat: Computers and Math
Published

Autonomous steering system keeps human drivers engaged      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have developed an automated driving system based on the concept of 'collaborative steering', which aims to increase transportation safety, efficiency, and comfort by encouraging active interaction between autonomous vehicles and their human drivers.

Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Dinosaurs Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: General
Published

Researchers uncover 92 fossil nests belonging to some of India's largest dinosaurs      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The discovery of more than 250 fossilized eggs reveals intimate details about the lives of titanosaurs in the Indian subcontinent, according to a new study.

Ecology: Extinction Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Paleontology: Dinosaurs Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Fossils reveal dinosaurs of prehistoric Patagonia      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A study is providing a glimpse into dinosaur and bird diversity in Patagonia during the Late Cretaceous, just before the non-avian dinosaurs went extinct. The fossils represent the first record of theropods -- a dinosaur group that includes both modern birds and their closest non-avian dinosaur relatives -- from the Chilean portion of Patagonia. The researchers' finds include giant megaraptors with large sickle-like claws and birds similar to todays ducks and geese.

Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds
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Here today, gone tomorrow: How humans lost their body hair      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Orangutans, mice, and horses are covered with it, but humans aren't. Why we have significantly less body hair than most other mammals has long remained a mystery. But a first-of-its-kind comparison of genetic codes from 62 animals is beginning to tell the story of how people -- and other mammals -- lost their locks.

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

The other paleo diet: Rare discovery of dinosaur remains preserved with its last meal      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Microraptor was an opportunistic predator, feeding on fish, birds, lizards -- and now small mammals. The discovery of a rare fossil reveals the creature was a generalist carnivore in the ancient ecosystem of dinosaurs.

Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR)
Published

Virtual reality game to objectively detect ADHD      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A virtual reality game offers an objective assessment of attention deficit disorders and may lead to an improved therapeutic approach.

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.

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.