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Categories: Computer Science: Quantum Computers, Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published Sleight-of-hand magic trick only fools monkeys with opposable thumbs
(via sciencedaily.com) An illusion involving a hidden thumb confounds capuchin and squirrel monkeys for the same reason it does humans -- it misdirects expected outcomes of actions they can carry out. However, marmosets have five equidistant digits, and were rarely fooled by the magician. The research adds to evidence that animals struggle to predict movements outside of their own 'biomechanical ability'.
Published Researchers discover birds with neurotoxin-laden feathers
(via sciencedaily.com) An expedition into the jungle of New Guinea has resulted in the discovery of two new species of poisonous birds. Genetic changes in these bird species have allowed them to carry a powerful neurotoxin.
Published Predatory dinosaurs such as T. rex sported lizard-like lips
(via sciencedaily.com) A new study suggests that predatory dinosaurs, such as Tyrannosaurus rex, did not have permanently exposed teeth as depicted in films such as Jurassic Park, but instead had scaly, lizard-like lips covering and sealing their mouths.
Published Scientists analyze sounds emitted by plants
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have recorded and analyzed sounds distinctly emitted by plants. The click-like sounds, similar to the popping of popcorn, are emitted at a volume similar to human speech, but at high frequencies, beyond the hearing range of the human ear.
Published Ancient giant amphibians swam like crocodiles 250 million years ago
(via sciencedaily.com) Ancient 2m-long amphibians swam like crocodiles long before true crocodiles existed, according to a new study.
Published Can a solid be a superfluid? Engineering a novel supersolid state from layered 2D materials
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Physicists predict that layered electronic 2D semiconductors can host a curious quantum phase of matter called the supersolid. This counterintuitive quantum material simultaneously forms a rigid crystal, and yet at the same time allows particles to flow without friction, with all the particles belong to the same single quantum state.
Published Research into birds killed in window collisions reveals their microbiomes
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers collected the bodies of birds that crashed into buildings while migrating, and used these specimens to learn about the relationship between birds and the microbes living in their guts -- which appears to be wildly different from mammals and their microbiomes.
Published What should we call evolution driven by genetic engineering? Genetic welding, says researcher
(via sciencedaily.com) With CRISPR-Cas9 technology, humans can now rapidly change the evolutionary course of animals or plants by inserting genes that can easily spread through entire populations. An evolutionary geneticist proposes that we call this evolutionary meddling 'genetic welding.' He argues that we must scientifically and ethically scrutinize the potential consequences of genetic welding before we put it into practice.
Published Meet the hybrid micro-robot: The tiny robot that is able to navigate in a physiological environment and capture targeted damaged cells
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have developed a hybrid micro-robot, the size of a single biological cell (about 10 microns across), that can be controlled and navigated using two different mechanisms -- electric and magnetic. The micro-robot is able to navigate between different cells in a biological sample, distinguish between different types of cells, identify whether they are healthy or dying, and then transport the desired cell for further study, such as genetic analysis.
Published Deceptive daisy's ability to create fake flies explained
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have discovered how a South African daisy makes fake lady flies on its petals to trick male flies into pollinating it.
Published Imaging captures social dynamics of 'pee-shy' mice
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Urine scent marks are the original social media, allowing animals to advertise their location, status and identity. Now research is shining a new light -- via thermal imaging of mice -- on how this behavior changes depending on shifting social conditions.
Published Researchers get to the 'bottom' of how beetles use their butts to stay hydrated
(via sciencedaily.com) Beetles are champions at surviving in extremely dry environments. In part, this property is due to their ability to suck water from the air with their rear ends. A new study explains just how. Beyond helping to explain how beetles thrive in environments where few other animals can survive, the knowledge could eventually be used for more targeted and delicate control of global pests such as the grain weevil and red flour beetle.
Published Honey, the 3D print--I mean, dessert--is ready!
(via sciencedaily.com) Cooking devices that incorporate three-dimensional (3D) printers, lasers, or other software-driven processes may soon replace conventional cooking appliances such as ovens, stovetops, and microwaves. But will people want to use a 3D printer -- even one as beautifully designed as a high-end coffee maker -- on their kitchen counters to calibrate the exact micro- and macro-nutrients they need to stay healthy? Will 3D food printing improve the ways we nourish ourselves? What sorts of hurdles will need to be overcome to commercialize such a technology? Researchers explore the benefits and drawbacks of 3D-printed food technology, cooking 3D-printed food with lasers as part of the system, how 3D-printed food compares to the 'normal' food we eat, and the future landscape of our kitchens.
Published 'Y-ball' compound yields quantum secrets
(via sciencedaily.com) Scientists investigating a compound called 'Y-ball' -- which belongs to a mysterious class of 'strange metals' viewed as centrally important to next-generation quantum materials -- have found new ways to probe and understand its behavior.
Published Surprise in the quantum world: Disorder leads to ferromagnetic topological insulator
(via sciencedaily.com) Magnetic topological insulators are an exotic class of materials that conduct electrons without any resistance at all and so are regarded as a promising breakthrough in materials science. Researchers have achieved a significant milestone in the pursuit of energy-efficient quantum technologies by designing the ferromagnetic topological insulator MnBi6Te10 from the manganese bismuth telluride family. The amazing thing about this quantum material is that its ferromagnetic properties only occur when some atoms swap places, introducing antisite disorder.
Published Scientists open door to manipulating 'quantum light'
(via sciencedaily.com) How light interacts with matter has always fired the imagination. Now scientists for the first time have demonstrated the ability to manipulate single and double atoms exhibiting the properties of simulated light emission. This creates prospects for advances in photonic quantum computing and low-intensity medical imaging.
Published Superconducting amplifiers offer high performance with lower power consumption
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have devised a new concept of superconducting microwave low-noise amplifiers for use in radio wave detectors for radio astronomy observations, and successfully demonstrated a high-performance cooled amplifier with power consumption three orders of magnitude lower than that of conventional cooled semiconductor amplifiers. This result is expected to contribute to the realization of large-scale multi-element radio cameras and error-tolerant quantum computers, both of which require a large number of low-noise microwave amplifiers.
Published Sculpting quantum materials for the electronics of the future
(via sciencedaily.com) The development of new information and communication technologies poses new challenges to scientists and industry. Designing new quantum materials -- whose exceptional properties stem from quantum physics -- is the most promising way to meet these challenges. An international team has designed a material in which the dynamics of electrons can be controlled by curving the fabric of space in which they evolve. These properties are of interest for next-generation electronic devices, including the optoelectronics of the future.
Published Qubits put new spin on magnetism: Boosting applications of quantum computers
(via sciencedaily.com) Research using a quantum computer as the physical platform for quantum experiments has found a way to design and characterize tailor-made magnetic objects using quantum bits, or qubits. That opens up a new approach to develop new materials and robust quantum computing.
Published Breakthrough in the understanding of quantum turbulence
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have shown how energy disappears in quantum turbulence, paving the way for a better understanding of turbulence in scales ranging from the microscopic to the planetary. The team's findings demonstrate a new understanding of how wave-like motion transfers energy from macroscopic to microscopic length scales, and their results confirm a theoretical prediction about how the energy is dissipated at small scales. In the future, an improved understanding of turbulence beginning on the quantum level could allow for improved engineering in domains where the flow and behavior of fluids and gases like water and air is a key question. Understanding that in classical fluids will help scientists do things like improve the aerodynamics of vehicles, predict the weather with better accuracy, or control water flow in pipes. There is a huge number of potential real-world uses for understanding macroscopic turbulence.