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

Characterizing abnormal neural networks in dogs with anxiety      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers report abnormalities in functional neural networks of dogs diagnosed with anxiety. The study shows that compared with healthy dogs, those with anxiety exhibit stronger connections between the amygdala and other regions of the anxiety network. The findings might also help reveal how functional connections between anxiety-related regions of the brain are altered in cases of human anxiety disorders.

Biology: Microbiology Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geography Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Humans are leaving behind a 'frozen signature' of microbes on Mount Everest      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Thanks to technological advances in microbial DNA analysis, researchers have discovered that mountaineers' boots aren't the only things leaving footprints on the world's tallest mountain. When someone sneezes on Everest, their germs can last for centuries.

Computer Science: General Computer Science: Quantum Computers Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Cleaning up the atmosphere with quantum computing      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Practical carbon capture technologies are still in the early stages of development, with the most promising involving a class of compounds called amines that can chemically bind with carbon dioxide. Researchers now deploy an algorithm to study amine reactions through quantum computing. An existing quantum computer cab run the algorithm to find useful amine compounds for carbon capture more quickly, analyzing larger molecules and more complex reactions than a traditional computer can.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Dizzy apes provide clues on human need for mind altering experiences      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Great apes deliberately spin themselves in order make themselves dizzy -- findings which could provide clues about the role of altered mental states for origins of the human mind.

Computer Science: Quantum Computers Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Magnetism fosters unusual electronic order in quantum material      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Physicists have published an array of experimental evidence showing that the ordered magnetic arrangement of electrons in crystals of iron-germanium plays an integral role in bringing about an ordered electronic arrangement called a charge density wave that the team discovered in the material last year.

Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Invasive Species Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Remarkable squirting mussels captured on film      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have observed a highly unusual behavior in the endangered freshwater mussel, Unio crassus. The jets disturb the river surface and attract fish. Mussel larvae in the jets can then attach to the gills of the fish and complete their metamorphosis into adults.

Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Nature Environmental: Biodiversity Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Island-inhabiting giants, dwarfs more vulnerable to extinction      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Island-dwelling mammal species often expand or contract in size, becoming giant or dwarf versions of their mainland counterparts. A new Science study from a global team shows that those giants and dwarfs have faced extreme risk of extinction -- an existential threat exacerbated by the arrival of humans.

Computer Science: Quantum Computers Offbeat: Computers and Math Physics: General Physics: Optics Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

In the world's smallest ball game, scientists throw and catch single atoms using light      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers show that individual atoms can be caught and thrown using light. This is the first time an atom has been released from a trap -- or thrown -- and then caught by another trap. This technology could be used in quantum computing applications.

Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Genetics Geoscience: Environmental Issues Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

What 'Chornobyl dogs' can tell us about survival in contaminated environments      (via sciencedaily.com) 

In the first step toward understanding how dogs -- and perhaps humans -- might adapt to intense environmental pressures such as exposure to radiation, heavy metals, or toxic chemicals, researchers found that two groups of dogs living within the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone showed significant genetic differences between them. The results indicate that these are two distinct populations that rarely interbreed. While earlier studies focused on the effects of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant disaster on various species of wildlife, this is the first investigation into the genetic structure of stray dogs living near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.

Biology: Zoology Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Bumblebees learn new 'trends' in their behavior by watching and learning      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new study has shown that bumblebees pick up new 'trends' in their behavior by watching and learning from other bees, and that one form of a behavior can spread rapidly through a colony even when a different version gets discovered.

Computer Science: Quantum Computers Physics: General Physics: Optics Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Two-dimensional quantum freeze      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have succeeded in simultaneously cooling the motion of a tiny glass sphere in two dimensions to the quantum ground-state. This represents a crucial step towards a 3D ground-state cooling of a massive object and opens up new opportunities for the design of ultra-sensitive sensors.

Environmental: Ecosystems Mathematics: Statistics Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: Plants and Animals Offbeat: Space Space: Exploration Space: General
Published

Can artificial intelligence help find life on Mars or icy worlds?      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have mapped the sparse life hidden away in salt domes, rocks and crystals at Salar de Pajonales at the boundary of the Chilean Atacama Desert and Altiplano. Then they trained a machine learning model to recognize the patterns and rules associated with their distributions so it could learn to predict and find those same distributions in data on which it was not trained. In this case, by combining statistical ecology with AI/ML, the scientists could locate and detect biosignatures up to 87.5 percent of the time and decrease the area needed for search by up to 97 percent.

Chemistry: General Computer Science: Quantum Computers Engineering: Nanotechnology Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

An innovative twist on quantum bits: Tubular nanomaterial of carbon makes ideal home for spinning quantum bits      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists develop method for chemically modifying nanoscale tubes of carbon atoms, so they can host spinning electrons to serve as stable quantum bits in quantum technologies.

Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Edible electronics: How a seaweed second skin could transform health and fitness sensor tech      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists have developed biodegradable algae-based hydrogels for strain sensing devices -- such as those used in health monitors worn by runners and hospital patients to track heart rate -- using natural elements like rock salt, water and seaweed, combined with graphene. As well as being more environmentally friendly than polymer-based hydrogels, commonly used in health sensor technology, the graphene algae sensors perform strongly in terms of sensitivity.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Computer Science: Quantum Computers Offbeat: Computers and Math Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Quantum chemistry: Molecules caught tunneling      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Quantum effects can play an important role in chemical reactions. Physicists have now observed a quantum mechanical tunneling reaction in experiments. The observation can also be described exactly in theory. The scientists provide an important reference for this fundamental effect in chemistry. It is the slowest reaction with charged particles ever observed.

Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Super-fast insect urination powered by the physics of superpropulsion      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Tiny insects known as sharpshooters excrete by catapulting urine drops at incredible accelerations. By using computational fluid dynamics and biophysical experiments, the researchers studied the fluidic, energetic, and biomechanical principles of excretion, revealing how an insect smaller than the tip of a pinky finger performs a feat of physics and bioengineering -- superpropulsion.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineering: Nanotechnology Engineering: Robotics Research Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: Plants and Animals Physics: Optics
Published

Tiny new climbing robot was inspired by geckos and inchworms      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A tiny robot that could one day help doctors perform surgery was inspired by the incredible gripping ability of geckos and the efficient locomotion of inchworms.

Ecology: Extinction Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Dinosaurs Paleontology: General
Published

Dinosaur claws used for digging and display      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Dinosaur claws had many functions, but now a team has shown some predatory dinosaurs used their claws for digging or even for display.