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.

Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Paleontology: Dinosaurs Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: Fossils
Published

Fossil overturns more than a century of knowledge about the origin of modern birds      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Fossilized fragments of a skeleton, hidden within a rock the size of a grapefruit, have helped upend one of the longest-standing assumptions about the origins of modern birds.

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

Mammoth problem with extinction timeline      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Paleontologists say environmental DNA is not always helpful in identifying when animals like mammoths went extinct because genetic material found in sediment could have come from animals that died thousands of years earlier.

Mathematics: Puzzles
Published

Online gaming enhances career prospects and develops soft skills, finds new study      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Online gaming behavior can encourage gamers to gain a variety of soft skills which could assist them with training to support their career aspirations, according to new research.

Geoscience: Geology Paleontology: Climate Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds
Published

The evolution of Asia's mammals was dictated by ancient climate change and rising mountains      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new study compiles data on more than 3,000 species to show how climate and geologic changes across Asia over the last 66 million years have shaped the evolution of the continent's mammals.

Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds
Published

Planet's rarest birds at higher risk of extinction      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new study finds that bird species with extreme or uncommon combinations of traits face the highest risk of extinction.

Computer Science: Encryption Computer Science: Quantum Computers Mathematics: Puzzles
Published

Microlaser chip adds new dimensions to quantum communication      (via sciencedaily.com) 

With only two levels of superposition, the qubits used in today's quantum communication technologies have limited storage space and low tolerance for interference. Engineering's hyperdimensional microlaser generates 'qudits,' photons with four simultaneous levels of information. The increase in dimension makes for robust quantum communication technology better suited for real-world applications.

Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds
Published

More than one way to build a black bird      (via sciencedaily.com) 

For a species of flycatcher in the remote Solomon Islands, scientists have so far found at least two genetic pathways leading to the same physical outcome: all-black feathers. This change was no random accident. It was a result of nature specifically selecting for this trait.

Mathematics: General Mathematics: Modeling Mathematics: Puzzles
Published

Mathematicians explain how some fireflies flash in sync      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new study by mathematicians shows that math borrowed from neuroscience can describe how swarms of these unique insects coordinate their light show, capturing key details about how they behave in the wild.

Mathematics: General Mathematics: Modeling Mathematics: Puzzles
Published

Music class in sync with higher math scores -- but only at higher-income schools      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Music and arts classes are often first on the chopping block when schools face tight budgets and pressure to achieve high scores on standardized tests. But it's precisely those classes that can increase student interest in school and even benefit their math achievement, according to a new study.

Paleontology: Dinosaurs Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds
Published

Fossil bird's skull reconstruction reveals a brain made for smelling and eyes made for daylight      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Piecing together the crushed skull of a fossil bird that lived alongside the dinosaurs helped researchers extrapolate what its brain would have looked like: big olfactory bulbs would have meant that this bird, the earliest known animal to eat fruit, had a better sense of smell than most modern birds. And the bones around its eye sockets revealed that it would have been better at seeing by day than at night.

Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds
Published

Could South American volcanoes have triggered whale extinctions?      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Today, increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are warming up the planet. Climate change can disrupt the balance of ecosystems and contribute to endangerment and extinction of some species. New research suggests that a period of intense volcanism in the Central Andes may be the missing link in the story of past climate changes that led to the extinctions of ancient marine mammals.

Mathematics: Puzzles
Published

Electronic gaming can trigger potentially lethal heart rhythm problems in susceptible children      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Electronic gaming can precipitate life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias in susceptible children whose predisposition may have been previously unrecognized, according to a new report. The investigators documented an uncommon, but distinct pattern among children who lose consciousness while playing electronic (video) games.

Archaeology: General Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds
Published

Reign of Papua New Guinea Highland's megafauna lasted long after humans arrived      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A giant kangaroo that once roamed on four legs through remote forests in the Papua New Guinea Highlands may have survived as recently as 20,000 years ago -- long after large-bodied megafauna on mainland Australia went extinct, new research indicates. Palaeontologists, archaeologists and geoscientists, have used new techniques to re-examine megafauna bones from the rich Nombe Rock Shelter fossil site in Chimbu Province in a bid to better understand the intriguing natural history of PNG.

Anthropology: Early Humans Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds
Published

Revealing the genome of the common ancestor of all mammals      (via sciencedaily.com) 

An international team has reconstructed the genome organization of the earliest common ancestor of all mammals. The reconstructed ancestral genome could help in understanding the evolution of mammals and in conservation of modern animals. The earliest mammal ancestor likely looked like the fossil animal 'Morganucodon' which lived about 200 million years ago.

Mathematics: General Mathematics: Puzzles
Published

As few as 1 in 5 COVID cases may have been counted worldwide, mathematical models suggest      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Mathematical models indicate that as few as one in five cases of COVID-19 which occurred during the first 29 months of the pandemic are accounted for in the half billion cases officially reported.

Mathematics: Puzzles
Published

Gamers can have their cake and eat it too      (via sciencedaily.com) 

New research from Japan shows that multiple cognitive abilities may be empirically measured from a complex game experience depending on the game's design.

Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds
Published

These female hummingbirds evolved to look like males -- apparently to evade aggression      (via sciencedaily.com) 

1 in 5 adult female white-necked jacobin hummingbirds look like males. New research shows that this is a rare case of 'deceptive mimicry' within a species: Females with male-like plumage are trying to pass themselves off as males, and as a result receive a benefit in the form of reduced aggression from males.

Mathematics: General Mathematics: Puzzles
Published

The way you talk to your child about math matters      (via sciencedaily.com) 

'You're so smart!' -- This encouraging response may actually do more harm than good to children's math performance, according to a new study. The study found that encouraging children with responses related to their personal traits or innate abilities may dampen their math motivation and achievement over time.

Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds
Published

Did primitive cetaceans feed like marine reptiles?      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Did the first ancestors of whales pick up where the mosasaurs left off 66 million years ago, after the extinction of all the large predatory marine reptiles? A study has looked into the possible convergences in morphology and behavior that may exist between these two groups of large marine predatory animals.