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Categories: Mathematics: Modeling, Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds
Published New method predicts extreme events more accurately
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study has used global storm-resolving simulations and machine learning to create an algorithm that can deal separately with two different scales of cloud organization: those resolved by a climate model, and those that cannot be resolved as they are too small. This new approach addresses the missing piece of information in traditional climate model parameterizations and provides a way to predict precipitation intensity and variability more precisely.
Published Dinosaurs were the first to take the perspectives of others
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Understanding that others hold different viewpoints from your own is essential for human sociality. Adopting another person's visual perspective is a complex skill that emerges around the age of two. A new study suggests that this ability first arose in dinosaurs, at least 60 million years before it appeared in mammals. These findings challenge the idea that mammals were the originators of novel and superior forms of intelligence in the wake of the dinosaur extinction.
Published Fossils of a saber-toothed top predator reveal a scramble for dominance leading up to 'the Great Dying'
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A tiger-sized saber-toothed creature called Inostrancevia has previously only been found in Russia. But scientists have discovered its fossils in South Africa, suggesting that it migrated 7,000 miles across the supercontinent Pangaea during the world's worst mass extinction 252 million years ago. Heading to South Africa allowed it to fill a gap in a faraway ecosystem that had lost its top predators.
Published A better way to study ocean currents
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Computer scientists and oceanographers developed a machine-learning model that generates more accurate predictions about the velocities of ocean currents. The model could help make more precise weather forecasts or effectively predict how oil will spread after a spill.
Published Curved spacetime in a quantum simulator
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The connection between quantum physics and the theory of relativity is extremely hard to study. But now, scientists have set up a model system, which can help: Quantum particles can be tuned in such a way that the results can be translated into information about other systems, which are much harder to observe. This kind of 'quantum simulator' works very well and can lead to new insights about the nature of relativity and quantum physics.
Published Researcher uses mammal DNA to zoom into the human genome with unprecedented resolution
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have precisely identified base pairs of the human genome that remained consistent over millions of years of mammalian evolution, and which play a crucial role in human disease. The team analyzed the genomes of 240 mammals, including humans and identified base pairs that were 'constrained' -- meaning they remained generally consistent -- across mammal species over the course of evolution. The most constrained base pairs in mammals were over seven times more likely to be causal for human disease and complex trait, and over 11 times more likely when researchers looked at the most constrained base pairs in primates alone.
Published Extracting the best flavor from coffee
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers explore the role of uneven coffee extraction using a simple mathematical model. They split the coffee into two regions to examine whether uneven flow does in fact make weaker espresso. One of the regions in the model system hosted more tightly packed coffee than the other, which caused an initial disparity in flow resistance. The extraction of coffee decreased the flow resistance further. Understanding the origin of uneven extraction and avoiding or preventing it could enable better brews and substantial financial savings by using coffee more efficiently.
Published New tusk-analysis techniques reveal surging testosterone in male woolly mammoths
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Traces of sex hormones extracted from a woolly mammoth's tusk provide the first direct evidence that adult males experienced musth, a testosterone-driven episode of heightened aggression against rival males, according to a new study.
Published New research redefines mammalian tree of life
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists from around the globe are using the largest mammalian genomic dataset in history to determine the evolutionary history of the human genome in the context of mammalian evolutionary history. Their ultimate goal is to better identify the genetic basis for traits and diseases in people and other species.
Published Structured exploration allows biological brains to learn faster than AI
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Neuroscientists have uncovered how exploratory actions enable animals to learn their spatial environment more efficiently. Their findings could help build better AI agents that can learn faster and require less experience.
Published Unraveling the mathematics behind wiggly worm knots
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers wanted to understand precisely how blackworms execute tangling and ultrafast untangling movements for a myriad of biological functions. They researched the topology of the tangles. Their research could inform the design of fiber-like, shapeshifting robotics that self-assemble and move in ways that are fast and reversible.
Published Information 'deleted' from the human genome may be what made us human
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source What the human genome is lacking compared with the genomes of other primates might have been as crucial to the development of humankind as what has been added during our evolutionary history, according to a new study led by researchers at Yale and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. The new findings, published April 28 in the journal Science, fill an important gap in what is known about historical changes to the human genome.
Published Mammalian evolution provides hints for understanding the origins of human disease
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Even though it is important to know where these variations are located in the genome, it's also useful to know how or why these genetic variations happened in the first place.
Published Creating a tsunami early warning system using artificial intelligence
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers develop an early warning system that combines acoustic technology with AI to immediately classify earthquakes and determine potential tsunami risk. They propose using underwater microphones, called hydrophones, to measure the acoustic radiation produced by the earthquake, which carries information about the tectonic event and travels significantly faster than tsunami waves. The computational model triangulates the source of the earthquake and AI algorithms classify its slip type and magnitude. It then calculates important properties like effective length and width, uplift speed, and duration, which dictate the size of the tsunami.
Published Scientists have full state of a quantum liquid down cold
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A team of physicists has illuminated certain properties of quantum systems by observing how their fluctuations spread over time. The research offers an intricate understanding of a complex phenomenon that is foundational to quantum computing.
Published Researchers use AI to discover new planet outside solar system
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A research team has confirmed evidence of a previously unknown planet outside of our solar system, and they used machine learning tools to detect it. A recent study by the team showed that machine learning can correctly determine if an exoplanet is present by looking in protoplanetary disks, the gas around newly formed stars. The newly published findings represent a first step toward using machine learning to identify previously overlooked exoplanets.
Published AI system can generate novel proteins that meet structural design targets
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new machine-learning system can generate protein designs with certain structural features, and which do not exist in nature. These proteins could be utilized to make materials that have similar mechanical properties to existing materials, like polymers, but which would have a much smaller carbon footprint.
Published X-ray analysis sheds new light on prehistoric predator's last meal
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source We now know more about the diet of a prehistoric creature that grew up to two and a half meters long and lived in Australian waters during the time of the dinosaurs, thanks to the power of x-rays. Researchers used micro-CT scans to peer inside the fossilized stomach remains of a small marine reptile -- a plesiosaur nicknamed 'Eric' after a song from the comedy group Monty Python -- to determine what the creature ate in the lead up to its death.
Published Quantum liquid becomes solid when heated
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Solids can be melted by heating, but in the quantum world it can also be the other way around: An experimental team has shown how a quantum liquid forms supersolid structures by heating. The scientists obtained a first phase diagram for a supersolid at finite temperature.
Published Fossils reveal the long-term relationship between feathered dinosaurs and feather-feeding beetles
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New fossils in amber have revealed that beetles fed on the feathers of dinosaurs about 105 million years ago, showing a symbiotic relationship of one-sided or mutual benefit.