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.

Mathematics: General Mathematics: Modeling
Published

Revealing the complex magnetization reversal mechanism with topological data analysis      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The reliability of data storage and writing speed in advanced magnetic devices depend on drastic, complex changes in microscopic magnetic domain structures. However, it is extremely challenging to quantify these changes, limiting our understanding of magnetic phenomena. To tackle this, researchers developed, using machine learning and topology, an analysis method that quantifies the complexity of the magnetic domain structures, revealing hidden features of magnetization reversal that are hardly seen by human eyes.

Computer Science: Quantum Computers Mathematics: Modeling Space: Cosmology
Published

Curved spacetime in the lab      (via sciencedaily.com) 

In a laboratory experiment, researchers have succeeded in realizing an effective spacetime that can be manipulated. In their research on ultracold quantum gases, they were able to simulate an entire family of curved universes to investigate different cosmological scenarios and compare them with the predictions of a quantum field theoretical model.

Mathematics: General Mathematics: Modeling
Published

Finding simplicity within complexity      (via sciencedaily.com) 

With the theory that for every action, even those seemingly complex and random, there is a math problem that describes it, a researcher is publishing a new formula that helps find that equation quickly. Yes, he's speeding up science.

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

Smilodon's sabre teeth      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have tested the biting efficiency of Smilodon, an extinct species of carnivore close to the extant felines. Using high-precision 3D scans and simulation methods, the team has just revealed how these animals managed to bite despite the impressive length of their teeth.

Mathematics: Modeling
Published

Coupled computer modeling can help more accurately predict coastal flooding, study demonstrates      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers used a unique coupled computer modeling approach to accurately recreate the coastal flooding that occurred during Hurricane Florence, demonstrating that it is more accurate than traditional modeling approaches.

Ecology: Endangered Species Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Paleontology: Dinosaurs Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: General
Published

Dinosaurs were on the up before asteroid downfall      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Dinosaurs dominated the world right up until a deadly asteroid hit the earth, leading to their mass extinction, some 66 million years ago, a landmark study reveals. Fresh insights into dinosaurs' ecosystems -- the habitats and food types that supported their lives -- suggests that their environments were robust and thriving, right up until that fateful day, at the end of the Cretaceous period.

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: Modeling
Published

Explainable AI-based physical theory for advanced materials design      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Microscopic image data is key to developing low-power, high-speed electronic devices. However, the complex interactions in nanoscale magnetic materials are difficult to understand. A research group has now realized a new functional design theory called 'extended Landau free energy model' that combines topology and AI with free energy to automate the interpretation of the microscopic image. This model illustrates the physical mechanism and critical location of magnetization reversal and proposes a device structure with low energy consumption.

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: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Mathematics: Modeling
Published

A simpler path to better computer vision      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Research finds using a large collection of simple, un-curated synthetic image generation programs to pretrain a computer vision model for image classification yields greater accuracy than employing other pretraining methods that are more costly and time consuming, and less scalable.

Mathematics: Modeling
Published

Glass-like shells of diatoms help turn light into energy in dim conditions      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new study has revealed how the glass-like shells of diatoms help these microscopic organisms perform photosynthesis in dim conditions. A better understanding of how these phytoplankton harvest and interact with light could lead to improved solar cells, sensing devices and optical components.

Mathematics: Modeling
Published

Scientists promote FAIR standards for managing artificial intelligence models      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Computational scientists adopt new framework for making AI models more findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable.

Mathematics: Modeling
Published

How network pruning can skew deep learning models      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Computer science researchers have demonstrated that a widely used technique called neural network pruning can adversely affect the performance of deep learning models, detailed what causes these performance problems, and demonstrated a technique for addressing the challenge.

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: Modeling
Published

Machine learning, from you      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Many computer systems people interact with on a daily basis require knowledge about certain aspects of the world, or models, to work. These systems have to be trained, often needing to learn to recognize objects from video or image data. This data often contains superfluous content that reduces the accuracy of models. So researchers found a way to incorporate natural hand gestures into the teaching process. This way, users can more easily teach machines about objects, and the machines can also learn more effectively.

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.