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Categories: Mathematics: Modeling, Offbeat: Earth and Climate

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Ecology: Trees Offbeat: Earth and Climate
Published

Wood-eating clams use their feces to dominate their habitat      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers didn't know what to make of sunken pieces of wood that were so thoroughly chewed-up by clams that the wood crumbled in their hands. It turns out, the super-chewer wood-eating clams had a secret weapon for forcing out other species. The clams, who have special adaptations that let them survive in dirty, low-oxygen water, built chimneys out of their own feces, making the wood a 'crappy' home for any animal except them.

Mathematics: Modeling
Published

Artificial Intelligence searches an early sign of osteoarthritis from an x-ray image      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have developed an AI based neural network to detect an early knee osteoarthritis from x-ray images. AI was able to match a doctors' diagnosis in 87% of cases. The result is important because x-rays are the primary diagnostic method for early knee osteoarthritis. An early diagnosis can save the patient from unnecessary examinations, treatments and even knee joint replacement surgery.

Energy: Alternative Fuels Offbeat: Earth and Climate
Published

Producing 'green' energy -- literally -- from living plant 'bio-solar cells'      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Though plants can serve as a source of food, oxygen and décor, they're not often considered to be a good source of electricity. But by collecting electrons naturally transported within plant cells, scientists can generate electricity as part of a 'green,' biological solar cell. Now, researchers have used a succulent plant to create a living 'bio-solar cell' that runs on photosynthesis.

Mathematics: Modeling Mathematics: Statistics
Published

AI model proactively predicts if a COVID-19 test might be positive or not      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new study shows machine-learning models trained using simple symptoms, demographic features are effective in predicting COVID-19 infections.

Geoscience: Geology Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Fossil site reveals giant arthropods dominated the seas 470 million years ago      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Discoveries at a major new fossil site in Morocco suggest giant arthropods -- relatives of modern creatures including shrimps, insects and spiders -- dominated the seas 470 million years ago.

Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
Published

Precise solar observations fed millions in ancient Mexico      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Without clocks or modern tools, ancient Mexicans watched the sun to maintain a farming calendar that precisely tracked seasons and even adjusted for leap years.

Mathematics: Modeling
Published

Hummingbird flight could provide insights for biomimicry in aerial vehicles      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Using a novel modeling method, a team of researchers gained new insights into how hummingbirds produce wing movement, which could lead to design improvements in flying robots.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues Offbeat: Earth and Climate
Published

Microplastic pollution swirling in city air: Millions of plastic bottles per year      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers calculated that 74 metric tons of microplastics are dropping out of the atmosphere onto the city annually, the equivalent of more than 3 million plastic bottles falling from the sky.

Offbeat: Earth and Climate
Published

Reliance on moose as prey led to rare coyote attack on human      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Wildlife researchers have completed a study that may settle the question of why, in October 2009, a group of coyotes launched an unprovoked fatal attack on a young woman who was hiking in a Canadian park. Researchers concluded that the coyotes were forced to rely on moose instead of smaller mammals for the bulk of their diet -- and as a result of adapting to that unusually large food source, perceived a lone hiker as potential prey.

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.

Energy: Alternative Fuels Offbeat: Earth and Climate
Published

Paper-thin solar cell can turn any surface into a power source      (via sciencedaily.com) 

MIT researchers developed a scalable fabrication technique to produce ultrathin, flexible, durable, lightweight solar cells that can be stuck to any surface. Glued to high-strength fabric, the solar cells are only one-hundredth the weight of conventional cells while producing about 18 times more power-per-kilogram.

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.

Environmental: Ecosystems Offbeat: Earth and Climate
Published

Microbial miners could help humans colonize the moon and Mars      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The biochemical process by which cyanobacteria acquire nutrients from rocks in Chile's Atacama Desert has inspired engineers at the University of California, Irvine to think of new ways microbes might help humans build colonies on the moon and Mars.

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.

Ecology: Endangered Species Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Paleontology: Climate Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Discovery of world's oldest DNA breaks record by one million years      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Two-million-year-old DNA has been identified -- opening a 'game-changing' new chapter in the history of evolution. Microscopic fragments of environmental DNA were found in Ice Age sediment in northern Greenland. Using cutting-edge technology, researchers discovered the fragments are one million years older than the previous record for DNA sampled from a Siberian mammoth bone. The ancient DNA has been used to map a two-million-year-old ecosystem which weathered extreme climate change.

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.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
Published

Megadrought: How the current Southwestern North American megadrought is affecting Earth's upper atmosphere      (via sciencedaily.com) 

New research, based on two decades' worth of data, shows that in the ten years after its onset in 2000, the Southwestern North American (SWNA) megadrought caused a 30% change in gravity wave activity in Earth's upper atmosphere.