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Categories: Environmental: Ecosystems, Mathematics: General
Published The numbers don't lie: Australia is failing at maths and we need to find a new formula to arrest the decline
(via sciencedaily.com) Australia has suffered a significant drop in teenage maths proficiency in the past 20 years -- sliding from 11th in the OECD rankings to 29th place out of 38 countries, prompting widespread debate over potential curriculum changes. One researcher says hand gestures could stop the slide.
Published Study provides long-term look at ways to control wildfire in sagebrush steppe ecosystem
(via sciencedaily.com) New research provides the first long-term study of methods to control the spread of wildfire in the sagebrush steppe ecosystem that dominates parts of the western United States.
Published How cells correct errors under time pressure
(via sciencedaily.com) How does a cell balance risk and speed when dividing? Scientists have developed and experimentally tested the first mathematical theory that describes the cell's best strategy for dividing safely and efficiently.
Published New research documents domestic cattle genetics in modern bison herds
(via sciencedaily.com) A new study has revealed the strongest evidence to date that all bison in North America carry multiple small, but clearly identifiable, regions of DNA that originated from domestic cattle.
Published Are new carbon sinks appearing in the Arctic?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Global warming can result in the spread of peatland vegetation in the Arctic. An international research group has discovered signs of 'proto-peat', which may be the beginning of new peatlands.
Published Nonlethal parasites reduce how much their wild hosts eat, leading to ecosystem effects
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Pervasive parasitic infections reduce herbivory rates and can therefore trigger trophic cascades that impact plant communities, according to new research. This work helps fill a recognized knowledge gap regarding the ecological consequences of parasitic infections in natural ecosystems.
Published Development of an ensemble model to anticipate short-term COVID-19 hospital demand
(via sciencedaily.com) Scientists identified the most relevant predictive variables for anticipating hospital demand and proposed using an ensemble model based on the average of the predictions of several individual models.
Published The forest as a shelter for insects in warmer climates?
(via sciencedaily.com) Insect diversity is declining in Bavaria. Land use is a major driver, but the impact of climate change is still unknown. A study has now investigated in more detail how both factors interact in driving insect diversity and what can be done to conserve it.
Published New method can predict summer rainfall in the Southwest months in advance
(via sciencedaily.com) As reservoir levels dwindle in the Southwest, scientists have developed a method to estimate summer rainfall in the region months in advance. These seasonal predictions can enable state and local officials to make key reservoir and water allocation decisions earlier in the season and support more efficient water management.
Published An easier way to teach robots new skills
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have developed a technique that enables a robot to learn a new pick-and-place task with only a handful of human demonstrations. This could allow a human to reprogram a robot to grasp never-before-seen objects, presented in random poses, in about 15 minutes.
Published Study shows simple, computationally-light model can simulate complex brain cell responses
(via sciencedaily.com) Studying how brain cells respond to signals from their neighbors can aid the understanding of cognition and development. However, experimentally measuring the brain's activity is complicated. Neuron models provide a non-invasive way to investigate the brain, but most existing models are either computationally intensive or cannot model complex neuronal responses. Recently, a team has used a computationally simple neuron model to simulate some of the complex responses of neurons.
Published With dwindling water supplies, the timing of rainfall matters
(via sciencedaily.com) A new study shows it's not how much extra water you give your plants, but when you give it that counts. Researchers observed that in summer, plants grow more when given extra water, in addition to any natural rainfall. However, the same is not true in winter.
Published Tear-free hair brushing? All you need is math
(via sciencedaily.com) Scientists explore the mathematics of combing and explain why the brushing technique used by so many is the most effective method to detangle a bundle of fibers.
Published Rational neural network advances machine-human discovery
(via sciencedaily.com) Math is the language of the physical world, and some see mathematical patterns everywhere: in weather, in the way soundwaves move, and even in the spots or stripes zebra fish develop in embryos.
Published Deserts 'breathe' water vapor, study shows
(via sciencedaily.com) Deserts may seem lifeless and inert, but they are very much alive. Sand dunes, in particular, grow and move -- and according to a decades long research project, they also 'breathe' humid air.
Published Quantum information theory: Quantum complexity grows linearly for an exponentially long time
(via sciencedaily.com) Physicists know about the huge chasm between quantum physics and the theory of gravity. However, in recent decades, theoretical physics has provided some plausible conjecture to bridge this gap and to describe the behavior of complex quantum many-body systems -- for example, black holes and wormholes in the universe. Now, researchers have proven a mathematical conjecture about the behavior of complexity in such systems, increasing the viability of this bridge.
Published Chaos theory provides hints for controlling the weather
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have used computer simulations to show that weather phenomena such as sudden downpours could potentially be modified by making small adjustments to certain variables in the weather system. They did this by taking advantage of a system known as a 'butterfly attractor' in chaos theory, where a system can have one of two states -- like the wings of a butterfly -- and that it switches back and forth between the two states depending on small changes in certain conditions.
Published Why groundwater is one of our most precious resources
(via sciencedaily.com) From the Murray-Darling system to Great Artesian Basin, 'invisible' underground groundwater is often the only water supply available across the vast majority Australia where its annual contribution to GDP is estimated at more than $6.8 billion a year. However, overuse of groundwater during droughts and aquifer depletion has already seen water crises, including in Australia's 'food bowl' the Murray-Darling Basin (MDB), California and Cape Town in South Africa, with more likely to follow with groundwater management largely reactive and unlikely to avert more crises as climate change accelerates and populations grow.
Published Mathematical paradoxes demonstrate the limits of AI
(via sciencedaily.com) Humans are usually pretty good at recognizing when they get things wrong, but artificial intelligence systems are not. According to a new study, AI generally suffers from inherent limitations due to a century-old mathematical paradox.
Published Wax-coated sand keeps soil wet longer, improves crop yields in arid regions
(via sciencedaily.com) Dry, hot regions are difficult places to grow plants because the soil dries out quickly. As a result, farmers in arid and semi-arid regions irrigate their fields with buried networks of irrigation tubing and cover the ground with plastic sheets. But plastic sheets are expensive and create waste. Now, researchers have developed a simple, biodegradable ground cover -- wax-coated sand -- which keeps soil wet and increases crop yields.