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Categories: Mathematics: General, Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published Tiger beetles fight off bat attacks with ultrasonic mimicry
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source When tiger beetles hear a bat nearby, they respond by creating a high-pitched, ultrasonic noise, and for the past 30 years, no one has known why. In a new study, scientists lay the mystery to rest by showing that tiger beetles use ultrasonic warning signals that mimic those of toxic moths.
Published Iconic baobabs: The origin and long-distance travels of upside down trees
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The research cracks the code on the iconic baobab tree's origin story, revealing their surprising origins in Madagascar and incredible long-distance dispersals to Africa and Australia. The study unveils how baobabs developed unique pollination mechanisms -- some attracting hawkmoths, others lemurs, and even bats -- showcasing remarkable evolutionary adaptations. The research sheds light on how climate change has shaped the baobab's distribution and diversification over millions of years, offering valuable insights for understanding plant responses to future environmental shifts.
Published Some mice may owe their monogamy to a newly evolved type of cell
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source What makes the oldfield mouse steadfastly monogamous throughout its life while its closest rodent relatives are promiscuous? The answer may be a previously unknown hormone-generating cell. Scientists discover the cells and hormones that inspire mice to nurture their young; the same hormones are also present in humans.
Published First 'warm-blooded' dinosaurs may have emerged 180 million years ago
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The ability to regulate body temperature, a trait all mammals and birds have today, may have evolved among some dinosaurs early in the Jurassic period about 180 million years ago. The new study looked at the spread of dinosaurs across different climates on Earth throughout the Mesozoic Era (the dinosaur era lasting from 230 to 66 million years ago), drawing on 1,000 fossils, climate models and the geography of the period, and dinosaurs' evolutionary trees.
Published Creating a green composite material from Japanese washi paper
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Japanese washi paper is renowned for its aesthetic beauty and its wide-array of usages. Now, a group of researchers have made a green composite material from washi which boasts a 60% increase in strength as well as being more biodegradable. They hope that their research will revive interest in this traditional craft.
Published Century of statistical ecology reviewed
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A special review examines highly-cited papers in statistical ecology. The review, which covers a century of research, details how models and concepts have evolved alongside increasing computational power.
Published Cats purrfectly demonstrate what it takes to trust robots
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Would you trust a robot to look after your cat? New research suggests it takes more than a carefully designed robot to care for your cat, the environment in which they operate is also vital, as well as human interaction.
Published World's largest hummingbird is actually two species
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The Giant Hummingbird of western South America is not one species but two, according to an international group of researchers. The northern population stays in the high Andes year-round while the southern population migrates from sea level up to 14,000 feet for the nonbreeding months.
Published Fruit fly testes offer potential tool against harmful insects
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A way to curb nagging insects has been flying under our radar -- an enzyme from fruit fly testes. The compound could control bugs that carry disease and harm crops by stunting their ability to procreate, researchers have found.
Published Like dad and like mum ... all in one plant
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have established a system to generate clonal sex cells in tomato plants and used them to design the genomes of offspring. The fertilization of a clonal egg from one parent by a clonal sperm from another parent led to plants containing the complete genetic information of both parents.
Published Nature's 3D printer: Bristle worms form bristles piece by piece
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Molecular biologists provide exciting insights into the bristles of the marine annelid worm Platynereis dumerilii. Specialized cells, so-called chaetoblasts, control the formation of the bristles. Their mode of operation is astonishingly similar to that of a technical 3D printer.
Published Did a magnetic field collapse trigger the emergence of animals?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers uncovered compelling evidence that Earth's magnetic field was in a highly unusual state when the macroscopic animals of the Ediacaran Period -- 635 to 541 million years ago -- diversified and thrived. Their study raises the question of whether these fluctuations in Earth's ancient magnetic field led to shifts in oxygen levels that may have been crucial to the proliferation of life forms millions of years ago.
Published Toxic chemicals can be detected with new AI method
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have developed an AI method that improves the identification of toxic chemicals -- based solely on knowledge of the molecular structure. The method can contribute to better control and understanding of the ever-growing number of chemicals used in society, and can also help reduce the amount of animal tests.
Published Wild orangutan treats wound with pain-relieving plant
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A wild orangutan was observed applying a plant with known medicinal properties to a wound, a first for a wild animal.
Published New computer algorithm supercharges climate models and could lead to better predictions of future climate change
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A study describes a new computer algorithm which can be applied to Earth System Models to drastically reduce the time needed to prepare these in order to make accurate predictions of future climate change. During tests on models used in IPCC simulations, the algorithm was on average 10 times faster at spinning up the model than currently-used approaches, reducing the time taken to achieve equilibrium from many months to under a week.
Published Marriage of synthetic biology and 3D printing produces programmable living materials
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists are harnessing cells to make new types of materials that can grow, repair themselves and even respond to their environment. These solid 'engineered living materials' are made by embedding cells in an inanimate matrix that's formed in a desired shape. Now, researchers have 3D printed a bioink containing plant cells that were then genetically modified, producing programmable materials. Applications could someday include biomanufacturing and sustainable construction.
Published Researchers parse oddity of distantly related bats in Solomon Islands that appear identical
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A study of body size in leaf-nosed bats of the Solomon Islands has revealed surprising genetic diversity among nearly indistinguishable species on different islands.
Published Trotting robots reveal emergence of animal gait transitions
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A four-legged robot trained with machine learning has learned to avoid falls by spontaneously switching between walking, trotting, and pronking -- a milestone for roboticists as well as biologists interested in animal locomotion.
Published The double-fanged adolescence of saber-toothed cats
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source How did North America's saber-toothed cats hunt without breaking their unwieldy saber-like canines, which are vulnerable to sideways bending stresses? A paleontologist provides mechanical evidence that during adolescence, when young cats were learning to hunt, their baby teeth remained in place for up to 30 months to laterally buttress the emerging permanent sabers. By the time the baby teeth fell out, presumably the adult cat knew how to protect its sabers during attacks.
Published Fading lights: Multiple threats to North America's firefly populations
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have applied a data-driven approach to understanding firefly population dynamics on a continental scale. Key findings from this new study indicate that fireflies, part of the beetle order, are sensitive to various environmental factors, from short-term weather conditions to longer climatic trends, including the number of growing-degree days related to temperature accumulations.