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Categories: Ecology: Extinction, Space: Structures and Features
Published Potentially habitable 'exo-Venus' with Earth-like temperature discovered
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Astronomers have made the rare and tantalizing discovery of an Earth-like exoplanet 40 light-years away that may be just a little warmer than our own world. The potentially-habitable planet, named Gliese 12 b, orbits its host star every 12.8 days, is comparable in size to Venus -- so slightly smaller than Earth -- and has an estimated surface temperature of 42 C (107 F), which is lower than most of the 5,000-odd exoplanets confirmed so far. That is assuming it has no atmosphere, however, which is the crucial next step to establishing if it is habitable.
Published Sexual parasitism helped anglerfish invade the deep sea during a time of global warming
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Members of the vertebrate group including anglerfishes are unique in possessing a characteristic known as sexual parasitism, in which males temporarily attach or permanently fuse with females to mate. Now, researchers show that sexual parasitism arose during a time of major global warming and rapid transition for anglerfishes from the ocean floor to the deep, open sea.
Published Community science volunteers can set scientific world abuzz with new bumble bee sightings
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Community science volunteers -- laypeople with an interest in bees and conservation -- significantly contribute to the scientific knowledge of native bumble bees across Canada and the United States. It's buzz worthy confirmation that community science programs can play an important role in monitoring the changing distributions of bumble bees and more.
Published Using wobbling stellar material, astronomers measure the spin of a supermassive black hole for the first time
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Astronomers have a new way to measure how fast a black hole spins, by using the wobbly aftermath from its stellar feasting. The results offer a new way to probe supermassive black holes and their evolution across the universe.
Published Complete stellar collapse: Unusual star system proves that stars can die quietly
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source University of Copenhagen astrophysicists help explain a mysterious phenomenon, whereby stars suddenly vanish from the night sky. Their study of an unusual binary star system has resulted in convincing evidence that massive stars can completely collapse and become black holes without a supernova explosion.
Published Regional differences in bird diversity in agroforestry systems
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The diversity and ecological functionality of bird communities in tropical agroforestry systems are shaped by the surrounding landscape, in particular the extent and composition of the forest.
Published Improving statistical methods to protect wildlife populations
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In human populations, it is relatively easy to calculate demographic trends and make projections of the future if data on basic processes such as births and immigration is known. The data, given by individuals, can be also death and emigration, which subtract. In the wild, on the other hand, understanding the processes that determine wildlife demographic patterns is a highly complex challenge for the scientific community. Although a wide range of methods are now available to estimate births and deaths in wildlife, quantifying emigration and immigration has historically been difficult or impossible in many populations of interest, particularly in the case of threatened species.
Published Genes provide hope for the survival of Arabia's last big cat
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The release of captive bred animals carefully selected for their genes can make a significant contribution to the successful recovery of the dwindling wild population and avert the prospect of extinction. Despite revealing extremely low levels of genetic diversity in the wild leopard population in Oman, the research team discovered higher levels of genetic diversity in captive leopards across the region. This important genetic resource has the potential for a major role in successful recovery of the Arabian leopard.
Published Webb Telescope offers first glimpse of an exoplanet's interior
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A surprisingly low amount of methane and a super-sized core hide within the cotton candy -- like planet WASP-107 b.
Published Evolutionary history of extinct duck revealed
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The study's findings show mergansers arrived in the New Zealand region at least seven million years ago from the Northern Hemisphere, in a separate colonisation event to that which led to the Brazilian merganser.
Published Ancient arachnid from coal forests of America stands out for its spiny legs
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The spiny legged 308-million-year-old arachnid Douglassarachne acanthopoda was discovered the famous Mazon Creek locality.
Published How did sabre-toothed tigers acquire their long upper canine teeth?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In a groundbreaking study an international team of scientists has investigated the evolutionary patterns behind the development of sabre teeth, with some unexpected results along the way.
Published Hubble views the dawn of a sun-like star
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Looking like a glittering cosmic geode, a trio of dazzling stars blaze from the hollowed-out cavity of a reflection nebula in a new image from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. The triple-star system is made up of the variable star HP Tau, HP Tau G2, and HP Tau G3. HP Tau is known as a T Tauri star, a type of young variable star that hasn't begun nuclear fusion yet but is beginning to evolve into a hydrogen-fueled star similar to our Sun.
Published Bees and butterflies on the decline in western and southern North America
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Bee and butterfly populations are in decline in major regions of North America due to ongoing environmental change, and significant gaps in pollinator research limit our ability to protect these species, according to a new study.
Published Detection of an Earth-sized exoplanet orbiting the ultracool dwarf star SPECULOOS-3
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Astronomers have just discovered a new Earth-sized exoplanet around SPECULOOS-3, an 'ultracool dwarf' star as small as Jupiter, twice as cold as our Sun, and located 55 light-years from Earth. After the famous TRAPPIST-1, SPECULOOS 3 is the second planetary system discovered around this type of star.
Published Climate change is most prominent threat to pollinators
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new article has found that climate change is the most prominent threat to pollinators -- such as bumblebees, wasps, and butterflies -- who are essential for biodiversity conservation, crop yields and food security. The research suggests that many of the threats to pollinators result from human activities.
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 WASP-193b, a giant planet with a density similar to that of cotton candy
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Astronomers have just discovered WASP-193b, an extraordinarily low-density giant planet orbiting a distant Sun-like star.
Published Researchers discover the universe's oldest stars in our own galactic backyard
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Astronomers discovered three of the oldest stars in the universe, and they live in our own galactic neighborhood. The stars are in the Milky Way's 'halo' -- the cloud of stars that envelopes the entire main galactic disk -- and they appear to have formed between 12 and 13 billion years ago, when the very first galaxies were taking shape.
Published ONe novae stellar explosion may be source of our phosphorus
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Astronomers have proposed a new theory to explain the origin of phosphorus, one of the elements important for life on Earth. The theory suggests a type of stellar explosion known as ONe novae as a major source of phosphorus.