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Categories: Ecology: Extinction, Engineering: Robotics Research
Published Missing link in species conservation: Pharmacists, chemists could turn tide on plant, animal extinction
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source As the world faces the loss of a staggering number of species of animals and plants to endangerment and extinction, one scientist has an urgent message: Chemists and pharmacists should be key players in species conservation efforts.
Published Protecting endangered monkeys from poachers, habitat loss
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The 17 species of red colobus monkey living across Africa, including in the Tai Project field station region, have been singled out by scientists as a priority conservation target. Protection of these monkeys, they assert, can be expected to produce benefits throughout tropical African forests where hunting and climate change have led to dramatic wildlife and habitat loss.
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 Scientists develop strong yet reusable adhesive from smart materials
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have developed a smart, reusable adhesive more than ten times stronger than a gecko's feet adhesion, pointing the way for development of reusable superglue and grippers capable of holding heavy weights across rough and smooth surfaces. The research team found a way to maximize the adhesion of the smart adhesives by using shape-memory polymers, which can stick and detach easily when needed simply by heating them. This smart adhesive can support extremely heavy weights, opening new possibilities for robotic grippers that allow humans to scale walls effortlessly, or climbing robots that can cling onto ceilings for survey or repair applications.
Published T. Rex not as smart as previously claimed
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Dinosaurs were likely as smart as reptiles but not as intelligent as monkeys.
Published Robotic nerve 'cuffs' could help treat a range of neurological conditions
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have developed tiny, flexible devices that can wrap around individual nerve fibers without damaging them. The researchers combined flexible electronics and soft robotics techniques to develop the devices, which could be used for the diagnosis and treatment of a range of disorders, including epilepsy and chronic pain, or the control of prosthetic limbs.
Published A shortcut for drug discovery
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source For most human proteins, there are no small molecules known to bind them chemically (so called 'ligands'). Ligands frequently represent important starting points for drug development but this knowledge gap critically hampers the development of novel medicines. Researchers at CeMM, in a collaboration with Pfizer, have now leveraged and scaled a method to measure the binding activity of hundreds of small molecules against thousands of human proteins. This large-scale study revealed tens of thousands of ligand-protein interactions that can now be explored for the development of chemical tools and therapeutics. Moreover, powered by machine learning and artificial intelligence, it allows unbiased predictions of how small molecules interact with all proteins present in living human cells. These groundbreaking results have been published in the journal Science (DOI: 10.1126/science.adk5864), and all generated data and models are freely available for the scientific community.
Published Deer are expanding north, and that's not good for caribou
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In the boreal forest of Western Canada, researchers have considered that both changing climate and increased habitat alteration have enabled deer to push farther north.
Published Why can't robots outrun animals?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Robotics engineers have worked for decades and invested many millions of research dollars in attempts to create a robot that can walk or run as well as an animal. And yet, it remains the case that many animals are capable of feats that would be impossible for robots that exist today.
Published Frog species evolved rapidly in response to road salts
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source When we think of evolution, we think of a process that happens over hundreds or thousands of years. In research recently published, a species of frog that has evolved over the course of merely 25 years. The adaptation was spurred on by something many assume is innocuous: salt.
Published Lemur's lament: When one vulnerable species stalks another
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source What can be done when one threatened animal kills another? Scientists studying critically endangered lemurs in Madagascar confronted this difficult reality when they witnessed attacks on lemurs by another vulnerable species, a carnivore called a fosa.
Published Octopus inspires new suction mechanism for robots
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new robotic suction cup which can grasp rough, curved and heavy stone, has been developed by scientists.
Published Fourteen years after the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, endemic fishes face an uncertain future
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The 2010 Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the largest accidental spill in history, released almost 100 million gallons of oil, causing significant pollution. A decade later, its long-term effects remain unclear. A study investigating the impact on endemic fish species found 29 of 78 species unreported in museum collections since the spill, suggesting potential loss of biodiversity.
Published An ink for 3D-printing flexible devices without mechanical joints
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers are targeting the next generation of soft actuators and robots with an elastomer-based ink for 3D printing objects with locally changing mechanical properties, eliminating the need for cumbersome mechanical joints.
Published How 3D printers can give robots a soft touch
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Soft skin coverings and touch sensors have emerged as a promising feature for robots that are both safer and more intuitive for human interaction, but they are expensive and difficult to make. A recent study demonstrates that soft skin pads doubling as sensors made from thermoplastic urethane can be efficiently manufactured using 3D printers.
Published Paleontologists unearth what may be the largest known marine reptile
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The fossilized remains of a second gigantic jawbone measuring more than two meters long has been found on a beach in Somerset, UK.
Published Marine plankton behavior could predict future marine extinctions
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Marine communities migrated to Antarctica during the Earth's warmest period in 66 million years long before a mass-extinction event.
Published Dog attacks on mountain tapirs highlight a growing threat to endangered wildlife
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers who captured footage of dog attacks on endangered mountain tapirs in Colombia are calling for action to protect threatened wildlife.
Published Novel robotic training program reduces physician errors placing central lines
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source More than five million central lines are placed in patients who need prolonged drug delivery, such as those undergoing cancer treatments, in the United States every year, yet the common procedure can lead to a bevy of complications in almost a million of those cases. Researchers developed a robotic simulation training program to provide trainee physicians with more practice on the procedure. A year after deploying the program the team found that all complication types -- mechanical issues, infections and blood clots -- were significantly lower.
Published Coral reef microbes point to new way to assess ecosystem health
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study shows that ocean acidification is changing the mix of microbes in coral reef systems, which can be used to assess ecosystem health.