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Categories: Ecology: Extinction, Mathematics: Statistics
Published New modelling shows how interrupted flows in Australia's Murray River endanger frogs


Flooding in Australia's Murray-Darling Basin is creating ideal breeding conditions for many native species that have evolved to take advantage of temporary flood conditions. Scientists have now developed virtual models of the Murray River to reveal a crucial link between natural flooding and the extinction risk of endangered southern bell frogs (Litoria raniformis; also known as growling grass frogs). Southern bell frogs are one of Australia's 100 Priority Threatened Species. This endangered frog breeds during spring and summer when water levels increase in their wetlands. However, the natural flooding patterns in Australia's largest river system have been negatively impacted by expansive river regulation that in some years, sees up to 60% of river water extracted for human use.
Published Fossils reveal dinosaurs of prehistoric Patagonia



A study is providing a glimpse into dinosaur and bird diversity in Patagonia during the Late Cretaceous, just before the non-avian dinosaurs went extinct. The fossils represent the first record of theropods -- a dinosaur group that includes both modern birds and their closest non-avian dinosaur relatives -- from the Chilean portion of Patagonia. The researchers' finds include giant megaraptors with large sickle-like claws and birds similar to todays ducks and geese.
Published New research shows dynamics of memory-encoding synapses in the brains of live mice



A team that has used two-photon imaging technology to show the creation and elimination of synapses between neurons in the brains of live mice.
Published Modelling the collective movement of bacteria


A new paper presents a mathematical model for the motion of bacteria that includes cell division and death, the basic ingredients of the cell cycle.
Published AI model proactively predicts if a COVID-19 test might be positive or not


A new study shows machine-learning models trained using simple symptoms, demographic features are effective in predicting COVID-19 infections.
Published New statistical method improves genomic analyzes


A new statistical method provides a more efficient way to uncover biologically meaningful changes in genomic data that span multiple conditions -- such as cell types or tissues.
Published Mathematical modeling suggests U.S. counties are still unprepared for COVID spikes



America was unprepared for the magnitude of the pandemic, which overwhelmed many counties and filled some hospitals to capacity. A new study suggests there may have been a mathematical method, of sorts, to the madness of those early COVID days.
Published Statistical oversight could explain inconsistencies in nutritional research


People often wonder why one nutritional study tells them that eating too many eggs, for instance, will lead to heart disease and another tells them the opposite. The answer to this and other conflicting food studies may lie in the use of statistics, according to a new report.
Published Biomarkers used to track benefits of anti-aging therapies can be misleading, suggests nematode study


Researchers followed the birth and death of tens of thousands of nematode worms using the 'Lifespan Machine', which collects lifespan data at unprecedented statistical resolution. They found that worms have at least two distinct 'biological ages', and that these have consistent correlations between each other, suggesting the existence of an invisible hierarchical structure that regulates the ageing process. The findings challenge the idea of living organisms having a single, universal biological age. It also means mean that biomarkers used to assess biological age can be changed by interventions such as diet, exercise, or drug treatments without actually turning a 'fast ager' into a 'slow ager'. The study calls into question the use of ageing biomarkers -- what exactly are they measuring?
Published New software platform advances understanding of the surface finish of manufactured components


The contact.engineering platform enables users to create a digital twin of a surface and thus to help predict, for example, how quickly it wears out, how well it conducts heat, or how well it adheres to other materials.
Published Healthcare researchers must be wary of misusing AI


A commentary advocates the proper application of artificial intelligence in healthcare and warns of the dangers when machine learning algorithms are misused.
Published New method to identify symmetries in data using Bayesian statistics


Scientists have developed a method to identify symmetries in multi-dimensional data using Bayesian statistical techniques. Bayesian statistics has been in the spotlight in recent years due to improvements in computer performance and its potential applications in artificial intelligence. However, this statistical approach requires complex calculations of integrals, which are often considered approximations only. In their new study, the research team successfully derived new exact integral formulas. Their findings contribute to improving the accuracy of methods to identify data symmetries, possibly extending their applications to wider areas of interest, such as genetic analysis.
Published Idea of ice age 'species pump' in the Philippines boosted by new way of drawing evolutionary trees


A groundbreaking Bayesian method and new statistical analyses of genomic data from geckos in the Philippines shows that during the ice ages, the timing of gecko diversification gives strong statistical support for the first time to the Pleistocene aggregate island complex (PAIC) model of diversification, or 'species pump.'
Published Topology and machine learning reveal hidden relationship in amorphous silicon


Fine-tuning the thermal conductivity of amorphous silicon used in technologies such as solar cells and image sensors should become much easier thanks to the computational topology and machine-learning-assisted discovery of the relationship between nano-scale structures and physical properties.
Published When quantum particles fly like bees


A quantum system with only 51 charged atoms can take on more than two quadrillion different states. Calculating the system's behavior is child's play for a quantum simulator. But verifying the result is almost impossible, even with today's supercomputers. A research team has now shown how these systems can be verified using equations formulated in the 18th century.
Published One particle on two paths: Quantum physics is right


The famous double slit experiment shows that particles can travel on two paths at the same time -- but only by looking at a lot of particles and analysing the results statistically. Now a two-path-interference experiment has been designed that only has to measure one specific particle to prove that it travelled on two paths.
Published Exposure assessment for Deepwater Horizon oil spill: Health outcomes


Mathematicians have developed statistical methods that lay the framework for the crucial first step of determining whether there are any linkages between exposures and health outcomes from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which is considered the largest marine oil spill in the history of the U.S.
Published Machine learning model could better measure baseball players' performance


Researchers have developed a machine learning model that could better measure baseball players' and teams' short- and long-term performance, compared to existing statistical analysis methods for the sport. Drawing on recent advances in natural language processing and computer vision, their approach would completely change, and could enhance, the way the state of a game and a player's impact on the game is measured.
Published Study shows gaps in how STEM organizations collect demographic information


Professional organizations in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields could more effectively collect data on underrepresented groups in their fields, according to a new survey. With more robust information, STEM organizations could better target efforts to recruit and retain a more diverse membership.
Published Lottery luck in the light of physics: Researchers present theory on the dynamics of many-particle systems


Power functional theory is a new approach that makes it possible to describe precisely the dynamics of many-particle systems over time.