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Categories: Ecology: Trees, Mathematics: Modeling
Published Clever orchard design for more nuts
(via sciencedaily.com) To reduce biodiversity loss in agricultural landscapes, more sustainable and environmentally friendly agricultural practices are needed. A research team has investigated how ecosystem services such as pollination could be improved in macadamia plantations. The scientists showed that a certain design of plantations -- for instance, how the rows of trees are arranged, the varieties, and the integration of semi-natural habitats in and around the plantations -- can increase the pollination performance of bees.
Published A fifth of California's Sierra Nevada conifer forests are stranded in habitats that have grown too warm for them
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers created maps showing where warmer weather has left trees in conditions that don't suit them, making them more prone to being replaced by other species. The findings could help inform long-term wildfire and ecosystem management in these 'zombie forests.'
Published Symbiotic fungi transform terpenes from spruce resin into attractants for bark beetles
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source An international research team demonstrates that the European spruce bark beetle (Ips typographus) uses volatile fungal metabolites of plant defense substances as important chemical signals in their attack on spruce trees. The researchers also show that the insects have olfactory sensory neurons specialized for detecting these volatile compounds. The fungal metabolites likely provide important clues to the beetles about the presence of beneficial fungi, the defense status of the trees, and the population density of their conspecifics. The study highlights the importance of chemical communication in maintaining symbiosis between bark beetles and their fungal partners.
Published Beyond memorization: Text generators may plagiarize beyond 'copy and paste'
(via sciencedaily.com) Language models that generate text in response to user prompts plagiarize content in more ways than one, according to a research team that conducted a study to directly examine the phenomenon.
Published AI analyzes cell movement under the microscope
(via sciencedaily.com) Using artificial intelligence (AI), researchers can now follow cell movement across time and space. The method could be very helpful for developing more effective cancer medications.
Published Computational modeling sheds light on human cognition and the origins of brain disorders
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers used computational modeling to uncover mutations in the human genome that likely influenced the evolution of human cognition. This groundbreaking research in human genomics could lead to a better understanding of human health and the discovery of novel treatments for complex brain disorders. The study is to be published in Science Advances.
Published Scientific AI's 'black box' is no match for 200-year-old method
(via sciencedaily.com) A new study finds that a 200-year-old technique called Fourier analysis can reveal crucial information about how the form of artificial intelligence called deep neural networks (DNN) learn to perform tasks involving complex physics. Researchers discovered the technique can directly connect what a DNN has learned to the physics of the complex system the DNN is modeling.
Published AI supports doctors' hard decisions on cardiac arrest
(via sciencedaily.com) When patients receive care after cardiac arrest, doctors can now -- by entering patient data in a web-based app -- find out how thousands of similar patients have fared. Researchers have developed three such systems of decision support for cardiac arrest that may, in the future, make a major difference to doctors' work.
Published Computer model IDs roles of individual genes in early embryonic development
(via sciencedaily.com) Computer software can predict what happens to complex gene networks when individual genes are missing or dialed up more than usual. Mapping the roles of single genes in these networks is key to understanding healthy development and finding ways to regrow damaged cells and tissues. Understanding genetic errors could provide insight into birth defects, miscarriage or even cancer.
Published Endangered Bahamas bird may be lost from island following hurricane
(via sciencedaily.com) The endangered Bahama Warbler may be surviving on just one island following Hurricane Dorian's devastation in 2019, according to researchers. A new study shows the bird's distribution and ecology on Grand Bahama before the hurricane struck. But the team says that the warbler may now only survive on neighboring Abaco island, after hurricane Dorian destroyed the bird's forest habitat on Grand Bahama. The research comes from the same team that found what is thought to have been the last living Bahama Nuthatch, previously thought to have been extinct.
Published New research suggests drought accelerated empire collapse
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The collapse of the Hittite Empire in the Late Bronze Age has been blamed on various factors, from war with other territories to internal strife. Now, scientists have used tree ring and isotope records to pinpoint a more likely culprit: three straight years of severe drought.
Published Solving a machine-learning mystery
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have explained how large language models like GPT-3 are able to learn new tasks without updating their parameters, despite not being trained to perform those tasks. They found that these large language models write smaller linear models inside their hidden layers, which the large models can train to complete a new task using simple learning algorithms.
Published Optimal layout for a hospital isolation room to contain COVID-19 includes ceiling vent
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers recently modeled the transmission of COVID-19 within an isolation room at the Royal Brompton Hospital in London, U.K. Their goal was to explore the optimal room layout to reduce the risk of infection for health care staff.
Published Long-term restoration of a biodiversity hotspot hinges on getting seeds to the right place at the right time
(via sciencedaily.com) New research shows that degraded savanna ecosystems can reap lasting benefits from a single seeding of native understory plants. Once a diverse understory of savanna plants became established, its long-term persistence was relatively unaffected by environmental factors -- with one exception. Higher temperatures during the height of the growing season were associated with poorer long-term survival among some species, indicating one threat posed by a warming climate.
Published Pacific Northwest heat dome tree damage more about temperature than drought, scientists say
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Widespread tree scorch in the Pacific Northwest that became visible shortly after multiple days of record-setting, triple-digit temperatures in June 2021 was more attributable to heat than to drought conditions, researchers say.
Published Voiceless frog discovered in Tanzania
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers discovered a new species of frog in Africa that has an unusual trait: it's completely silent. The Ukaguru spiny-throated reed frog does not croak, sing or ribbit. Found in Tanzania's Ukaguru Mountains for which it is named, Hyperolius ukaguruensis is among the few frogs around the world that do not vocalize to other frogs.
Published Forest trees find a new watery 'sweet spot' when CO2 is high
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Trees living in conditions where the carbon dioxide (CO2) has been artificially elevated are likely to become more efficient in conserving water.
Published Climate change may cut US forest inventory by a fifth this century
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A study found that under more severe climate warming scenarios, the inventory of trees used for timber in the continental United States could decline by as much as 23% by 2100. The largest inventory losses would occur in two of the leading timber regions in the U.S., which are both in the South.
Published New approach to 'punishment and reward' method of training artificial intelligence offers potential key to unlock new treatments for aggressive cancers
(via sciencedaily.com) A new 'outside-the-box' method of teaching artificial intelligence (AI) models to make decisions could provide hope for finding new therapeutic methods for cancer, according to a new study.
Published To know where the birds are going, researchers turn to citizen science and machine learning
(via sciencedaily.com) Computer scientists recently announced a new, predictive model that is capable of accurately forecasting where a migratory bird will go next -- one of the most difficult tasks in biology. The model is called BirdFlow, and while it is still being perfected, it should be available to scientists within the year and will eventually make its way to the general public.