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Categories: Anthropology: General, Ecology: Trees

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Biology: Botany Computer Science: General Ecology: General Ecology: Research Ecology: Trees Environmental: Ecosystems
Published

Phone-based measurements provide fast, accurate information about the health of forests      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have developed an algorithm that uses computer vision techniques to accurately measure trees almost five times faster than traditional, manual methods.

Anthropology: Cultures Anthropology: General Archaeology: General
Published

The world's first horse riders      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have discovered evidence of horse riding by studying the remains of human skeletons found in burial mounds called kurgans, which were between 4500-5000 years old. The earthen burial mounds belonged to the Yamnaya culture. The Yamnayans had migrated from the Pontic-Caspian steppes to find greener pastures in today's countries of Romania and Bulgaria up to Hungary and Serbia.

Anthropology: General Archaeology: General
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Archaeological study of 24 ancient Mexican cities reveals that collective forms of governance, infrastructural investments, and collaboration all help societies last longer      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Some cities only last a century or two, while others last for a thousand years or more. Often, there aren't clear records left behind to explain why. Instead, archaeologists piece together clues from the cities' remains to search for patterns that help account for why certain places retained their importance longer than others.

Anthropology: Cultures Anthropology: General
Published

Genomic study of indigenous Africans paints complex picture of human origins and local adaptation      (via sciencedaily.com) 

An international team of researchers analyzed the genomes of 180 indigenous Africans from a dozen ethnically, culturally, linguistically, and geographically diverse populations. The results shed light on the origin of modern humans, historical migrations, linguistic evolution, and local adaptation, and lay the groundwork for more people to benefit from precision medicine.

Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Paleontology: General
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Waxing and waning of environment influences hominin dispersals across ancient Iran      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A world-first model of paleoclimate and hydrology in Iran has highlighted favourable routes for Neanderthals and modern human expansions eastwards into Asia. The findings reveal that multiple humid periods in ancient Iran led to the expansions of human populations, opening dispersal route across the region, and the possible interactions of species such as Neanderthals and our own Homo sapiens.

Biology: Botany Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Ecology: Trees Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems
Published

Deforestation in the tropics linked to a reduction in rainfall      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Deforestation is resulting in reduced rainfall across large parts of the tropics, according to new research. People living in tropical forest communities have often complained that the climate gets hotter and drier once trees are cleared but until now, scientists have not been able to identify a clear link between the loss of tree cover and a decline in rainfall.

Anthropology: Cultures Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Paleontology: Climate
Published

Oldest human genome from southern Spain      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new study reports on genomic data from a 23,000-year-old individual who lived in what was probably the warmest place of Europe at the peak of the last Ice Age. The oldest human genome recovered from the southern tip of Spain adds an important piece of the puzzle to the genetic history of Europe.

Biology: Botany Ecology: Nature Ecology: Trees Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Environmental Issues
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The counting of nine billion trees could help manage climate credits and nature restoration      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have developed a method that has now mapped several billion trees and their carbon uptake in Africa's Sahel. In the future, the method could be used to monitor whether climate credit purchases have a positive effect on the number of trees and whether nature restoration is working.

Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Biology: Marine Ecology: Animals Ecology: Sea Life
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Mysterious new behavior seen in whales may be recorded in ancient manuscripts      (via sciencedaily.com) 

In 2011, scientists recorded a previously unknown feeding strategy in whales around the world. Now, researchers in Australia think they may have found evidence of this behaviour being described in ancient accounts of sea creatures, recorded more than 2,000 years ago. They believe that misunderstandings of these descriptions contributed to myths about medieval sea monsters. Whales are known lunge at their prey when feeding, but recently whales have been spotted at the surface of the water with their jaws open at right angles, waiting for shoals of fish to swim into their mouths. A clip of this strategy was captured in 2021 and went viral on Instagram. This strategy seems to work for the whales because the fish think they have found a place to shelter from predators, not realising they are swimming into danger. It's not known why this strategy has only recently been identified, but scientists speculate that it's a result of changing environmental conditions -- or that whales are being more closely monitored than ever before by drones and other modern technologies.

Anthropology: General Biology: Evolutionary Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Nature Ecology: Sea Life Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
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Jurassic shark: Shark from the Jurassic period was already highly evolved      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Cartilaginous fish have changed much more in the course of their evolutionary history than previously believed. Evidence for this thesis has been provided by new fossils of a ray-like shark, Protospinax annectans, which demonstrate that sharks were already highly evolved in the Late Jurassic.

Biology: Evolutionary Biology: Marine Ecology: Animals Ecology: Nature Ecology: Sea Life Ecology: Trees
Published

Who are the first ancestors of present-day fish?      (via sciencedaily.com) 

What is the origin of the ancestors of present-day fish? What species evolved from them? A 50-year-old scientific controversy revolved around the question of which group, the 'bony-tongues' or the 'eels', was the oldest. A study has just put an end to the debate by showing through genomic analysis that these fishes are in fact one and the same group, given the rather peculiar name of 'Eloposteoglossocephala'. These results shed new light on the evolutionary history of fish.

Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: Genetics Biology: Molecular Geoscience: Geology Paleontology: Fossils
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Ancient proteins offer new clues about origin of life on Earth      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

By simulating early Earth conditions in the lab, researchers have found that without specific amino acids, ancient proteins would not have known how to evolve into everything alive on the planet today -- including plants, animals, and humans.

Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Biology: Evolutionary Biology: Microbiology
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Deadly waves: Researchers document evolution of plague over hundreds of years in medieval Denmark      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists who study the origins and evolution of the plague have examined hundreds of ancient human teeth from Denmark, seeking to address longstanding questions about its arrival, persistence and spread within Scandinavia.

Biology: Botany Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Trees Environmental: Ecosystems
Published

Fungi that causes pine ghost canker detected in southern California trees      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Fungal pathogens that cause pine ghost canker are infecting conifer trees in urban forests of Southern California, scientists found.

Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
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Archaeologists uncover early evidence of brain surgery in Ancient Near East      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A recent excavation in Megiddo, Israel, unearthed the earliest example of a particular type of cranial surgery in the Ancient Near East -- and potentially one of the oldest examples of leprosy in the world.

Biology: Botany Ecology: General Ecology: Research Ecology: Trees Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Environmental Issues
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.

Ecology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Research Ecology: Trees Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: Wildfires Geoscience: Severe Weather
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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.'

Biology: Botany Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Trees
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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.

Anthropology: General Archaeology: General
Published

Hidden from the Romans: 200 tons of silver on the shores of the river Lahn      (via sciencedaily.com) 

In their search for silver ore, the Romans established two military camps in the Bad Ems area near Koblenz in the 1st century AD.

Anthropology: Cultures Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
Published

Gene variations for immune and metabolic conditions have persisted in humans for more than 700,000 years      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new study explores 'balancing selection' by analyzing thousands of modern human genomes alongside ancient hominin groups, such as Neanderthal and Denisovan genomes. The research has 'implications for understanding human diversity, the origin of diseases, and biological trade-offs that may have shaped our evolution,' says evolutionary biologists.