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Categories: Chemistry: Organic Chemistry, Ecology: Animals
Published AI models identify biodiversity from animal sounds in tropical rainforests
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Animal sounds are a very good indicator of biodiversity in tropical reforestation areas. Researchers demonstrate this by using sound recordings and AI models.
Published Novel hydrogel finds new aptamers, or 'chemical antibodies,' in days
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new method uses a hydrogel -- a polymer network that holds its shape and can expand when it takes in a large amount of water -- to retain 'high-affinity,' or well-fitting, aptamers while the rest of the aptamer candidates leave the gel in 60 hours.
Published Researchers develop organic nanozymes suitable for agricultural use
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Nanozymes are synthetic materials that mimic the properties of natural enzymes for applications in biomedicine and chemical engineering. They are generally considered too toxic and expensive for use in agriculture and food science. Now, researchers have developed a nanozyme that is organic, non-toxic, environmentally friendly, and cost effective.
Published Genomic analysis in snakes shows link between neutral, functional genetic diversity
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In the world of threatened and endangered species conservation, the genomic revolution has raised some complicated questions: How can scientists justify assessing species genetic diversity without consulting entire genomes now that they can be sequenced? But then again, how can scientists justify the time and expense of genome sequencing when age-old measures of neutral genetic diversity are much cheaper and easier to obtain? A new study suggests making a transition from 'old school' genetics to 'new school' genomics for species conservation purposes probably isn't necessary in all cases.
Published New threat to Antarctic fur seals
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Populations of charismatic animals have recovered since hunting ban but now struggle to find enough food.
Published Novel catalyst for green production of fine chemicals and pharmaceuticals
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have developed an innovative catalyst that achieves a significantly lower carbon footprint, paving the way for greener chemical and pharmaceutical manufacturing processes.
Published An electrical switch to control chemical reactions
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New pharmaceuticals, cleaner fuels, biodegradable plastics: in order to meet society's needs, chemists have to develop new synthesis methods to obtain new products that do not exist in their natural state. A research group has discovered how to use an external electric field to control and accelerate a chemical reaction, like a 'switch'. This work could have a considerable impact on the development of new molecules, enabling not only more environmentally friendly synthesis, but also very simple external control of a chemical reaction.
Published Flagship individual animals can boost conservation
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source 'Flagship' individual animals like Cecil the lion or Freya the walrus can boost conservation, new research suggests.
Published Tens of thousands of endangered sharks and rays caught off Congo
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Tens of thousands of endangered sharks and rays are caught by small-scale fisheries off the Republic of the Congo each year, new research shows.
Published Killer whales' diet more important than location for pollutant exposure
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Both elegant and fierce, killer whales are some of the oceans' top predators, but even they can be exposed to environmental pollution. Now, in the largest study to date on North Atlantic killer whales, researchers report the levels of legacy and emerging pollutants in 162 individuals' blubber. The animals' diet, rather than location, greatly impacted contaminant levels and potential health risks -- information that's helpful to conservation efforts.
Published Death is only the beginning: Birds disperse eaten insects' eggs
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Relationship patterns among flightless stick insects suggest that birds disperse the eggs after eating gravid females. Lab experiments previously suggested the possibility, but a new genetic analysis of natural populations in Japan now supports the idea.
Published Wild pig populations in U.S. can be managed
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Recent conservation efforts have proven effective at controlling wild pig populations in the Southeastern United States, according to new research. Within 24 months of the start of control efforts in the study area located around the Savannah River Site in Aiken, South Carolina, researchers found a reduction of about 70% in relative abundance of pigs and a corresponding decline in environmental rooting damage of about 99%.
Published The changing climate creates more noise in the oceans
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Due to the changing climate, the underwater world is getting ever noisier.
Published Long-term lizard study challenges the rules of evolutionary biology
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers measured natural selection in four Anolis lizard species in the wild for five consecutive time periods over three years. This long-term study in a community of lizards reveals how evolution unfolds in the wild across multiple species.
Published Researchers create a neural network for genomics -- one that explains how it achieves accurate predictions
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A team of computer scientists has created a neural network that can explain how it reaches its predictions. The work reveals what accounts for the functionality of neural networks--the engines that drive artificial intelligence and machine learning--thereby illuminating a process that has largely been concealed from users.
Published Natural GM crops: Grasses take evolutionary shortcut by borrowing genes from their neighbors
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Grass may transfer genes from their neighbors in the same way genetically modified crops are made, a new study has revealed.
Published Discovery made about Fischer Tropsch process could help improve fuel production
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A fundamental discovery about the Fischer Tropsch process, a catalytic reaction used in industry to convert coal, natural gas or biomass to liquid fuels, could someday allow for more efficient fuel production. Researchers discovered previously unknown self-sustained oscillations in the Fischer Tropsch process. They found that unlike many catalytic reactions which have one steady state, this reaction periodically moves back and forth from a high to a low activity state. The discovery means that these well-controlled oscillatory states might be used in the future to control the reaction rate and the yields of desired products.
Published The medicine of the future could be artificial life forms
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Imagine a life form that doesn't resemble any of the organisms found on the tree of life. One that has its own unique control system, and that a doctor would want to send into your body. It sounds like a science fiction movie, but according to nanoscientists, it can—and should—happen in the future.
Published Fear of humans pervades the South African savanna
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Mammals living in South Africa's Greater Kruger National Park, home to one of the world's largest remaining lion populations, are far more afraid of hearing human voices than lion vocalizations or hunting sounds such as dogs barking or gunshots.
Published Survival of the newest: the mammals that survive mass extinctions aren't as 'boring' as scientists thought
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source For decades, scientists have assumed that mammals and their relatives that survived challenging times (like those during mass extinctions) made it because they were generalists that were able to eat just about anything and adapt to whatever life threw at them. A new study into the mammal family tree through multiple mass extinctions revealed that the species that survived aren't as generic as scientists had thought: instead, having new and different traits can be the key to succeeding in the aftermath of a catastrophe.