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Categories: Ecology: Animals, Engineering: Graphene

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While sampling for insects on former California Gov. Jerry Brown's ranch, a University of California, Berkeley, entomologist collected a rare species of beetle that had never been named or described -- and which, according to records, had not been observed by scientists in over 55 years. The new species will be named Bembidion brownorum, in honor of Jerry Brown and his wife, Anne Brown.

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Graphene is the strongest of all materials. On top of that, it is exceptionally good at conducting heat and electrical currents, making it one of the most special and versatile materials we know. For all these reasons, the discovery of graphene was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2010. Yet, many properties of the material and its cousins are still poorly understood -- for the simple reason that the atoms they are made up of are very difficult to observe.

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The diet quality of fish across large parts of the world's oceans could decline by up to 10 per cent as climate change impacts an integral part of marine food chains, a major study has found.

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By combining lab experiments and mathematical modelling, researchers have found a way to predict the movement of species that could guide conservation efforts to reconnect fragmented habitats.

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An unusually severe form of toxoplasmosis killed four sea otters and could pose a threat to other marine wildlife and humans, finds a new study.

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New method to study the movement, behaviour, and environmental context of group-living animals using drones and computer vision.

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Conditions mapped for the first time of polaron characteristics in 2D materials. TACC's Frontera supercomputer generated quantum mechanical calculations on hexagonal boron nitride system of 30,000 atoms.

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Moderate levels of artificial light at night -- like the fixture illuminating your backyard -- bring more caterpillar predators and reduce the chance that these lepidoptera larvae grow up to become moths and serve as food for larger prey.

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Fewer parasites in U.S. waters might be seen by many as a good thing, but a biologist says the trend signals potential danger for fish and other wildlife.

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Researchers confirmed what was already known: jellyfish eat bigger prey as they grow, which means they also occupy a higher position in the food web as they grow. They also found that some of the concentrations of 'healthy fats,' increase as jellyfish grow. These changes might be influenced by their diet, and as they feed on bigger prey with higher levels of fatty acids, the jellyfish accumulate more of these fatty acids.

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Cultivation and growth of grapevines have strongly influenced European civilizations, but where the grapevine comes from and how it has spread across the globe has been highly disputed so far. In an extensive genome project, researchers have determined its origin and evolution from the wild vine to today's cultivar by analyzing thousands of vine genomes collected along the Silk Road from China to Western Europe.

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A new study explores a record of birds' diets preserved in their feathers and radio tracking of their movements to find that birds eat far fewer invertebrates in coffee plantations than in forests, suggesting that the disturbance of their ecosystem significantly impacts the birds' dietary options.

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The small size and isolation of the endangered population of Southern Resident killer whales in the Pacific Northwest have led to high levels of inbreeding. This inbreeding has contributed to their decline, which has continued as surrounding killer whale populations expand, according to new research.

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Researchers have developed biosensor technology that will allow you to operate devices, such as robots and machines, solely through thought control.

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Parasitic infections in salmonid fish can increase or decrease their vulnerability to angling, depending on their body condition.

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Hummingbirds use the hibernation-like state of torpor in varying ways, depending on their physical condition and what is happening in their environment, according to new research.

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Ice surfaces have a thin layer of water below its melting temperature of 0 degrees Celsius. Such premelting phenomenon is important for skating and snowflake growth. Similarly, liquid often crystallizes into a thin layer of crystal on a flat substrate before reaching its freezing temperature, i.e. prefreezing. The thickness of the surface layer usually increases and diverges as approaching the phase transition (such as melting and freezing) temperature. Besides premelting and prefreezing, whether similar surface phenomenon exists as a precursor of a phase transition has rarely been explored. Scientists now propose that a polymorphic crystalline layer may form on a crystal surface before the crystal-crystal phase transition and names it pre-solid-solid transition.

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A new process that lets scientists chemically cut apart and stitch together nanoscopic layers of two-dimensional materials -- like a tailor altering a suit -- could be just the tool for designing the technology of a sustainable energy future. Researchers have developed a method for structurally splitting, editing and reconstituting layered materials, called MAX phases and MXenes, with the potential of producing new materials with very unusual compositions and exceptional properties.

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New research shows how human-modified landscapes affect the diets of these marsupial scavengers.

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There's been a well-documented shift toward earlier springtime flowering in many plants as the world warms. The trend alarms biologists because it has the potential to disrupt carefully choreographed interactions between plants and the creatures -- butterflies, bees, birds, bats and others -- that pollinate them.