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Categories: Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR), Ecology: Animals
Published Researchers create realistic virtual rodent



To help probe the mystery of how brains control movement, scientists have created a virtual rat with an artificial brain that can move around just like a real rodent. The researchers found that activations in the virtual control network accurately predicted neural activity measured from the brains of real rats producing the same behaviors.
Published Lazy predator: A new species of mountain pitviper from China



Researchers have discovered a new species of medium-sized venomous snake in Yunnan, China. Ovophis jenkinsi is dark brownish-grey in color with trapezoidal patches on its back. It is endemic to China's Yingjiang County and is not difficult to find in the wild. In the future, researchers plan to collect more information about this new species, including its appearance, distribution, and habits.
Published Two can play that game: juvenile dolphins who play together are more successful as adults



Juvenile social play predicts adult reproductive success in male bottlenose dolphins, a new study has found.
Published Elephants have names for each other like people do, new study shows



Wild African elephants address each other with name-like calls, a rare ability among nonhuman animals, according to a new study. Researchers used machine learning to confirm that elephant calls contained a name-like component identifying the intended recipient, a behavior they suspected based on observation. The study suggests elephants do not imitate the receiver's call to address one another but instead use arbitrary vocal labels like humans.
Published Fish out of water: How killifish embryos adapted their development



The annual killifish lives in regions with extreme drought. A research group now reports that the early embryogenesis of killifish diverges from that of other species. Unlike other fish, their body structure is not predetermined from the outset. This could enable the species to survive dry periods unscathed.
Published People feel more connected to 'tweezer-like' bionic tools that don't resemble human hands



Some say the next step in human evolution will be the integration of technology with flesh. Now, researchers have used virtual reality to test whether humans can feel embodiment -- the sense that something is part of one's body -- toward prosthetic 'hands' that resemble a pair of tweezers. They report that participants felt an equal degree of embodiment for the tweezer-hands and were also faster and more accurate in completing motor tasks in virtual reality than when they were equipped with a virtual human hand.
Published Fish in schools have an easier time swimming in rough waters



Swimming through turbulent water is easier for schooling fish compared to solitary swimmers, according to a new study.
Published Flapping frequency of birds, insects, bats and whales described by universal equation



A single universal equation can closely approximate the frequency of wingbeats and fin strokes made by birds, insects, bats and whales, despite their different body sizes and wing shapes, researchers report in a new study.
Published Fishy mystery of marine reptile solved



The identity of a prehistoric marine reptile has finally been revealed after experts discovered that some of its remains actually belonged to fish.
Published Early summer fishing can have an evolutionary impact, resulting in smaller salmon



A new genetic study found that heavy fishing in the early part of the fishing season may result in younger and smaller Atlantic salmon. This information can help to conserve large fish essential for the diversity and viability of salmon populations.
Published Combining pest treatments may be key to helping honey bees survive the winter



Winters can be tough on managed honey bee colonies, with beekeepers in the United States reporting that one-third of their colonies die each winter. A new study has found that using not one but multiple pest treatments may help bees make it to spring.
Published Using AI to decode dog vocalizations



Have you ever wished you could understand what your dog is trying to say to you? Researchers are exploring the possibilities of AI, developing tools that can identify whether a dog's bark conveys playfulness or aggression.
Published Best of both worlds: Innovative positioning system enhances versatility and accuracy of drone-viewpoint mixed reality applications



Researchers have developed an innovative positioning system that enhances the versatility and accuracy of drone-viewpoint mixed reality (MR) applications by aligning real and virtual world coordinates without predefined routes. By integrating visual positioning systems and natural feature-based tracking, this technology is expected to be applied to urban landscape simulation, maintenance, and inspection work.
Published Wire snare removal in protected areas is labor-intensive but effective -- and essential to solving the Southeast Asian snaring crisis



Snaring -- a non-selective method of poaching using wire traps -- is widespread in tropical forests in Southeast Asia. Snaring decimates wildlife populations and has pushed many larger mammals to local or even global extinction. Eleven years of data from ranger patrols in the Thua Thien Hue and Quang Nam Saola Nature Reserves in Viet Nam show that intensive removal efforts are labour-intensive and costly but brought snaring down by almost 40 percent and therefore reduced imminent threats to wildlife. Further reductions were difficult to achieve despite continued removal efforts. Snare removal is therefore necessary but by itself not sufficient to save the threatened wildlife diversity in tropical forests, scientists conclude.
Published Food drove the evolution of giraffes' long neck



A study explores body proportions of Masai giraffes, lending insight into why giraffes have such long necks and how this trait might have evolved.
Published How sharks survived a major spike in Earth's temperature



The sharks we know today as the open ocean's top predators evolved from stubby bottom dwellers during a dramatic episode of global warming millions of years ago.
Published Children's visual experience may hold key to better computer vision training



A novel, human-inspired approach to training artificial intelligence (AI) systems to identify objects and navigate their surroundings could set the stage for the development of more advanced AI systems to explore extreme environments or distant worlds, according to new research.
Published Designing environments that are robot-inclusive



To overcome issues associated with real-life testing, researchers successfully demonstrated the use of digital twin technology within robot simulation software in assessing a robot's suitability for deployment in simulated built environments.
Published Trout in mine-polluted rivers are genetically 'isolated'



Trout living in rivers polluted by metal from old mines across the British Isles are genetically 'isolated' from other trout, new research shows.
Published Novel virus identified in zebrafish from the pet trade causes disease in laboratory fish



Zebrafish in the pet trade are asymptomatic carriers of previously undescribed microbes, including a novel virus that causes hemorrhaging in infected laboratory fish, researchers report.