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Categories: Ecology: Animals, Offbeat: General
Published Tropical fish are invading Australian ocean water



A study of shallow-water fish communities on rocky reefs in south-eastern Australia has found climate change is helping tropical fish species invade temperate Australian waters.
Published Hey Dave, I've got an idea for you: What's the potential of AI-led workshopping?



Sure, ChatGPT can write a poem about your pet in the style of T.S Eliot, but generative artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots have a potentially more useful role to play in idea generation according to a new study.
Published Fossil frogs share their skincare secrets



Palaeontologists have solved a hundred-year-old mystery of how some fossil frogs preserve their fleshy parts -- it's all down to their skin. Palaeontologists studied 45-million-year-old fossil frogs from the Geiseltal site in central Germany. Remarkably, the fossils show full body outlines of the soft tissues. The team discovered that the excellent condition of the fossil frogs is due to preservation of ancient skin remnants.
Published To find life in the universe, look to deadly Venus



Despite surface temperatures hot enough to melt lead, lava-spewing volcanoes, and puffy clouds of sulfuric acid, uninhabitable Venus offers vital lessons about the potential for life on other planets, a new paper argues.
Published Giant galactic explosion exposes galaxy pollution in action



Astronomers have produced the first high-resolution map of a massive explosion in a nearby galaxy, providing important clues on how the space between galaxies is polluted with chemical elements.
Published AI and physics combine to reveal the 3D structure of a flare erupting around a black hole



Based on radio telescope data and models of black hole physics, a team has used neural networks to reconstruct a 3D image that shows how explosive flare-ups in the disk of gas around our supermassive black hole might look.
Published Invasive species sound off about impending ecosystem changes



Anticipating changes to ecosystems is often at best an educated guess, but what if there was a way to better tune into possible changes occurring? Researchers have discovered that the silent growth of non-native invasive plants can affect the soundscape of an ecosystem. These altered soundscapes, the acoustic patterns of a landscape through space and time, may provide a key to better observing the hard-to-see physical and biological changes occurring in an ecosystem as they are beginning.
Published 'Itinerant breeding' in East Coast shorebird species



A study has found direct evidence of a species -- the American woodcock, a migratory shorebird from eastern and central North America -- that overlaps periods of migration and reproduction, a rare breeding strategy known as 'itinerant breeding.'
Published Lemur's lament: When one vulnerable species stalks another



What can be done when one threatened animal kills another? Scientists studying critically endangered lemurs in Madagascar confronted this difficult reality when they witnessed attacks on lemurs by another vulnerable species, a carnivore called a fosa.
Published New research shines a light on how expert mapmakers see the world differently



Researchers have found differences between experienced Ordnance Survey (OS) mapmakers and novices in the way that they interpret aerial images for mapmaking, which could lead to improved training processes for new recruits.
Published Why can zebrafish regenerate damaged heart tissue, while other fish species cannot?



A heart attack will leave a permanent scar on a human heart, yet other animals, including zebrafish, can clear cardiac scar tissue and regrow damaged muscle as adults. Biologists sheds new light on how zebrafish heal heart tissue by comparing how this species responds to heart injury with medaka, a fish species that cannot regenerate cardiac tissue.
Published Octopus inspires new suction mechanism for robots



A new robotic suction cup which can grasp rough, curved and heavy stone, has been developed by scientists.
Published Fourteen years after the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, endemic fishes face an uncertain future



The 2010 Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the largest accidental spill in history, released almost 100 million gallons of oil, causing significant pollution. A decade later, its long-term effects remain unclear. A study investigating the impact on endemic fish species found 29 of 78 species unreported in museum collections since the spill, suggesting potential loss of biodiversity.
Published Data-driven music: Converting climate measurements into music



A geo-environmental scientist from Japan has composed a string quartet using sonified climate data. The 6-minute-long composition -- entitled 'String Quartet No. 1 'Polar Energy Budget'-- is based on over 30 years of satellite-collected climate data from the Arctic and Antarctic and aims to garner attention on how climate is driven by the input and output of energy at the poles.
Published How 3D printers can give robots a soft touch



Soft skin coverings and touch sensors have emerged as a promising feature for robots that are both safer and more intuitive for human interaction, but they are expensive and difficult to make. A recent study demonstrates that soft skin pads doubling as sensors made from thermoplastic urethane can be efficiently manufactured using 3D printers.
Published First evidence of human occupation in lava tube cave in Saudi Arabia



New research has highlighted an area in Arabia that once acted as a key point for cultural exchanges and trades amongst ancient people -- and it all took place in vast caves and lava tubes that have remained largely untapped reservoirs of archaeological abundance in Arabia. Through meticulous excavation and analysis, the international team uncovered a wealth of evidence at Umm Jirsan, spanning from the Neolithic to the Chalcolithic/Bronze Age periods (~10,000-3,500 years ago).
Published Paleontologists unearth what may be the largest known marine reptile



The fossilized remains of a second gigantic jawbone measuring more than two meters long has been found on a beach in Somerset, UK.
Published Mountain chickadees have remarkable memories. A new study explains why



Mountain chickadees have among the best spatial memory in the animal kingdom. New research identifies the genes at play and offers insight into how a shifting climate may impact the evolution of this unique skill.
Published Astronomers uncover methane emission on a cold brown dwarf



Astronomers have discovered methane emission on a brown dwarf, an unexpected finding for such a cold and isolated world. The findings suggest that this brown dwarf might generate aurorae similar to those seen on our own planet as well as on Jupiter and Saturn.
Published 'Tube map' around planets and moons made possible by knot theory



Scientists have developed a new method using knot theory to find the optimal routes for future space missions without the need to waste fuel.