Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction
Published

Forgotten tropical plants rediscovered after 100-plus years with the help of community science      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Deep in the tropical Andes, a genus called Nasa harbored elusive and forgotten plant species. Through the collaborative efforts of botanists and citizen scientists on iNaturalist, these plants have been rediscovered after decades, some even after more than a century.

Ecology: Endangered Species Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Spurge purge: Plant fossils reveal ancient South America-to-Asia 'escape route'      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Newly identified plant fossils found in Argentina suggest that a group of spurges long thought to have Asian origins may have first appeared in Gondwanan South America.

Energy: Technology Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

'Quantum avalanche' explains how nonconductors turn into conductors      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The study takes a new approach to answer a long-standing mystery about insulator-to-metal transitions.

Ecology: Endangered Species Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Study improves understanding of how bacteria benefit plant growth      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have found that competition between strains of beneficial bacteria in the soil degrades the service that the bacteria provide to their hosts.

Biology: Microbiology Engineering: Nanotechnology Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Detection of bacteria and viruses with fluorescent nanotubes      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The new carbon nanotube sensor design resembles a molecular toolbox that can be used to quickly assemble sensors for a variety of purposes -- for instance for detecting bacteria and viruses.

Ecology: Endangered Species
Published

Engineering plants for a changing climate      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Climate change is affecting the types of plant varieties we can cultivate, as well as how and where we can do so. A new collection of articles in the open access journal PLOS Biology explores the twin challenges of engineering plants for resilience to climate change and enhancing their carbon-capture potential.

Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Sea Life
Published

Shark shock: Scientists discover filter-feeding basking sharks are warm-bodied like great whites      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Approximately 99.9% of fish and shark species are 'cold-blooded', meaning their body tissues generally match the temperature of the water they swim in -- but researchers have just discovered the mighty basking shark is a one-in-a-thousand exception. Instead, these sharks keep the core regions of their bodies warmer than the water like the most athletic swimmers in the sea such as great white sharks, mako sharks and tuna.

Offbeat: Computers and Math Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Unveiling the quantum dance: Experiments reveal nexus of vibrational and electronic dynamics      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists have demonstrated experimentally a long-theorized relationship between electron and nuclear motion in molecules, which could lead to the design of materials for solar cells, electronic displays and other applications that can make use of this powerful quantum phenomenon.

Archaeology: General Ecology: Endangered Species
Published

Picky green sea turtle has travelled to the same place to eat for generations      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

For approximately 3,000 years, generations of green sea turtles have returned to the same seagrass meadows to eat. The fact that this stretches over many generations highlights the importance of protecting seagrass meadows along the coasts of North Africa.

Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Theory for superfluid helium confirmed      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have achieved a groundbreaking milestone in studying how vortices move in these quantum fluids. A new study of vortex ring motion in superfluid helium provides crucial evidence supporting a recently developed theoretical model of quantized vortices.

Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: General Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Geology
Published

In Florida, endangered coral finds a way to blossom      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In a new study, researchers have found that the restoration efforts of the critically endangered species elkhorn coral depend largely on the animal's location, microbiome, and the right conditions to provide an abundance of food.

Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: General Ecology: Invasive Species
Published

Form and function of island and mainland plants      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Oceanic islands provide useful models for ecology, biogeography and evolutionary research. Many ground-breaking findings -- including Darwin's theory of evolution -- have emerged from the study of species on islands and their interplay with their living and non-living environment. Now, an international research team has investigated the flora of the Canary Island of Tenerife. The results were surprising: the island's plant-life exhibits a remarkable diversity of forms. But the plants differ little from mainland plants in functional terms. However, unlike the flora of the mainland, the flora of Tenerife is dominated by slow-growing, woody shrubs with a 'low-risk' life strategy.

Ecology: Endangered Species
Published

Colonization influences worldwide distribution of plant specimens      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Plant diversity in nature is generally highest in tropical regions around the equator, with decreasing diversity closer to the poles. Researchers now show that the plant specimens housed in herbaria in Europe and North America are more comprehensive and diverse than the collections housed in the countries with more natural plant diversity.

Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Environmental: Ecosystems
Published

Multiple uses of tropical mosaic landscapes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Many landscapes in the tropics consist of a mosaic of different types of land use. How people make use of these different ecosystems, with their particular plant communities, was unclear until now. Researchers, many of them from Madagascar, have now investigated this. When considering biodiversity, forests often get the most attention. But this research shows that rural households use a wide range of plant species and services provided by many nearby ecosystem types.

Computer Science: Quantum Computers Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Researchers establish criterion for nonlocal quantum behavior in networks      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new theoretical study provides a framework for understanding nonlocality, a feature that quantum networks must possess to perform operations inaccessible to standard communications technology. By clarifying the concept, researchers determined the conditions necessary to create systems with strong, quantum correlations.

Computer Science: Quantum Computers Offbeat: Computers and Math Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

New superconductors can be built atom by atom      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The future of electronics will be based on novel kinds of materials. Sometimes, however, the naturally occurring topology of atoms makes it difficult for new physical effects to be created. To tackle this problem, researchers have now successfully designed superconductors one atom at a time, creating new states of matter.

Energy: Nuclear Offbeat: Space Physics: Quantum Physics Space: Astrophysics Space: Structures and Features
Published

Search for dark matter      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have applied a promising new method to search for dark matter particles in a particle accelerator. The method is based on the observation of the spin polarization of a particle beam in a storage ring COSY.

Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics Space: Exploration Space: The Solar System
Published

Despite doubts from quantum physicists: Einstein's theory of relativity reaffirmed      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

One of the most basic assumptions of fundamental physics is that the different properties of mass -- weight, inertia and gravitation -- always remain the same in relation to each other. Although all measurements to date confirm the equivalence principle, quantum theory postulates that there should be a violation. This inconsistency between Einstein's gravitational theory and modern quantum theory is the reason why ever more precise tests of the equivalence principle are particularly important. A team has now succeeded in proving with 100 times greater accuracy that passive and active gravitational mass are always equivalent -- regardless of the particular composition of the respective masses.

Computer Science: Quantum Computers Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Controlling signal routing in quantum information processing      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Routing signals and isolating them against noise and back-reflections are essential in many practical situations in classical communication as well as in quantum processing. In a theory-experimental collaboration, a team has achieved unidirectional transport of signals in pairs of 'one-way streets'. This research opens up new possibilities for more flexible signaling devices.

Computer Science: Quantum Computers Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Physicists work to prevent information loss in quantum computing      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Nothing exists in a vacuum, but physicists often wish this weren't the case. If the systems that scientists study could be completely isolated from the outside world, things would be a lot easier. Take quantum computing. It's a field that's already drawing billions of dollars in support from tech investors and industry heavyweights including IBM, Google and Microsoft. But if the tiniest vibrations creep in from the outside world, they can cause a quantum system to lose information.