Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Nature Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

How plant cold specialists can adapt to the environment      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Evolutionary biologists studied spoonworts to determine what influence genome duplication has on the adaptive potential of plants. The results show that polyploids -- species with more than two sets of chromosomes -- can have an accumulation of structural mutations with signals for a possible local adaptation, enabling them to occupy ecological niches time and time again.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Invasive Species
Published

Wild plants and crops don't make great neighbors, research finds      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Native plants and non-native crops do not fare well in proximity to one another, attracting pests that spread diseases in both directions, according to two new studies.

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

A breakthrough on the edge: One step closer to topological quantum computing      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have achieved a significant breakthrough in quantum materials, potentially setting the stage for advancements in topological superconductivity and robust quantum computing.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Nature
Published

Not so simple: Mosses and ferns offer new hope for crop protection      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Mosses, liverworts, ferns and algae may offer an exciting new research frontier in the global challenge of protecting crops from the threat of disease.

Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Nature Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General
Published

Wolves' return has had only small impact on deer populations in NE Washington      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Wolves returned to Washington state in 2008. A new study shows that, despite their rising numbers, wolves are not having much of an impact on white-tailed deer, one of their primary prey. Scientists report that the biggest factor shaping white-tailed deer populations in northeast Washington is the quality of habitat available, which is largely determined by human activity. Cougars were second in their impact. Wolves were a distant third.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species
Published

Tackling the challenge of coca plant ID: Wild vs cultivated for cocaine      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new paper reveals that it's not as straightforward as it might seem. Despite decades of data collection by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), which has been valuable to monitor changes in areas occupied by illegal coca plantations in South America, there is no reliable scientific method to distinguish between different types of coca plants.

Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Biology: Botany Ecology: Endangered Species
Published

Archaeologists report earliest evidence for plant farming in east Africa      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A trove of ancient plant remains excavated in Kenya helps explain the history of plant farming in equatorial eastern Africa, a region long thought to be important for early farming but where scant evidence from actual physical crops has been previously uncovered.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Computer Science: Quantum Computers Engineering: Nanotechnology Physics: General Physics: Optics Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Moving from the visible to the infrared: Developing high quality nanocrystals      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Awarded the 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, quantum dots have a wide variety of applications ranging from displays and LED lights to chemical reaction catalysis and bioimaging. These semiconductor nanocrystals are so small -- on the order of nanometers -- that their properties, such as color, are size dependent, and they start to exhibit quantum properties. This technology has been really well developed, but only in the visible spectrum, leaving untapped opportunities for technologies in both the ultraviolet and infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Biology: Botany Biology: General Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Ecosystems
Published

How a plant app helps identify the consequences of climate change      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A research team has developed an algorithm that analyses observational data from a plant identification app. The novel approach can be used to derive ecological patterns that could provide valuable information about the effects of climate change on plants.

Biology: General Ecology: Endangered Species Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Ancient large kangaroo moved mainly on four legs, according to new research      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A type of extinct kangaroo that lived during the Pleistocene around two and a half million to ten thousand years ago, known as the 'giant wallaby', was a poor hopper, a study has found.

Biology: General Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Nature Ecology: Sea Life
Published

Study projects major changes in North Atlantic and Arctic marine ecosystems due to climate change      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research predicts significant shifts in marine fish communities in the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans as a result of climate warming.

Chemistry: Thermodynamics Computer Science: General Computer Science: Quantum Computers Engineering: Graphene Engineering: Nanotechnology Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

A 2D device for quantum cooling      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Engineers have created a device that can efficiently convert heat into electrical voltage at temperatures lower than that of outer space. The innovation could help overcome a significant obstacle to the advancement of quantum computing technologies, which require extremely low temperatures to function optimally.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: General Computer Science: Quantum Computers Engineering: Nanotechnology Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

A genetic algorithm for phononic crystals      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers tested phononic nanomaterials designed with an automated genetic algorithm that responded to light pulses with controlled vibrations. This work may help in the development of next-generation sensors and computer devices.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Marine Chemistry: Biochemistry Ecology: Sea Life Energy: Alternative Fuels Physics: General Physics: Optics Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Giant clams may hold the answers to making solar energy more efficient      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Solar panel and biorefinery designers could learn a thing or two from iridescent giant clams living near tropical coral reefs, according to a new study. This is because giant clams have precise geometries -- dynamic, vertical columns of photosynthetic receptors covered by a thin, light-scattering layer -- that may just make them the most efficient solar energy systems on Earth.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics Space: General
Published

Neutrons on classically inexplicable paths      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Is nature really as strange as quantum theory says -- or are there simpler explanations? New neutron measurements prove: It doesn't work without the strange properties of quantum theory.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: General Ecology: Research Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems
Published

Study illuminates cues algae use to 'listen' to their environment      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research shows how a small group of single-celled algae are able to use chemical cues to communicate stress information. Understanding this ability, once thought unique to plants, helps illuminate the complex evolutionary history of plants and algae.

Anthropology: General Biology: General Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Nature Paleontology: Climate Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: General
Published

The evidence is mounting: humans were responsible for the extinction of large mammals      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Human hunting, not climate change, played a decisive role in the extinction of large mammals over the last 50,000 years. This conclusion comes from researchers who reviewed over 300 scientific articles from many different fields of research.