Ecology: Endangered Species Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Roots are capable of measuring heat on their own      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Plant roots have their own thermometer to measure the temperature of the soil around them and they adjust their growth accordingly. Through extensive experiments, a team was able to demonstrate that roots have their own temperature sensing and response system. In a new study, the scientists also provide a new explanation for how roots themselves detect and react to higher temperatures. The results could help develop new approaches for plant breeding.

Computer Science: Encryption
Published

Solving rare disease mysteries ... and protecting privacy      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have demonstrated a new way of linking personal records and protecting privacy. The first application is in identifying cases of rare genetic disorders. There are many other potential applications across society.

Ecology: Endangered Species Environmental: Ecosystems
Published

Conservation in Indonesia is at risk, a team of researchers who study the region argues      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Indonesia, home to the largest tropical rainforest in Southeast Asia and over 17,500 islands, is a country packed with biodiversity and endangered species. However, scientists studying the region's species and ecosystems are getting banned from Indonesia, and conservation plans are being blocked. A team of conservation researchers with long-term experience in Indonesia discuss scientific suppression and other research challenges they have witnessed while working in the region. They offer suggestions for how to promote nature conservation, protect data transparency, and share research with the public in this and other regions of the world.

Ecology: Endangered Species Paleontology: General
Published

Madagascar hippos were forest dwellers      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Extinct dwarf hippos that once roamed Madagascar lived in forests rather than open grasslands preferred by common hippos on mainland Africa. The findings suggest grasslands that now cover much of the enormous island off the eastern coast of southern Africa were a relatively recent change facilitated by people rather than a natural habitat sustained in part by these famously large vegetarians.

Ecology: Endangered Species Environmental: Ecosystems
Published

Queensland native forestry can help achieve global environment goals      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Research has revealed that Queensland native forestry, including timber harvesting, could actually help conserve biodiversity and mitigate climate risks.

Ecology: Endangered Species Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Paleontology: Climate
Published

Why there are no kangaroos in Bali (and no tigers in Australia)      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers are using a new model to clarify why millions of years ago more animal species from Asia made the leap to the Australian continent than vice versa. The climate in which the species evolved played an important role.

Computer Science: Encryption
Published

Stressed for a bit? Then don't click it, cybersecurity experts advise      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Workers feeling a specific form of stress are more likely than others to become the victims of a phishing attack, according to a new study.

Ecology: Endangered Species
Published

World's most threatened seabirds visit remote plastic pollution hotspots      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Analysis of global tracking data for 77 species of petrel has revealed that a quarter of all plastics potentially encountered in their search for food are in remote international waters -- requiring international collaboration to address.

Ecology: Endangered Species
Published

Amazon dolphins at risk from fishing, dams and dredging      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Amazon river dolphins are under threat from fishing and proposed new dams and dredging, research shows.

Ecology: Endangered Species
Published

Estimating the long-term effects of whale shark feeding practices      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Increasing opportunities for up-close encounters with sharks and other animals are making wildlife tourism one of the fastest growing tourism sectors -- leading ecology experts to venture to one of the world's main sites to investigate the effects of tourism on endangered whale sharks. At Oslob in the Philippines, Flinders University's Southern Shark Ecology Group and Global Ecology Lab joined local Filipino researchers to measure how the daily feeding regimes for resident whale shark population might have affected their behaviour and physiology by assessing their activity and metabolic requirements.

Computer Science: Encryption Mathematics: General Mathematics: Modeling
Published

Evaluating cybersecurity methods      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers created a generic framework that enables an engineer or scientist to evaluate the effectiveness of defense schemes that seek to limit a hacker's ability to learn secret information by observing the behavior of a victim computer program.

Ecology: Endangered Species
Published

European bird communities move to cooler areas, but mountain ranges and coastlines 'control the traffic'      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A recent study shows that European bird communities have shifted northeastward in the past 30 years. These shifts are faced with obstacles such as mountain ranges and coastlines. Overall, bird communities are moving towards cooler areas but not fast enough to keep up with increasing temperatures.

Computer Science: Encryption Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

How secure are voice authentication systems really?      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Computer scientists have discovered a method of attack that can successfully bypass voice authentication security systems with up to a 99% success rate after only six tries.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Evolutionary Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Geoscience: Earth Science Paleontology: Dinosaurs Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Humans' ancestors survived the asteroid impact that killed the dinosaurs      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A Cretaceous origin for placental mammals, the group that includes humans, dogs and bats, has been revealed by in-depth analysis of the fossil record, showing they co-existed with dinosaurs for a short time before the dinosaurs went extinct.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: Cell Biology Ecology: Endangered Species
Published

Dry days trigger leaves to send a surprising growth signal telling roots to keep growing      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have discovered a new molecular signalling pathway, triggered when leaves are exposed to low humidity, that ensures plant roots keep growing towards water. A new study has found that when the leaves of a plant are exposed to dry air (low humidity), they send a shoot-to-root signal, using abscisic acid (ABA), to tell the roots to keep growing. This is a surprising finding as ABA is usually thought to be a growth inhibitor, not a growth promoter.

Biology: General Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research
Published

Global analysis on pollinators in cities: Wild bees and butterflies are at particular risk      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Butterflies are being hit hardest by urban growth. Shrinking habitats and food availability are causing their populations to decline. The same applies to many wild bees that fly early in spring. According to a new study, pollination has not yet been impacted by this because honeybees, for example, can compensate for the reduction of urban pollinators. The study is the first comprehensive analysis of the subject and includes data from 133 studies. The results underline the importance of nature conservation measures in urban areas.

Biology: Zoology Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Nature Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Conservation policies risk damaging global biodiversity, researchers argue      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Rewilding, organic farming and the 'nature friendly farming' measures included in some government conservation policies risk worsening the global biodiversity crisis by reducing how much food is produced in a region, driving up food imports and increasing environmental damage overseas.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Botany Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Endangered Species Environmental: General
Published

A roadmap for gene regulation in plants      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

For the first time, researchers have developed a genome-scale way to map the regulatory role of transcription factors, proteins that play a key role in gene expression and determining a plant's physiological traits. Their work reveals unprecedented insights into gene regulatory networks and identifies a new library of DNA parts that can be used to optimize plants for bioenergy and agriculture.