Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Marine Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Ecology: Sea Life
Published

Plankton researchers urge their colleagues to mix it up      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new article encourages researchers to focus their attention on mixoplankton, providing a set of methodologies to help expand our understanding of this critically important component of the marine ecosystem.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Ecology: Nature Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Non-stop flight: 4,200 km transatlantic flight of the Painted Lady butterfly mapped      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In October 2013 a researcher made a surprising discovery of Painted Lady Butterflies on the Atlantic beaches of French Guiana -- a species not typically found in South America. This unusual sighting prompted an international study to investigate the origin of these butterflies.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: General
Published

Researchers develop new training technique that aims to make AI systems less socially biased      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have created a new, cost-effective training technique for artificial intelligence systems that aims to make them less socially biased.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: General Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
Published

Next platform for brain-inspired computing      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Computers have come so far in terms of their power and potential, rivaling and even eclipsing human brains in their ability to store and crunch data, make predictions and communicate. But there is one domain where human brains continue to dominate: energy efficiency.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineering: Robotics Research Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
Published

Robots face the future      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have found a way to bind engineered skin tissue to the complex forms of humanoid robots. This brings with it potential benefits to robotic platforms such as increased mobility, self-healing abilities, embedded sensing capabilities and an increasingly lifelike appearance. Taking inspiration from human skin ligaments, the team included special perforations in a robot face, which helped a layer of skin take hold.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineering: Robotics Research Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
Published

Meet CARMEN, a robot that helps people with mild cognitive impairment      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Meet CARMEN, short for Cognitively Assistive Robot for Motivation and Neurorehabilitation -- a small, tabletop robot designed to help people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) learn skills to improve memory, attention, and executive functioning at home.

Ecology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Ecology: Trees Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Wildfires
Published

Fuel treatments reduce future wildfire severity      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

There is a common belief that prescribed burning, thinning trees, and clearing underbrush reduce risks of the severity of future fires. But is that true? A new project analyzing 40 studies where wildfire burned into different vegetation treatments, spanning 11 western states. Researchers found overwhelming evidence that in seasonally dry mixed conifer forests in the western U.S., reducing surface and ladder fuels and tree density through thinning, coupled with prescribed burning or pile burning, could reduce future wildfire severity by more than 60% relative to untreated areas.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Nature Ecology: Trees
Published

New tomato, potato family tree shows that fruit color and size evolved together      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new family tree of the plant genus Solanum helps explain the striking diversity of their fruit color and size. This genus includes tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants, and other economically important plants.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Biodiversity Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Boosting biodiversity without hurting local economies      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Protected areas, like nature reserves, can conserve biodiversity without harming local economic growth, countering a common belief that conservation restricts development. A new study outlines what is needed for conservation to benefit both nature and people.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR) Mathematics: Modeling Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
Published

Prying open the AI black box      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Meet SQUID, a new computational tool. Compared with other genomic AI models, SQUID is more consistent, reduces background noise, and can yield better predictions regarding critical mutations. The new system aims to bring scientists closer to their findings' true medical implications.

Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Nature Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Climate models underestimate carbon cycling through plants      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The carbon stored globally by plants is shorter-lived and more vulnerable to climate change than previously thought, according to a new study.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Ecology: Nature Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Hurricane changed 'rules of the game' in monkey society      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A devastating hurricane transformed a monkey society by changing the pros and cons of interacting with others, new research shows.

Biology: General Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Non-native plants and animals expanding ranges 100 times faster than native species      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An international team of scientists has recently found that non-native species are expanding their ranges many orders of magnitude faster than native ones, in large part due to inadvertent human help. Even seemingly sedentary non-native plants are moving at three times the speed of their native counterparts in a race where, because of the rapid pace of climate change and its effect on habitat, speed matters. To survive, plants and animals need to be shifting their ranges by 3.25 kilometers per year just to keep up with the increasing temperatures and associated climactic shifts -- a speed that native species cannot manage without human help.

Biology: Biochemistry Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General
Published

Natural hazards threaten over three thousand species      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Natural hazards can speed up the extinction process of land animals that have limited distribution and/or small populations. But there is hope to turn the negative development around, says researchers behind new study.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Restored rat-free islands could support hundreds of thousands more breeding seabirds      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Archipelago case-study shows that removing invasive rats and restoring native vegetation could help bring back hundreds of thousands of breeding pairs of seabirds lost to tropical islands. Calculating that there are enough fish to sustain restored seabird populations should be an important consideration for restoration projects, scientists say. Restored seabird populations also provide huge boost to the health of surrounding coral reef ecosystems through restored nutrient cycles.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: General Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
Published

Researchers teach AI to spot what you're sketching      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new way to teach artificial intelligence (AI) to understand human line drawings -- even from non-artists -- has been developed.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: General
Published

AI recognizes athletes' emotions      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Using computer-assisted neural networks, researchers have been able to accurately identify affective states from the body language of tennis players during games. For the first time, they trained a model based on artificial intelligence (AI) with data from actual games. Their study demonstrates that AI can assess body language and emotions with accuracy similar to that of humans. However, it also points to ethical concerns.