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Categories: Computer Science: Quantum Computers, Ecology: Nature
Published Earth prefers to serve life in XXS and XXL sizes


Life comes in all shapes in sizes, but some sizes are more popular than others, new research has found. A survey of body sizes of all Earth's living organisms has uncovered an unexpected pattern. Contrary to what current theories can explain, our planet's biomass -- the material that makes up all living organisms -- is concentrated in organisms at either end of the size spectrum.
Published Moths are more efficient pollinators than bees, shows new research


Moths are more efficient pollinators at night than day-flying pollinators such as bees, finds new research.
Published Can a solid be a superfluid? Engineering a novel supersolid state from layered 2D materials



Physicists predict that layered electronic 2D semiconductors can host a curious quantum phase of matter called the supersolid. This counterintuitive quantum material simultaneously forms a rigid crystal, and yet at the same time allows particles to flow without friction, with all the particles belong to the same single quantum state.
Published Conserving wildlife can help mitigate climate change


Solving the climate crisis and biodiversity crisis are not separate issues. Animals remove billions of tons of carbon dioxide each year. Restoring species will help limit global warming, new science reveals.
Published Even Sonoran Desert plants aren't immune to climate change


In North America's hottest, driest desert, climate change is causing the decline of plants once thought nearly immortal and replacing them with shorter shrubs that can take advantage of sporadic rainfall and warmer temperatures.
Published Turtles and crocodiles with unique characteristics are more likely to go extinct


New study demonstrates that the most endangered turtles and crocodile species are those that have evolved unique life strategies. Many of the most threatened species carry out important ecosystem functions that other species depend on. Habitat loss was identified as the key overall threat to turtles and crocodiles, followed by climate change and global trade. Unique species faced additional pressure from local consumption, diseases, and pollution.
Published Climate change threatens lemurs on Madagascar


Even supposedly adaptable mammal species face increased risk of extinction.
Published What should we call evolution driven by genetic engineering? Genetic welding, says researcher


With CRISPR-Cas9 technology, humans can now rapidly change the evolutionary course of animals or plants by inserting genes that can easily spread through entire populations. An evolutionary geneticist proposes that we call this evolutionary meddling 'genetic welding.' He argues that we must scientifically and ethically scrutinize the potential consequences of genetic welding before we put it into practice.
Published Extinction of steam locomotives derails assumptions about biological evolution


When the Kinks' Ray Davies penned the tune 'Last of the Steam-Powered Trains,' the vanishing locomotives stood as nostalgic symbols of a simpler English life. But for a paleontologist, the replacement of steam-powered trains with diesel and electric engines, as well as cars and trucks, might be a model of how some species in the fossil record died out.
Published Earth's first plants likely to have been branched


A new discovery changes ideas about the origin of branching in plants.
Published Habitat will dictate whether ground beetles win or lose against climate change


The success of North American crops from corn to Christmas trees partly depends on a relatively invisible component of the food web -- ground beetles. Nearly 2,000 species of ground beetle live in North America. New research shows that some of these insects could thrive while others could decline as the climate changes. The team found that the response will largely depend on the species' traits and habitats and could have significant implications for conservation efforts.
Published Global natural history initiative builds groundbreaking database to address 21st century challenges


A group of natural history museums has mapped the total collections from 73 of the world's largest natural history museums in 28 countries. This is the first step of an ambitious effort to inventory global holdings that can help scientists and decision makers find solutions to urgent, wide-ranging issues such as climate change, food insecurity, human health, pandemic preparedness, and wildlife conservation.
Published At least 80% of the world's most important sites for biodiversity on land currently contain human developments


At least 80% of sites identified as being internationally important for biodiversity on land currently contain infrastructure -- of which more than 75% contain roads. In the future, more sites that are important for biodiversity could contain powerplants, mines and oil and gas infrastructure.
Published Without this, plants cannot respond to temperature


Scientists have significantly advanced the race to control plant responses to temperature on a rapidly warming planet. Key to this breakthrough is miRNA, a molecule nearly 200,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair.
Published Towards reducing biodiversity loss in fragmented habitats


By combining lab experiments and mathematical modelling, researchers have found a way to predict the movement of species that could guide conservation efforts to reconnect fragmented habitats.
Published 'Y-ball' compound yields quantum secrets


Scientists investigating a compound called 'Y-ball' -- which belongs to a mysterious class of 'strange metals' viewed as centrally important to next-generation quantum materials -- have found new ways to probe and understand its behavior.
Published Surprise in the quantum world: Disorder leads to ferromagnetic topological insulator


Magnetic topological insulators are an exotic class of materials that conduct electrons without any resistance at all and so are regarded as a promising breakthrough in materials science. Researchers have achieved a significant milestone in the pursuit of energy-efficient quantum technologies by designing the ferromagnetic topological insulator MnBi6Te10 from the manganese bismuth telluride family. The amazing thing about this quantum material is that its ferromagnetic properties only occur when some atoms swap places, introducing antisite disorder.
Published Forest growing season in eastern U.S. has increased by a month


The growing period of hardwood forests in eastern North America has increased by an average of one month over the past century as temperatures have steadily risen, a new study has found.
Published Douglas-fir in Klamath Mountains are in 'decline spiral'


Increases in mortality among Douglas-fir in the Klamath Mountains are the result of multiple factors that have the iconic tree in a 'decline spiral' in parts of the region.
Published Biodiversity amid climate change


Fewer parasites in U.S. waters might be seen by many as a good thing, but a biologist says the trend signals potential danger for fish and other wildlife.