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Published

Ant mounds are more important for biodiversity than previously thought      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The ant mounds on the heath, in the forest and in your garden are oases for life. The heat and nutrients from ant mounds make them the perfect home for unique plant and animal species, according to new research.

Biology: Botany Ecology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Ecology: Trees Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
Published

How the Amazon rainforest is likely to cope with the effect of future drought      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A major collaboration involving 80 scientists from Europe and South America has identified the regions of the Amazon rainforest where trees are most likely to face the greatest risk from drier conditions brought about by climate change. Based on the analysis, the scientists predict trees in the western and southern Amazon face the greatest risk of dying. They also warn that previous scientific investigations may have underestimated the impact of drought on the rainforest because those studies focused on the central-eastern part of the forest, which is the least vulnerable to drought.

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Published

Abundance of urban honeybees adversely impacts wild bee populations      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers argue that the rapid growth in urban honeybee-keeping over the past decade may be negatively impacting nearby wild bee populations. Small bees with limited foraging ranges may be especially at risk, they write.

Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research
Published

Woodpecker guides post-fire forest management      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

What's good for the Black-backed Woodpecker is good for restoration of burned California forests. The birds' unique relationship with fire underpins the latest research into improved post-fire management. A study describes a new tool that factors in how fires burn into forest management decisions and turns science into action for wildlife conservation.

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Published

Scientists have full state of a quantum liquid down cold      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A team of physicists has illuminated certain properties of quantum systems by observing how their fluctuations spread over time. The research offers an intricate understanding of a complex phenomenon that is foundational to quantum computing.

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Reinforcement learning: From board games to protein design      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An AI strategy proven adept at board games like Chess and Go, reinforcement learning, has now been adapted for a powerful protein design program. The results show that reinforcement learning can do more than master board games. When trained to solve long-standing puzzles in protein science, the software excelled at creating useful molecules. In one experiment, proteins made with the new approach were found to be more effective at generating useful antibodies in mice than were previous methods. If this method is applied to the right research problems, it likely could accelerate progress in a variety of scientific fields.

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Two qudits fully entangled      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Recently quantum computers started to work with more than just the zeros and ones we know from classical computers. Now a team demonstrates a way to efficiently create entanglement of such high-dimensional systems to enable more powerful calculations.

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Published

Quantum computer applied to chemistry      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

There are high expectations that quantum computers may deliver revolutionary new possibilities for simulating chemical processes. This could have a major impact on everything from the development of new pharmaceuticals to new materials. Researchers have now used a quantum computer to undertake calculations within a real-life case in chemistry.

Computer Science: General Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR)
Published

Surface steers signals for next-gen networks      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

5G signals known as millimeter-wave carry enormous amounts of information but are very easy to block. A new device helps these signals get around obstacles posed by walls, furniture and people.

Computer Science: General Computer Science: Quantum Computers Energy: Technology Physics: General Physics: Optics Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
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A team creates 'quantum composites' for various electrical and optical innovations      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A team has shown in the laboratory the unique and practical function of newly created materials, which they called quantum composites, that may advance electrical, optical, and computer technologies.

Biology: Botany Biology: General Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Ecology: Trees Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Paleontology: Climate
Published

The diversity of present tree species is shaped by climate change in the last 21,000 years      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new global survey of 1000 forest areas shows how climate change since the peak of the last ice age has had a major impact on the diversity and distribution of tree species we see today. The results can help us predict how ecosystems will react to future changes, thus having an impact on conservation management around the globe.

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Published

Biological invasions as costly as natural disasters      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Over the past 40 years, the financial losses caused by biological invasions have been equivalent to those caused by various types of natural disasters, such as earthquakes, floods or storms; however, according to scientists, they are now increasing at a faster pace.

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Published

Coastal species persist on high seas on floating plastic debris      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The high seas have been colonized by a surprising number of coastal marine invertebrate species, which can now survive and reproduce in the open ocean, contributing strongly to the floating community composition. Researchers found coastal species, representing diverse taxonomic groups and life history traits, in the eastern North Pacific Subtropical Gyre on over 70 percent of the plastic debris they examined. Further, the debris carried more coastal species than open ocean species.

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Published

Wildfires and animal biodiversity      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Wildfires. Many see them as purely destructive forces, disasters that blaze through a landscape, charring everything in their paths. But a new study reminds us that wildfires are also generative forces, spurring biodiversity in their wakes.

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Published

Professor unearths the ancient fossil plant history of Burnaby Mountain      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research led by a paleobotanist provides clues about what plants existed in the Burnaby Mountain area (British Columbia, Canada) 40 million years ago during the late Eocene, when the climate was much warmer than it is today.

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Published

British flower study reveals surprise about plants' sex life      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A study of Britain's native flowering plants has led to new insights into the mysterious process that allows wild plants to breed across species -- one of plants' most powerful evolutionary forces.  When wild flowering plants are sizing up others they may often end up in a marriage between close relatives rather than neighbors, a new study has revealed.

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Published

It's all in the wrist: Energy-efficient robot hand learns how not to drop the ball      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have designed a low-cost, energy-efficient robotic hand that can grasp a range of objects -- and not drop them -- using just the movement of its wrist and the feeling in its 'skin'.

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Published

Trees in areas prone to hurricanes have strong ability to survive even after severe damage      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The island of Dominica took a direct hit from Category 5 Hurricane Maria. Nine months afterward, researchers found that while 89% percent of trees located in nine previously documented forest stands were damaged, but only 10 percent had immediately died. The most common damage was stem snapping and major branch damage. The damage with the highest rates of mortality were uprooting and being crushed by a neighboring tree. Large individual trees and species with lower wood density were susceptible to snapping, uprooting and mortality. Those on steeper slopes were more prone to being crushed by neighboring trees.