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Categories: Biology: Zoology, Offbeat: Computers and Math
Published Robot stand-in mimics movements in VR
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have developed a souped-up telepresence robot that responds automatically and in real-time to a remote user's movements and gestures made in virtual reality.
Published Engineers develop breakthrough 'robot skin'
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Smart, stretchable and highly sensitive, a new soft sensor opens the door to a wide range of applications in robotics and prosthetics. When applied to the surface of a prosthetic arm or a robotic limb, the sensor skin provides touch sensitivity and dexterity, enabling tasks that can be difficult for machines such as picking up a piece of soft fruit. The sensor is also soft to the touch, like human skin, which helps make human interactions safer and more lifelike.
Published 'Robin Hood' approach for tracking biodiversity
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have developed a framework that can help scientists understand trends in biodiversity by using data from well-characterized species to provide insights on data-deficient species. The framework provides a how-to guide for researchers and practitioners to implement.
Published Roosters might recognize themselves in the mirror
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scrape, cluck, lay eggs -- that's it? Anyone involved in chicken farming knows that the animals are capable of much more. Researchers have found evidence that roosters could recognize themselves in a mirror. Whether this is successful, however, depends on the experimental conditions -- a finding that points beyond the experiment with roosters and could also be of importance for other animal species.
Published To navigate the world, we all shimmy like these electric fish
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source An electric knifefish shimmies in the water for the same reason a dog sniffs or a human glances around a new place -- to make sense of their surroundings. For the first time, scientists demonstrate that a wide range of organisms, even microbes, perform the same pattern of movements in order to sense the world.
Published Rider on the storm: Shearwater seabird catches an 11 hour ride over 1,000 miles in a typhoon
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New research suggests that increasingly severe weather driven by climate change may push oceangoing seabirds to their limits.
Published On the trail of the silver king: Researchers reveal unprecedented look at tarpon migration
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New research unveils a dataset, gathered over five years, that gives the finest-grained detail into the timing and spatial extent of tarpon migration. The work leveraged networks of thousands of acoustic receivers that tracked 200 tarpon over more than five years. One of the key findings is that there are two distinct subgroups of tarpon, which has immediate implications for efforts to conserve the fish, known to anglers as the 'Silver King.'
Published Something in the eyes: Java Sparrows in love show enhanced eye rings
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Pair-bonded Java sparrows show enlarged eye rings to signal breeding readiness.
Published 'Dim-witted' pigeons use the same principles as AI to solve tasks
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study provides evidence that pigeons tackle some problems just as artificial intelligence would -- allowing them to solve difficult tasks that would vex humans.
Published Pig welfare outweighs climate concerns for consumers
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Consumers would rather pay more for higher-welfare pork than for pork with a reduced climate footprint, according to a new study.
Published Bizarre new fossils shed light on ancient plankton
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Recently discovered microfossils date back half a billion years. Resembling modern-day algae, they provide insight into early life in our oceans.
Published More animal welfare or more environmental protection?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Which sustainability goals do people find more important: Animal welfare? Or environmental protection? Human health is another one of these competing sustainability goals. A team of researchers have now found that consumers surveyed in their study would rather pay more for salami with an 'antibiotic-free' label than for salami with an 'open barn' label that indicates that the product promotes animal welfare.
Published Bacteria can enhance host insect's fertility with implications for disease control
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New research reveals how the bacteria strain Wolbachia pipientis enhances the fertility of the insects it infects, an insight that could help scientists increase the populations of mosquitoes that do not carry human disease.
Published Raining cats and dogs: Global precipitation patterns a driver for animal diversity
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A team has identified several factors to help answer a fundamental ecological question: why is there a ridiculous abundance of species some places on earth and a scarcity in others? What factors, exactly, drive animal diversity? They discovered that what an animal eats (and how that interacts with climate) shapes Earth's diversity.
Published The microbiome of fruit and vegetables positively influences diversity in the gut
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In a meta-study, a research team has provided evidence that the consumption of fruit and vegetables contributes positively to bacterial diversity in the human gut.
Published Finding the genes that help kingfishers dive without hurting their brains
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists studied the genomes of 30 kingfisher species to try to identify the genes that allow kingfishers to dive headfirst into water without huring their brains. The researchers found that the diving birds have unusual mutations to the genes that produce tau: a protein that helps stabilize tiny structures in the brain, but which can build up in humans with traumatic brain injuries or Alzheimer's disease. The researchers suspect that these variations in the kingfishers' tau proteins might protect their brains when they dive.
Published Scientists uncover cause of mysterious deaths of elephants in Zimbabwe
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A bacterium, closely associated with deadly septicaemia, could have caused the deaths of six African elephants in Zimbabwe and possibly more in neighboring countries. The findings place infectious diseases on the list of pressures on African elephants, whose populations continue to be under threat.
Published Plant-based materials give 'life' to tiny soft robots
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A team of researchers has created smart, advanced materials that will be the building blocks for a future generation of soft medical microrobots. These tiny robots have the potential to conduct medical procedures, such as biopsy, and cell and tissue transport, in a minimally invasive fashion.
Published Simulating cold sensation without actual cooling
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The perception of persistent thermal sensations, such as changes in temperature, tends to gradually diminish in intensity as our bodies become accustomed to the temperature. This phenomenon leads to a shift in our perception of temperature when transitioning between different scenes in a virtual environment. Researchers have now developed a technology to generate a virtual cold sensation via a non-contact method without physically altering the skin temperature.
Published Mummified mice discovered atop sky-high Andean volcanoes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have uncovered 13 mummified cadavers of mice from the summits of Andean volcanoes that stretch nearly 4 miles above sea level. Analyses of the mummies, combined with the capture of live specimens, suggest that the mice scaled the Mars-like peaks on their own -- and are somehow managing to live on them.