Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Zoology
Published

Study reveals how pollinators cope with plant toxins      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Pollinators such as honeybees produce special enzymes that detoxify defence chemicals produced by plants, new research shows.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular
Published

Biologists determine the evolutionary age of individual cell types providing critical insights for animal development      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A research team has recently made a significant discovery about the evolutionary age of different type of cells in a small animal called Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans). By using single-cell transcriptomic data and refined phylostratigraphy, the team determines the transcriptomic age of individual cells, which means they are able to estimate the evolutionary origin of different cells based on the age of the genes expressed in the cells.

Anthropology: General Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Oldest bat skeletons ever found described from Wyoming fossils      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have described a new species of bat based on the oldest bat skeletons ever recovered. The study on the extinct bat, which lived in Wyoming about 52 million years ago, supports the idea that bats diversified rapidly on multiple continents during this time.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineering: Robotics Research
Published

Research in Japan shows the way toward tactile and proximity sensing in large soft robots      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

To make human-robot interactions safer and more fruitful, robots should be capable of sensing their environment. In a recent study, researchers developed a novel robotic link with tactile and proximity sensing capabilities. Additionally, they created a simulation and learning framework that can be employed to train the robotic link to sense its environment. Their findings will pave the way to a future where humans and robots can operate harmoniously in close proximity.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular
Published

Study compares de novo proteins with randomly produced proteins      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In a series of experiments, a team of researchers have compared de novo proteins with random-sequence proteins, looking at their stability and solubility. The results are set to advance basic research in this new field.

Engineering: Robotics Research
Published

Toward a safer 'artificial muscle' material      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Whether wriggling your toes or lifting groceries, muscles in your body smoothly expand and contract. Some polymers can do the same thing -- acting like artificial muscles -- but only when stimulated by dangerously high voltages. Now, researchers report a series of thin, elastic films that respond to substantially lower electrical charges. The materials represent a step toward artificial muscles that could someday operate safely in medical devices.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Sea Life
Published

How skates learned to fly through water      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Genes are not the only drivers of evolution. The iconic fins of skates are caused by changes in the non-coding genome and its three-dimensional structure, an international research team reports.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Microbiology
Published

Scientists track evolution of microbes on the skin's surface      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have discovered that Staphylococcus aureus can rapidly evolve within a single person's microbiome. They found that in people with eczema, S. aureus tends to evolve to a variant with a mutation in a specific gene that helps it grow faster on the skin.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Botany Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Environmental: Biodiversity Geoscience: Earth Science
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.

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

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Ecology: Animals Ecology: Extinction Ecology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems
Published

In Florida study, nonnative leaf-litter ants are replacing native ants      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new look at decades of data from museum collections and surveys of leaf-litter ants in Florida reveals a steady decline in native ants and simultaneous increase in nonnative ants -- even in protected natural areas of the state, researchers report.

Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Environmental: Ecosystems Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Woolly mammoths evolved smaller ears and woolier coats over the 700,000 years that they roamed the Siberian steppes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A team of researchers compared the genomes of woolly mammoths with modern day elephants to find out what made woolly mammoths unique, both as individuals and as a species. The investigators report that many of the woolly mammoth's trademark features -- including their woolly coats and large fat deposits -- were already genetically encoded in the earliest woolly mammoths, but these and other traits became more defined over the species' 700,000+ year existence. They also identified a gene with several mutations that may have been responsible for the woolly mammoth's miniscule ears.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular
Published

Blind dating in bacteria evolution      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A team of researchers reconstructed long-extinct proteins of a UV protection system of cyanobacteria. The surprising result: the proteins were already compatible with each other when they first met. This discovery expands the knowledge horizon on the rules of evolution.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Marine Geoscience: Geography
Published

A cold-specialized icefish species underwent major genetic changes as it migrated to temperate waters      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Biologists have explored the genetic mechanisms underlying the transition from freezing Antarctic waters to more temperature waters by Antarctic Notothenioid fish.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: General Engineering: Robotics Research
Published

Robots predict human intention for faster builds      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Humans have a way of understandings others' goals, desires and beliefs, a crucial skill that allows us to anticipate people's actions. Taking bread out of the toaster? You'll need a plate. Sweeping up leaves? I'll grab the green trash can. This skill, often referred to as 'theory of mind,' comes easily to us as humans, but is still challenging for robots. But, if robots are to become truly collaborative helpers in manufacturing and in everyday life, they need to learn the same abilities. Computer science researchers aim to teach robots how to predict human preferences in assembly tasks, so they can one day help out on everything from building a satellite to setting a table.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Nature Environmental: Biodiversity Geoscience: Earth Science
Published

A detailed map of the microverse: Microbial niches      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

What defines the habitat -- the ecological niche -- of a microorganism? It is a combination of environmental factors such as temperature, moisture, and nutrient content. But the exact contribution of each of these factors is difficult to predict. A research team has redefined microbial niches by determining which microorganisms live together.

Anthropology: General Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Zoology
Published

Elephants as a new model for understanding human evolution      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Human culture and language may be the result of 'self-domestication': an evolutionary process that leads to less aggressive and more prosocial individuals. A research team argues that elephants -- like humans and bonobos -- may also be self-domesticated. Elephants show many traits associated with self-domestication, such as prosocial behavior, playfulness and complex communication skills. This makes elephants an interesting new animal model for the evolution of prosociality.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: Encryption Engineering: Robotics Research
Published

New cyber software can verify how much knowledge AI really knows      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

With a growing interest in generative artificial intelligence (AI) systems worldwide, researchers have created software that is able to verify how much information an AI farmed from an organization's digital database.