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Categories: Biology: Botany, Offbeat: Computers and Math

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Female moths primarily use their sense of smell to find the best host plants on which to lay their eggs, with the deterrent effect of caterpillar feces playing an important role, according to new research.

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Climate change is causing Western U.S. forests to be less effective carbon sinks, even as it boosts the productivity of forests in the Eastern U.S., according to new research.

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A new experiment could in principle test the quantumness of an object regardless of its mass or energy.

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New findings debunk previous wisdom that solid-state qubits need to be super dilute in an ultra-clean material to achieve long lifetimes. Instead, cram lots of rare-earth ions into a crystal and some will form pairs that act as highly coherent qubits, a new paper shows.

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The so-called Rice Yellow Mottle Virus (for short: RYMV) is responsible for high crop losses in Africa, particularly among small-scale farmers. A research team has now produced rice lines that are resistant to the disease by means of genome editing. The rice varieties are a preliminary step toward being able to generate resistant locally adapted elite varieties for small-scale food producers in Africa.

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Some invasive plants can form persistent banks of seeds that remain under the soil for years, and this makes their eradication practically impossible. Over time, this invisible population of large quantities of living, buried plants -- in seed form -- will reoccupy ecosystems and displace the typical flora of the natural environment.

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Water samples from 20 sites were tested using a panel of immortalized human cell lines corresponding to the liver, kidney and brain to measure cytotoxicity. Results show that each control toxin induced a consistent pattern of cytotoxicity in the panel of human cell lines assayed. Known toxins were seen only during blooms. Because cell toxicity was seen in the absence of blooms, it suggests that there might be either emergent toxins or a combination of toxins present at those times. Findings suggest that other toxins with the potential to be harmful to human health may be present in the lagoon.

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ChatGPT and other solutions built on Machine Learning are surging. But even the most successful algorithms have limitations. Researchers have now proven mathematically that apart from simple problems it is not possible to create algorithms for AI that will always be stable. The study may lead to guidelines on how to better test algorithms and reminds us that machines do not have human intelligence after all.

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Engineers suggest a way to fit more transistors on a chip by seamlessly implementing 3D integration with 2D materials.

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Engineers have built a new AI that shatters a long-held belief in forensics -- that fingerprints from different fingers of the same person are unique. It turns out they are similar, only we've been comparing fingerprints the wrong way!

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Researchers discovered that plants manage iron deficiency without helping 'bad' bacteria thrive by eliminating the molecular signal for iron deficiency, and that the iron deficiency signaling pathway and the plant immune system are deeply intertwined. Their findings provide a new target for boosting plant resilience in the face of climate change, and offer new insight into plant and animal microbiomes.

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Researchers have found almost identical patterns of tree diversity across the world's tropical forests. The study of over one million trees across 1,568 locations found that just 2.2% of tree species make up 50% of the total number of trees in tropical forests across Africa, the Amazon, and Southeast Asia. Each continent consists of the same proportion of a few common species and many rare species.

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New research delves into the intricate defense mechanisms of tomatoes against the notorious bacterial pathogen, Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato (Pst). It's a classic tale of nature's arms race: as pathogens evolve to outsmart plant defenses, plants counter with more sophisticated immune responses.

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A study has used the power of machine learning to overcome a key challenge affecting quantum devices. For the first time, the findings reveal a way to close the 'reality gap': the difference between predicted and observed behavior from quantum devices.

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Researchers have developed a new soft robot design that engages in three simultaneous behaviors: rolling forward, spinning like a record, and following a path that orbits around a central point. The device, which operates without human or computer control, holds promise for developing soft robotic devices that can be used to navigate and map unknown environments.

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Scientists have engineered the microbiome of plants for the first time, boosting the prevalence of 'good' bacteria that protect the plant from disease. The findings could substantially reduce the need for environmentally destructive pesticides.

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Honey yields in the U.S. have been declining since the 1990s, with honey producers and scientists unsure why, but a new study has uncovered clues in the mystery of the missing honey.

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Chlorophyll plays a pivotal role in photosynthesis, which is why plants have evolved to have high chlorophyll levels in their leaves. However, making this pigment is expensive because plants invest a significant portion of the available nitrogen in both chlorophyll and the special proteins that bind it. As a result, nitrogen is unavailable for other processes. In a new study, researchers reduced the chlorophyll levels in leaves to see if the plant would invest the nitrogen saved into other process that might improve nutritional quality.

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Researchers have identified a new iguana species, Wang's garden lizard (Calotes wangi), in southern China and northern Vietnam. This species, part of the Calotes versicolor complex, was discovered through extensive surveys conducted from 2009 to 2022. Measuring less than 9 cm with an orange tongue, it inhabits subtropical and tropical forests, thriving in various landscapes including urban areas.

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Barley seedlings grow on average 50% more when their root system is stimulated electrically through a new cultivation substrate. Researchers have now developed an electrically conductive 'soil' for soil-less cultivation, known as hydroponics.