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Categories: Geoscience: Geomagnetic Storms, Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published Trotting robots reveal emergence of animal gait transitions
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A four-legged robot trained with machine learning has learned to avoid falls by spontaneously switching between walking, trotting, and pronking -- a milestone for roboticists as well as biologists interested in animal locomotion.
Published The double-fanged adolescence of saber-toothed cats
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source How did North America's saber-toothed cats hunt without breaking their unwieldy saber-like canines, which are vulnerable to sideways bending stresses? A paleontologist provides mechanical evidence that during adolescence, when young cats were learning to hunt, their baby teeth remained in place for up to 30 months to laterally buttress the emerging permanent sabers. By the time the baby teeth fell out, presumably the adult cat knew how to protect its sabers during attacks.
Published Fading lights: Multiple threats to North America's firefly populations
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have applied a data-driven approach to understanding firefly population dynamics on a continental scale. Key findings from this new study indicate that fireflies, part of the beetle order, are sensitive to various environmental factors, from short-term weather conditions to longer climatic trends, including the number of growing-degree days related to temperature accumulations.
Published Long snouts protect foxes when diving headfirst in snow
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source When hunting for mice in winter, red and arctic fox are known to plunge headfirst at speeds of 2-4 meters per second, but their sharp noses reduce the impact force in snow and protect them from injury, according to a new study.
Published One in eight grown-ups love extreme tartness
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source For most people, biting into a lemon would leave them puckered up and desperate to lose that sour flavor, but a new study revealed that roughly one in eight adults like intensely sour sensations. The cross-cultural study demonstrated there is a subset of 'sour likers' who enjoy exceptionally sour foods.
Published Scientists develop strong yet reusable adhesive from smart materials
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have developed a smart, reusable adhesive more than ten times stronger than a gecko's feet adhesion, pointing the way for development of reusable superglue and grippers capable of holding heavy weights across rough and smooth surfaces. The research team found a way to maximize the adhesion of the smart adhesives by using shape-memory polymers, which can stick and detach easily when needed simply by heating them. This smart adhesive can support extremely heavy weights, opening new possibilities for robotic grippers that allow humans to scale walls effortlessly, or climbing robots that can cling onto ceilings for survey or repair applications.
Published Fixin' to be flexitarian: Scrap fish and invasive species can liven up vegetables
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Greening the way we eat needn't mean going vegetarian. A healthy, more realistic solution is to adopt a flexitarian diet where seafoods add umami to 'boring' vegetables. A gastrophysicist puts mathematical equations to work in calculating the umami potential of everything from seaweed and shrimp paste to mussels and mackerel.
Published T. Rex not as smart as previously claimed
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Dinosaurs were likely as smart as reptiles but not as intelligent as monkeys.
Published Test reveals mice think like babies
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Are mice clever enough to be strategic? A neuroscientist who studies learning in humans and animals, and who has long worked with mice, wondered why rodents often performed poorly in tests when they knew how to perform well. With a simple experiment, and by acting as 'a little bit of a mouse psychologist,' he and his team figured it out.
Published Ancient Maya blessed their ballcourts
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Using environmental DNA analysis, an international team of researchers identified a collection of plants used in ceremonial rituals in the ancient Maya city of Yaxnohcah in Mexico. The plants, known for their religious associations and medicinal properties, were discovered beneath a plaza floor where a ballcourt was built.
Published Barley plants fine-tune their root microbial communities through sugary secretions
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Different types of barley recruit distinct communities of soil microbes to grow around their roots by releasing a custom mix of sugars and other compounds, according to a new study.
Published With hybrid brains, these mice smell like a rat
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Mice lacking an olfactory system have had their sense of smell restored with neurons from rats, the first time scientists have successfully integrated the sensory apparatus of one species into another.
Published How do birds flock? Researchers do the math to reveal previously unknown aerodynamic phenomenon
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source How do birds fly in a coordinated and seemingly effortless fashion? Part of the answer lies in precise, and previously unknown, aerodynamic interactions, reports a team of mathematicians. Its breakthrough broadens our understanding of wildlife, including fish, who move in schools, and could have applications in transportation and energy.
Published Cells may possess hidden communication system
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Cells constantly navigate a dynamic environment, facing ever-changing conditions and challenges. But how do cells swiftly adapt to these environmental fluctuations? A new study is answering that question by challenging our understanding of how cells function. A team of researchers suggests that cells possess a previously unknown information processing system that allows them to make rapid decisions independent of their genes.
Published These giant, prehistoric salmon had tusk-like teeth
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Oncorhynchus rastrosus, a giant species of salmon that lived in the North American Pacific Northwest a few million years ago, sported a pair of front teeth that projected out from the sides of its mouth like tusks, according to a new study.
Published Color variants in cuckoos: The advantages of rareness
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Every cuckoo is an adopted child -- raised by foster parents, into whose nest the cuckoo mother smuggled her egg. The cuckoo mother is aided in this subterfuge by her resemblance to a bird of prey. There are two variants of female cuckoos: a gray morph that looks like a sparrowhawk, and a rufous morph. Male cuckoos are always gray.
Published Zebra finch chicks don't babble for no reason
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Their first vocalizations help young zebra finch males to memorize the songs of adults.
Published Scientists unveil genetics behind development of gliding
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers explain the genomic and developmental basis of the patagium, the thin skin membrane that allows some mammalian species to soar through the air.
Published Bioluminescence first evolved in animals at least 540 million years ago
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Bioluminescence first evolved in animals at least 540 million years ago in a group of marine invertebrates called octocorals, according to the results of a new study. The study focuses on an ancient group of marine invertebrates that includes soft corals, pushes back the previous oldest dated example of trait by nearly 300 million years.
Published Squids' birthday influences mating
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The day a male spear squid hatches determines which mating tactic he will use throughout his life, according to new research. Spear squid (Heterololigo bleekeri) that hatch earlier in the season become 'consorts' which fight for mating opportunities. Those which hatch later become 'sneakers,' which use more clandestine mating tactics. Researchers found that the mating tactic determined by the birth date was fixed for the squid's whole life. Understanding how mating tactics are influenced by birth date, and the environmental conditions at that time, can help researchers consider how squid might be affected by climate change and the implications for marine resource management.