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Categories: Geoscience: Geology, Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published Bigger is better: Male proboscis monkeys' enhanced noses evolved to attract mates
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source When it comes to the animal kingdom, bigger is better. Well, at least for proboscis monkeys, famously known for their long, large and droopy noses. Researchers have provided a world-first explanation for why male proboscis monkeys have larger and 'enhanced' nasal structures.
Published Foraging ants navigate more efficiently when given energy-drink-like doses of caffeine
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Ants who receive a caffeine-laced sugary reward become more efficient at navigating back to the reward's location compared to ants that only receive sugar. Caffeinated ants move toward the reward via a more direct path but do not increase their speed, suggesting that caffeine improved their ability to learn. The study was conducted on Argentine ants (Linepithema humile), a globally invasive species, and the researchers say that incorporating caffeine into ant baits could aid efforts to control the ants by improving bait uptake.
Published Sexual parasitism helped anglerfish invade the deep sea during a time of global warming
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Members of the vertebrate group including anglerfishes are unique in possessing a characteristic known as sexual parasitism, in which males temporarily attach or permanently fuse with females to mate. Now, researchers show that sexual parasitism arose during a time of major global warming and rapid transition for anglerfishes from the ocean floor to the deep, open sea.
Published Australian study proves 'humans are planet's most frightening predator'
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study demonstrates that kangaroos, wallabies and other Australian marsupials fear humans far more than any other predator.
Published New AI accurately predicts fly behavior
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers trained an AI model to accurately predict male fruit flies' courtship behavior in response to any sight of a female. This breakthrough offers new insight into how the brain processes visual data and may someday pave the way for artificial vision technology.
Published Cuddled cows who work as therapy animals showed a strong preference for women compared to men, study finds
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study reveals that cows who are cuddled as therapy animals showed a strong preference for interactions with women when compared to men. In turn, the research, which opens a new era on whether some therapies may be initially stronger based upon gender and not procedure, highlighted that the women also reported greater attachment behaviors towards the steers.
Published New insights into the degradation dynamics of organic material in the seafloor
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Many processes in the deep sea are not yet well understood, and the role of microbial communities in particular is often a big unknown. This includes, for example, how organic material that sinks from the water surface to the ocean floor is metabolised -- an important building block for a better understanding of the global carbon cycle.
Published Study finds widespread 'cell cannibalism,' related phenomena across tree of life
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers describe cell-in-cell phenomena in which one cell engulfs and sometimes consumes another. The study shows that cases of this behavior, including cell cannibalism, are widespread across the tree of life. The findings challenge the common perception that cell-in-cell events are largely restricted to cancer cells. Rather, these events appear to be common across diverse organisms, from single-celled amoebas to complex multicellular animals.
Published Detecting odors on the edge: Researchers decipher how insects smell more with less
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source While humans feature a sophisticated sense of smell, insects have a much more basic olfactory system. Yet they depend upon smell to survive. Scientists have figured out how fruit flies use a simple but efficient system to recognize odors, and the answer lies at the edges of their antennae.
Published Researchers discover hidden step in dinosaur feather evolution
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists discover 'zoned development' in dinosaur skin, with zones of reptile-style scales and zones of bird-like skin with feathers. A new dinosaur skin fossil has been found to be composed of silica -- the same as glass.
Published Can coal mines be tapped for rare earth elements?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A team of geologists analyzed 3,500 samples taken in and around coal mines in Utah and Colorado. Their findings open the possibility that these mines could see a secondary resource stream in the form of rare earth metals used in renewable energy and numerous other high-tech applications.
Published Extreme complexity in formation of rare earth mineral vital for tech industry
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have unveiled that myriad, intricate factors influence the genesis and chemistry of bastnasite and rare earth carbonates, which are critically needed for today's tech industry and its hardware outputs. Their work unveils a newly acquired depth of understanding that had previously been unexplored in this field. In combination, the findings mark a significant advancement and promise to reshape our understanding of rare earth mineral formation.
Published Subduction zone splay faults compound hazards of great earthquakes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Groundbreaking research has provided new insight into the tectonic plate shifts that create some of the Earth's largest earthquakes and tsunamis.
Published Ancient arachnid from coal forests of America stands out for its spiny legs
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The spiny legged 308-million-year-old arachnid Douglassarachne acanthopoda was discovered the famous Mazon Creek locality.
Published Otters, especially females, use tools to survive a changing world
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Sea otters are one of the few animals that use tools to access their food, and a new study has found that individual sea otters that use tools -- most of whom are female -- are able to eat larger prey and reduce tooth damage when their preferred prey becomes depleted.
Published How neighboring whale families learn each other's vocal style
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have developed a method to investigate sperm whale communication by determining their vocal style, finding that groups living in close proximity can develop similar styles to each other.
Published How did sabre-toothed tigers acquire their long upper canine teeth?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In a groundbreaking study an international team of scientists has investigated the evolutionary patterns behind the development of sabre teeth, with some unexpected results along the way.
Published Spider silk sound system
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have investigated how spiders listen to their environments through webs and found that the webs match the acoustic particle velocity for a wide range of sound frequencies. Playing sound ranging from 1 Hz to 50 kHz for the spiders and measuring the spider silk motion with a laser vibrometer, they found the sound-induced velocity of the silk was the same as the particles in the air surrounding it. This confirmed the mechanism that these spiders use to detect their prey.
Published Jet-propelled sea creatures could improve ocean robotics
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have discovered that colonies of gelatinous sea animals swim through the ocean in giant corkscrew shapes using coordinated jet propulsion, an unusual kind of locomotion that could inspire new designs for efficient underwater vehicles.
Published Eurasian jays can use 'mental time travel' like humans, study finds
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Eurasian jays can remember incidental details of past events, which is characteristic of episodic memory in humans, according to a new study.