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Categories: Environmental: Water, Offbeat: General
Published Florida fossil porcupine solves a prickly dilemma 10-million years in the making
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source An exceptionally rare fossilized porcupine skeleton discovered in Florida has allowed researchers to trace the evolutionary history for one of North America's rarest mammals.
Published Warmer wetter climate predicted to bring societal and ecological impact to the Tibetan Plateau
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source According to a paper, climate and weather predictions of increased rainfall will lead to an exponential expansion of land-locked lakes on the Tibetan Plateau, resulting in major land loss and related economic, environmental and climatic impacts.
Published Echidnapus identified from an 'Age of Monotremes'
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Australian researchers have found evidence of the oldest known platypus and a new species, dubbed 'echidnapus', which has a platypus-like anatomy alongside features that more closely resemble an echidna.
Published AI headphones let wearer listen to a single person in a crowd, by looking at them just once
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Engineers have developed an artificial intelligence system that lets someone wearing headphones look at a person speaking for three to five seconds to 'enroll' them. The system then plays just the enrolled speaker's voice in real time, even as the pair move around in noisy environments.
Published Entomologist sheds light on 250-year-old mystery of the German cockroach
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Entomologists have solved the 250-year-old origin puzzle of the most prevalent indoor urban pest insect on the planet: the German cockroach. The team's research findings, representing the genomic analyses of over 280 specimens from 17 countries and six continents, show that this species evolved some 2,100 years ago from an outdoor-living species in Asia.
Published Controlling water, transforming greenhouse gases
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have outlined a way to manipulate water molecules to make CO2R more efficient, with the ultimate goal of creating a clean energy loop. Through their new method, the team was able to perform CO2R with nearly 100% efficiency under mildly acidic conditions, using either gold or zinc as catalysts.
Published Caterpillars can detect their predators by the static electricity they emit
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Caterpillars respond defensively to electric fields similar to those emitted by their natural predators, scientists have found.
Published Imperceptible sensors made from 'electronic spider silk' can be printed directly on human skin
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have developed a method to make adaptive and eco-friendly sensors that can be directly and imperceptibly printed onto a wide range of biological surfaces, whether that's a finger or a flower petal.
Published Breakthrough discovery uses engineered surfaces to shed heat
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Splash a few drops of water on a hot pan and if the pan is hot enough, the water will sizzle and the droplets of water seem to roll and float, hovering above the surface. The temperature at which this phenomenon, called the Leidenfrost effect, occurs is predictable, usually happening above 230 degrees Celsius. A team has now discovered a method to create the aquatic levitation at a much lower temperature.
Published Innovative material for sustainable building
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers introduce a polymer-based material with unique properties. This material allows sunlight to enter, maintains a more comfortable indoor climate without additional energy, and cleans itself like a lotus leaf. The new development could replace glass components in walls and roofs in the future.
Published Renewable grid: Recovering electricity from heat storage hits 44% efficiency
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Closing in on the theoretical maximum efficiency, devices for turning heat into electricity are edging closer to being practical for use on the grid, according to new research.
Published Key role of plant-bacteria communication for the assembly of a healthy plant microbiome supporting sustainable plant nutrition
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In an interdisciplinary study, researchers discovered that symbiotic bacteria communicate with legume plants through specific molecules and that this communication influences which bacteria grow near the plant roots. The findings provide insights into how plants and soil bacteria form beneficial partnerships for nutrient uptake and resilience. These results are a step towards understanding how communication between plants and soil bacteria can lead to specific beneficial associations providing plants with nutrients.
Published Birth of universe's earliest galaxies observed for first time
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have now seen the formation of three of the earliest galaxies in the universe, more than 13 billion years ago. The sensational discovery contributes important knowledge about the universe.
Published Psychedelic drug-induced hyperconnectivity in the brain helps clarify altered subjective experiences
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study shows that the use of psilocybin, a compound found in the widely known 'magic mushrooms,' initiates a pattern of hyperconnectivity in the brain linked to the ego-modifying effects and feelings of oceanic boundlessness. The findings help explain the so-called mystical experiences people report during the use of psychedelics and are pertinent to the psychotherapeutic applications of psychedelic drugs to treat psychiatric disorders such as depression.
Published Planet hunters unveil massive catalog of strange worlds
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source While thousands of planets have been discovered around other stars, relatively little is known about them. A NASA catalog featuring 126 exotic, newly discovered worlds includes detailed measurements that allow for comparisons with our own solar system.
Published The global clean water crisis looms large
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Water scarcity will intensify with climate and socioeconomic change, disproportionately impacting populations located in the Global South.
Published First pictures from Euclid satellite reveal billions of orphan stars
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The first scientific pictures from the Euclid satellite mission have revealed more than 1,500 billion orphan stars scattered throughout the Perseus cluster of galaxies.
Published Constantly on the hunt for food: Harbor porpoises more vulnerable than previously thought
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Constantly on the hunt for food: Harbor porpoises more vulnerable than previously thought to the disturbances from humans. The small whales spend more than 60 percent of their day hunting small fish to stay warm in the cold waters. New research shows that harbor porpoises spend little energy on this hunting strategy, but that it makes them vulnerable to human disturbance.
Published Potentially habitable 'exo-Venus' with Earth-like temperature discovered
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Astronomers have made the rare and tantalizing discovery of an Earth-like exoplanet 40 light-years away that may be just a little warmer than our own world. The potentially-habitable planet, named Gliese 12 b, orbits its host star every 12.8 days, is comparable in size to Venus -- so slightly smaller than Earth -- and has an estimated surface temperature of 42 C (107 F), which is lower than most of the 5,000-odd exoplanets confirmed so far. That is assuming it has no atmosphere, however, which is the crucial next step to establishing if it is habitable.
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.