Showing 20 articles starting at article 361

< Previous 20 articles        Next 20 articles >

Categories: Anthropology: General, Offbeat: General

Return to the site home page

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

'Weird' new planet retained atmosphere despite nearby star's relentless radiation      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A rare exoplanet that should have been stripped down to bare rock by its nearby host star's intense radiation somehow grew a puffy atmosphere instead -- the latest in a string of discoveries forcing scientists to rethink theories about how planets age and die in extreme environments. Nicknamed 'Phoenix' for its ability to survive its red giant star's radiant energy discovered planet illustrates the vast diversity of solar systems and the complexity of planetary evolution -- especially at the end of stars' lives.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Offbeat: General
Published

A new way of designing auxetic materials      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Auxetics defy common sense, widening when stretched and narrowing when compressed. Researchers have now made the process of using them much easier, paving the way for new types of auxetic products -- from better sneaker insoles to blast-resilient buildings.

Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Zoology Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: General Ecology: Animals Mathematics: Modeling Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Using AI to decode dog vocalizations      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Have you ever wished you could understand what your dog is trying to say to you? Researchers are exploring the possibilities of AI, developing tools that can identify whether a dog's bark conveys playfulness or aggression.

Ecology: General Energy: Alternative Fuels Energy: Technology Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Geography Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General
Published

Some countries could meet their total electricity needs from floating solar panels      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Floating solar photovoltaic panels could supply all the electricity needs of some countries, new research has shown. The researchers calculated the daily electrical output for floating photovoltaics (FPV) on nearly 68,000 lakes and reservoirs around the world, using available climate data for each location.

Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: Sea Life Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Gigantic Jurassic pterosaur fossil unearthed in Oxfordshire, UK      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A team of palaeontologists has discovered a fossil of a gigantic flying reptile from the Jurassic period with an estimated wingspan of more than three metres -- making it one of the largest pterosaurs ever found from that era.

Mathematics: General Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
Published

Unraveling the physics of knitting      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A team used experiments and simulations to quantify and predict how knit fabric response can be programmed. By establishing a mathematical theory of knitted materials, the researchers hope that knitting -- and textiles in general -- can be incorporated into more engineering and manufacturing applications.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineering: Robotics Research Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
Published

A technique for more effective multipurpose robots      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

MIT researchers developed a technique to combine robotics training data across domains, modalities, and tasks using generative AI models. They create a combined strategy from several different datasets that enables a robot to learn to perform new tasks in unseen environments.

Anthropology: Cultures Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Crucial shift in River Nile's evolution during ancient Egypt discovered      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have explored how the River Nile evolved over the past 11,500 years and how changes in its geography could have helped shape the fortunes of ancient Egyptian civilization. Research reveals a major shift in the Nile around four thousand years ago, after which the floodplain in the Nile Valley around Luxor greatly expanded.

Energy: Alternative Fuels Energy: Technology Engineering: Nanotechnology Engineering: Robotics Research Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Enhancing nanofibrous acoustic energy harvesters with artificial intelligence      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have employed artificial intelligence techniques to improve the design and production of nanofibers used in wearable nanofiber acoustic energy harvesters (NAEH). These acoustic devices capture sound energy from the environment and convert it into electrical energy, which can then be applied in useful devices, such as hearing aids.

Offbeat: General
Published

Brain waves shape the words we hear      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The timing of our brain waves shapes which words we hear. Researchers used psychophysics, neuroimaging, and computational modeling to test whether neural timing influences perception of more or less frequent speech sounds and words. Neural timing is sensitive to the probability of words vs. sounds in different brain regions, shaping sound and word recognition.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Captivating blue-colored ant discovered in India's remote Siang Valley      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new species of blue ant was discovered in Yingku village in Arunachal Pradesh, Northeastern India. It was named Paraparatrechina neela, after the word 'neela' which means blue in various Indian languages. Its unique blue coloration makes it stand out among other ant species.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Ecology: Animals Ecology: Nature Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Food drove the evolution of giraffes' long neck      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A study explores body proportions of Masai giraffes, lending insight into why giraffes have such long necks and how this trait might have evolved.

Anthropology: General Archaeology: General
Published

Kinship and ancestry of the Celts in Baden-Württemberg, Germany      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The Celtic culture of the pre-Roman Iron Age in Western and Central Europe has left numerous traces to this day, not least in the form of enormous burial mounds and spectacular archaeological artifacts. Despite this rich legacy, much about this civilization remains hidden from us.

Offbeat: General
Published

The unexpected connection between brewing coffee and understanding turbulence      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Using unconventional statistical mechanics to understand fluid dynamics, a professor helped solve a 150 year old physics problem of how turbulent fluids move through a pipe.

Biology: Evolutionary Biology: Marine Ecology: Nature Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: General
Published

An unlikely hero in evolution: Worms      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

One of Earth's most consequential bursts of biodiversity -- a 30-million-year period of explosive evolutionary changes spawning innumerable new species -- may have the most modest of creatures to thank for the vital stage in life's history: worms.

Archaeology: General Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
Published

Could the world famous Roman Baths help scientists counter the challenge of antibiotic resistance?      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study has uncovered a diverse array of microorganisms within the hot waters of the Roman Baths, regularly listed among the UK's most popular tourist attractions. Tests showed 15 of the isolated bacteria -- including examples of Proteobacteria and Firmicutes -- displayed varying levels of inhibition against human pathogens including E.coli, Staphylococcus Aureus and Shigella flexneri.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Exploration Space: General Space: The Solar System
Published

Glimpses of a volcanic world: New telescope images of Jupiter's moon Io rival those from spacecraft      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Combining a new imaging instrument with the powerful adaptive optics capabilities of the Large Binocular Telescope, astronomers have captured a volcanic event on Jupiter's moon Io at a resolution never before achieved with Earth-based observations.

Biology: General Biology: Zoology Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

'Ugly' fossil places extinct saber-toothed cat on Texas coast      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

This fossil looks like a lumpy, rounded rock with a couple of exposed teeth that are a little worse for wear, having been submerged and tumbled along the floor of the Gulf of Mexico for thousands of years before washing up on a beach. But when it was X-rayed a doctoral student saw there was more to the fossil that met the eye: a hidden canine tooth that had not yet erupted from the jaw bone. It was just what researchers needed to identify the fossil as belonging to a Homotherium, a genus of large cat that roamed much of the Earth for millions of years.