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Categories: Offbeat: General, Paleontology: General

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Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Bat 'nightclubs' may be the key to solving the next pandemic      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers are studying how bats can carry deadly viruses, but not develop symptoms. They found that what happens during swarming behavior -- like social gatherings for bats -- may hold the key to understanding their viral tolerance and translate to human health in fighting off diseases like Ebola and COVID-19.

Biology: Biochemistry Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

A new glue, potentially also for you      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Hydrogels are already used in clinical practice for the delivery of drugs, and as lenses, bone cement, wound dressings, 3D scaffolds in tissue engineering and other applications. However, bonding different hydrogel polymers to one another has remained a challenge; yet it could enable numerous new applications. Now, researchers have pioneered a new method that uses a thin film of chitosan, a fibrous sugar-based material derived from the processed outer skeletons of shellfish, to make different hydrogels instantaneously and strongly stick to each other. They used their approach to locally protect and cool tissues, seal vascular injuries, and prevent unwanted 'surgical adhesions' of internal body surfaces.

Ecology: Sea Life Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
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Why two prehistoric sharks found in Ohio got new names      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Until recently, Orthacanthus gracilis could have been considered the 'John Smith' of prehistoric shark names, given how common it was. Three different species of sharks from the late Paleozoic Era -- about 310 million years ago -- were mistakenly given that same name, causing lots of grief to paleontologists who studied and wrote about the sharks through the years and had trouble keeping them apart. But now a professor has finished the arduous task of renaming two of the three sharks -- and in the process rediscovered a wealth of fossil fishes that had been stored at a museum for years but had been largely forgotten.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: General Ecology: Research Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Giant Antarctic sea spiders reproductive mystery solved      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Instead of carrying the babies until they hatched, as in most species of sea spiders, one parent (likely the father) spent two days attaching the eggs to the rocky bottom where they developed for several months before hatching as tiny larvae.

Offbeat: General
Published

New study analyzes link between digit ratio and oxygen consumption in footballers      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The efficiency of oxygen supply to tissues is a factor in the severity of important diseases such as Covid-19 and heart conditions. Scientists already know that the relationship between the length of a person's index and ring fingers, known as the 2D:4D ratio is correlated with performance in distance running, age at heart attack and severity of Covid-19.

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

Mystery solved: The oldest fossil reptile from the alps is an historical forgery      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Palaeontological analysis shows that a renowned fossil thought to show soft tissue preservation is in fact just paint. The fossil discovered in 1931 was thought to be an important specimen for understanding early reptile evolution. While not all of the celebrated fossil is a forgery, scientists urge caution in how the fossil is utilized in future.

Computer Science: General Energy: Technology Engineering: Nanotechnology Mathematics: General Mathematics: Modeling Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General Physics: Optics
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New chip opens door to AI computing at light speed      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Engineers have developed a new chip that uses light waves, rather than electricity, to perform the complex math essential to training AI. The chip has the potential to radically accelerate the processing speed of computers while also reducing their energy consumption.

Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Searching for clues in the history book of the ocean      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research has shown that the tropical subsurface ocean gained oxygen during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (commonly referred to as PETM). During this short-lived interval of time in Earth s history that occurred 56 million years ago the average temperatures rose by up to six degrees within a few thousand years.

Computer Science: Quantum Computers Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
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1,000 atomic qubits and rising      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Making quantum systems more scalable is one of the key requirements for the further development of quantum computers because the advantages they offer become increasingly evident as the systems are scaled up. Researchers have recently taken a decisive step towards achieving this goal.

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

Evidence of geothermal activity within icy dwarf planets      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A team found evidence for hydrothermal or metamorphic activity within the icy dwarf planets Eris and Makemake, located in the Kuiper Belt. Methane detected on their surfaces has the tell-tale signs of warm or even hot geochemistry in their rocky cores, which is markedly different than the signature of methane from a comet.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Offbeat: General Physics: General
Published

First-ever atomic freeze-frame of liquid water      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists report the first look at electrons moving in real-time in liquid water; the findings open up a whole new field of experimental physics.

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

Diverse ancient volcanoes on Mars discovered by planetary scientist may hold clues to pre-plate tectonic activity on Earth      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A geologist has revealed intriguing insights into the volcanic activity on Mars. He proposes that Mars has significantly more diverse volcanism than previously realized, driven by an early form of crust recycling called vertical tectonics. The findings shed light on the ancient crust of Mars and its potential implications for understanding early crustal recycling on both Mars and Earth.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Physics: General Physics: Quantum Physics Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

A star like a Matryoshka doll: New theory for gravastars      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

If gravitational condensate stars (or gravastars) actually existed, they would look similar to black holes to a distant observer. Two theoretical physicists have now found a new solution to Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity, according to which gravitational stars could be structured like a Russian matryoshka doll, with one gravastar located inside another.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Meow or rooaaar: Exotic cats' ability to recognize familiar caregivers' voices      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Biologists present compelling evidence that exotic cats possess the remarkable ability to discriminate between familiar and unfamiliar human voices.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular Biology: Zoology Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Ancient retroviruses played a key role in the evolution of vertebrate brains      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers report that ancient viruses may be to thank for myelin -- and, by extension, our large, complex brains. The team found that a retrovirus-derived genetic element or 'retrotransposon' is essential for myelin production in mammals, amphibians, and fish. The gene sequence, which they dubbed 'RetroMyelin,' is likely a result of ancient viral infection, and comparisons of RetroMyelin in mammals, amphibians, and fish suggest that retroviral infection and genome-invasion events occurred separately in each of these groups.

Anthropology: General Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Ecology: Nature Paleontology: Dinosaurs Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
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A lighthouse in the Gobi desert      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study explores the weight great fossil sites have on our understanding of evolutionary relationships between fossil groups and quantified the power these sites have on our understanding of evolutionary history. Surprisingly, the authors discovered that the wind-swept sand deposits of the Late Cretaceous Gobi Desert's extraordinarily diverse and well-preserved fossil lizard record shapes our understanding of their evolutionary history more than any other site on the planet.

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

Anthropologists' research unveils early stone plaza in the Andes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Located at the Callacpuma archaeological site in the Cajamarca Basin of northern Peru, the plaza is built with large, vertically placed megalithic stones -- a construction method previously unseen in the Andes.

Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Biology: General Biology: Zoology Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Some Pre-Roman humans were buried with dogs, horses and other animals      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Some people from an ancient community in what is now northern Italy were interred with animals and animal parts from species such as dogs, horses and pigs. The reasons remain mysterious, but might indicate an enduring companion relationship between these humans and animals, or religious sacrificial practices, according to a new study.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General Physics: Optics
Published

A new optical metamaterial makes true one-way glass possible      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have discovered how to make an optical metamaterial that would underpin a variety of new technologies.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular Biology: Zoology Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

By growing animal cells in rice grains, scientists dish up hybrid food      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

From lab-grown chicken to cricket-derived protein, these innovative alternatives offer hope for a planet struggling with the environmental and ethical impacts of industrial agriculture. Now, scientists add a new recipe to the list -- cultured beef rice -- by growing animal muscle and fat cells inside rice grains. The method results in a nutritious and flavorful hybrid food that, once commercialized, could offer a more affordable protein alternative with a smaller carbon footprint.