When light conditions rapidly change, our eyes have to respond to this change in fractions of a second to maintain stable visual processing. This is necessary when, for example, we drive through a forest and thus move through alternating stretches of shadows and clear sunlight. In situations like these, a...
New methods for whale tracking and rendezvous using autonomous robots
Today, a research team has proposed a new reinforcement learning framework with autonomous drones to find sperm whales and predict where they will surface.
How life began on earth: modeling Earth’s ancient atmosphere
This model reveals how vastly different the atmosphere was on ancient Earth, and how life may have first emerged.
Alcohol consumption among non-human animals may not be as rare as previously thought, say ecologists
Anecdotes abound of wildlife behaving 'drunk' after eating fermented fruits, but despite this, nonhuman consumption of ethanol has been assumed to be rare and accidental. Ecologists now challenge this assumption. They argue that since ethanol is naturally present in nearly every ecosystem, it is likely consumed on a regular basis...
It’s not to be. Universe too short for Shakespeare typing monkeys
It would take far longer than the lifespan of our universe for a typing monkey to randomly produce Shakespeare, a new study reveals.
Nanoplastics can reduce the effectiveness of antibiotics
An international research team has investigated how nanoplastic particles deposited in the body affect the effectiveness of antibiotics. The study showed that the plastic particles not only impair the effect of the drugs, but could also promote the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
12 new Oriental weevil species discovered using advanced imaging tools
Two of these new species are present in Japan: Aphanerostethus magnus (Oo-daruma-kuchikakushi-zoumushi) and Aphanerostethus japonicus (Nippon-daruma-kuchikakushi-zoumushi). One of these, Aphanerostethus japonicus, is also found in Yanbaru National Park, Okinawa. This is the first time x-ray microtomography has been used to remove obscuring scales to examine underlying differences in morphology for...
Crunching fruit fly and human data via machine learning and systems biology results in the identification of key metabolites that impact lifespan in both species
Discoveries that impact lifespan and healthspan in fruit flies are usually tested in mice before being considered potentially relevant in humans, a process that is expensive and time intensive. A pioneering approach leapfrogs over that standard methodology and identifies a metabolite that may hold promise as a target for aging.
Reactor could make direct air capture more energy efficient
Researchers have developed an electrochemical reactor that has the potential to drastically reduce energy consumption and cost for direct air capture.
Weddell seals in the Antarctic strategically time their most extreme dives to maximize foraging
Weddell seals in Erebus Bay, Antarctica, may look like couch potatoes when they are resting on ice. However, these seals, which are the southernmost population of the southernmost living mammals, are exceptional divers that can reach depths of more than 900 meters and recorded dives lasting 96 minutes, which is...