The BirdNET app, a free machine-learning powered tool that can identify over 3,000 birds by sound alone, generates reliable scientific data and makes it easier for people to contribute citizen-science data on birds by simply recording sounds.
Update noise regulations to protect seals, porpoises
Scientists review recent experiments and find noise regulations may need to be changed to protect porpoises, seals, and other sea-dwelling mammals. Current guidance for seals and porpoises is based on few measurements in a limited frequency range; the guidance is still valid for these frequencies, but investigators found substantial deviations...
Is AI good or bad for the climate? It’s complicated
Experts in AI, climate change, and public policy present a framework for understanding the complex and multifaceted relationship of AI with greenhouse gas emissions, and suggest ways to better align AI with climate change goals.
Seismic noise analysis could help monitor potential hazards in active mine
An active underground mine can be a seismically noisy environment, full of signals generated by heavy machinery at work and induced seismicity. Now, researchers working with data from a longwall coal mine demonstrate a way to extract and separate the signals generated from mining activity from the background seismic noise...
Natural gas used in homes contains hazardous air pollutants
Every day, millions of Americans rely on natural gas to power appliances such as kitchen stoves, furnaces, and water heaters, but until now very little data existed on the chemical makeup of the gas once it reaches consumers.
New way in which T cells learn to tell friend from foe
Researchers identify new mechanism that teaches immune cells-in-training to spare the body's own tissues while attacking pathogens. As part of this early education, specialized thymus cells 'pose' as different tissues, teaching the immune system how to recognize both friend and foe. Immune cells that mistakenly react to the body's own...
Microbe protects honey bees from poor nutrition, a significant cause of colony loss
Researchers have identified a specific bacterial microbe that, when fed to honey bee larvae, can reduce the effects of nutritional stress on developing bees.
Fossils in the ‘Cradle of Humankind’ may be more than a million years older than previously thought
For decades, scientists have studied these fossils of early human ancestors and their long-lost relatives. Now, a dating method developed by geologists just pushed the age of some of these fossils found at the site of Sterkfontein Caves back more than a million years. This would make them older than...
Top predators could ‘trap’ themselves trying to adapt to climate change
Over a 30-year period, African wild dogs shifted their average birthing dates later by 22 days, an adaptation that allowed them to match the birth of new litters with the coolest temperatures in early winter. But as a result of this significant shift, fewer pups survived their most vulnerable period...
Urban density strongly correlates with house sparrow health
A new study shows that house sparrows' health closely correlates with urban density, and that sparrows are carrying surprisingly high loads of lead in their bodies.