Gathering vision data for hundreds of vertebrates and invertebrates, biologists have deepened scientists' understanding of animal vision, including the colors they see. The researchers determined that animals adapted to land are able to see more colors than animals adapted to water. Animals adapted to open terrestrial habitats see a wider...
Including all types of emissions shortens timeline to reach Paris Agreement temperature targets
Looking beyond carbon dioxide emissions to include other human-generated pollutants, like methane, nitrogen oxide and particulate pollution, changes the picture for how much warming is already 'baked in' to the climate system. Earth will continue to warm even if all emissions cease, and Earth will be committed to reaching peak...
Indigenous Borneans knew a tree was two distinct species — genetic analysis confirms they were right
Over 200 years ago, a Spanish botanist described Artocarpus odoratissimus, a species of fruit-bearing tree found in Borneo and the Philippines. The Iban people, who are Indigenous to Borneo, know the tree to have two different varieties, which they call lumok and pingan, distinguished by their fruit size and shape....
Vocal non-native songbird could change Britain’s dawn chorus as we know it
A tiny but loud, brightly colored songbird from subtropical Asia could be emerging as a new invasive species in Britain, threatening to dominate the dawn chorus of native Robins, Blackbirds and warblers. A new study warns the Red-billed Leiothrix could become as familiar in gardens, parks and woodland as Ring-necked...
Power up: New polymer property could boost accessible solar power
Researchers have observed structural chirality, a biological property important to photosynthesis, emerging in achiral conjugated polymers. Their discovery could help enhance flexible solar cell design and increase access to affordable renewable energy.
Nanostructured fibers can impersonate human muscles
Researchers have created a new type of fiber that can perform like a muscle actuator, in many ways better than other options that exist today. And, most importantly, these muscle-like fibers are simple to make and recycle.
New research shows long-term personality traits influence problem-solving in zebra finches
Zebra finches innovate solutions to novel foraging tasks, where sometimes success is related to personality type.
The link between temperature, dehydration and tectonic tremors in Alaska
No one is at their best when they are dehydrated and that goes for tectonic plates too. Researchers using a thermomechanical model of the Alaska subduction zone indicates that plate dehydration is at its highest in the region where low-frequency tremors occur, suggesting that the expelled water contributes towards these...
Nor’easters rivaling hurricanes as flood threat to the Mid-Atlantic
While coastal flooding from tropical weather events such as hurricanes tend to get a lot of media attention, a new study from the University of Delaware found that midlatitude weather events like Nor'easters can produce flood levels just as severe and occur much more frequently in the Mid-Atlantic.
The consequences of climate change in the Alps are visible from space
Global warming has a particularly pronounced impact on the Alpine region. Like the Arctic, this European mountain range is becoming greener. Researchers have now used satellite data to show that vegetation above the tree line has increased in nearly 80% of the Alps. Snow cover is also decreasing, albeit so...