218 articles from FRIDAY 12.6.2020

Artificial intelligence makes blurry faces look more than 60 times sharper

Researchers have developed an AI tool that can turn blurry faces into eerily convincing computer-generated portraits, in finer detail than ever before. Previous methods can scale an image to eight times its original resolution. But a team has come up with a way to take a handful of pixels and create realistic-looking faces with up to 64 times the resolution, 'imagining' features such as eyelashes...

Statistical analyses of plant metabolites allow solid testing of plant defense theories

Do plants attacked by herbivores produce substances that are most effective against attackers in a targeted manner, or are herbivore-induced changes in a plant metabolism random, which could thwart the performance of herbivores? Scientists have tested these long-standing hypotheses for the first time using the coyote tobacco Nicotiana attenuata and its close relatives. They combined extensive...

Bird feeding helps females more than males

A new study shows that female birds benefit more from extra food in the winter. If females receive additional food, they do not need to reduce their body temperature as much as they would have otherwise, and the chances of surviving cold nights increase.

Protecting scientific diversity

The COVID-19 pandemic means that scientists face great challenges because they have to reorient, interrupt or even cancel research and teaching. A team of international scientists are highlighting the precarious situation of many scientists and calling for a collective effort by the scientific community, especially from its leadership, to protect decades of effort to build an inclusive scientific...

Where have the swans gone?

Nearly 13 kilometers per year: that is the rate at which the wintering area of Bewick's swans has shifted east over the past 50 years. It's a discovery with consequences for the conservation of this migratory species, writes a team of researchers led by the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW) in Global Change Biology.

Analysing the effects two decades after a mining spill

A group of experts from the University of Seville has carried out a comparative study of the concentrations—both totals as well as fractions—of the metals found in sediment in the River Guadiamar in 2002 with those present in the same area in 2018. After this study, the researchers state that there has been an important fall in the total concentrations, and evolution of the metal fraction...

Twisted microfiber's network responses to water vapor

Researchers at Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST) graduate student Kulisara Budpud, Assoc. Prof. Kosuke Okeyoshi, Dr. Maiko Okajima and, Prof. Tatsuo Kaneko reveal a unique polysaccharide fiber in a twisted structure forming under a drying process which showed spring-like behavior. The spring-like behavior of twisted structures is practically used as a reinforced structure...

New insights on the role of trade unions in struggles for rights

Trade unions are crucial in advancing workers' rights, but it is unhelpful to consider their leaders as representatives of the working class as a whole when analysing labour relations and government policies, a new paper from the University of Warwick Department of Sociology argues.

ESAIL maritime satellite ready for launch

The ESAIL microsatellite for tracking ships worldwide—developed under an ESA Partnership Project—has completed its accommodation on Vega's new dispenser for small satellites and is ready for launch.

Facebook just released a database of 100,000 deepfakes to teach AI how to spot them

Deepfakes⁠ have struck a nerve with the public and researchers alike. There is something uniquely disturbing about these AI-generated images of people appearing to say or do something they didn’t. With tools for making deepfakes now widely available and relatively easy to use, many also worry that they will be used to spread dangerous misinformation. Politicians can have other people’s...

New machine learning model predicts which base editor performs best to repair thousands of disease-causing mutations

Gene editing technology is getting better and growing faster than ever before. New and improved base editors—an especially efficient and precise kind of genetic corrector—inch the tech closer to treating genetic diseases in humans. But, the base editor boom comes with a new challenge: Like a massive key ring with no guide, scientists can sink huge amounts of time into searching for the best...

New species of spiders described in honour of Swedish climate activist

Senckenberg arachnologist Peter Jäger has described a new genus of spiders from Madagascar: Thunberga gen. nov. is comprised of five species of huntsman spiders. The name refers to the Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and her commitment to tackling climate change. Thus, Jäger alerts the public about the threats to Malagasy and global biodiversity. The study was published in the journal...

Staph's activation of blood clotting

Acute bacterial endocarditis—infection of the inner lining of the heart—is most often caused by the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus ("staph") and has up to a 40% mortality rate.