Singing sexy back: How sparrows adapted to COVID-19 shutdown
As the streets of San Francisco emptied out in the first months of the pandemic, the city's male birds began singing more softly and improving their vocal range, making them "sexier" to females, according to a new study published Thursday.
Scientists discover a natural food pigment that can distinguish between living and dead cells in cell cultures
Conducting studies in vitro—a Latin term that literally means "in the glass"—is essential in the fields of medicine and biology. Working with in vitro cultures is a relatively cost-effective and easily repeatable way of gaining insight into the interactions between cells or microorganisms and specific chemical compounds, such as drugs, nutrients, and toxins. However, to properly assess the...
Tracking shape changes in Amazon fish after major river is dammed
A team of biologists led by Craig Albertson and Ph.D. student Chaise Gilbert at the University of Massachusetts Amherst report this week on their comparison between museum collections of cichlid fishes collected before a dam was closed in 1984 on the Tocantins River in the Amazon and contemporary specimens taken from the Tucuruí Reservoir by fishermen 34 years later.
How earthquake swarms arise
Earthquakes can be abrupt bursts of home-crumbling, ground-buckling energy when slices of the planet's crust long held in place by friction suddenly slip and lurch.
New nemertean species found in Panama represents the first of its genus from the Caribbean
As Natsumi Hookabe snorkeled around Panama's Bocas del Toro archipelago, during the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute's Training in Tropical Taxonomy program, she encountered an unusual ribbon worm or nemertean: large and dark colored, with numerous pale spots. It was her first field trip outside of Japan, so she wondered if it was a rare species or just one that she had never seen before.
COVID-19 shapes political approval ratings
Approval ratings of political leaders surged in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Researchers demonstrate how deep learning can advance study of neural degeneration
Researchers from North Carolina State University have demonstrated the utility of artificial intelligence (AI) in identifying and categorizing neural degeneration in the model organism C. elegans. The tool uses deep learning, a form of AI, and should facilitate and expedite research into neural degeneration.
New education 'hubs' for Deaf children needed to replace social spaces lost when specialist schools close
New dedicated hubs for Deaf children are needed around the country to provide new social spaces, education and support, an expert has said.
NASA nets Dolphin as an extratropical storm
NASA's Aqua satellite caught a visible image of Dolphin after it passed east central Japan on Sept. 24, where it became an extratropical storm in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean.
Secondary variant of Photorhabdus luminescens interacts with plant roots
One of the basic approaches in organic farming is to use organisms beneficial to the system to combat pests. The bacterium Photorhabdus luminescens is one such beneficial organism. In the case of insect larvae infestation, the bacterium produces a variety of different toxins which quickly kill the larvae. Yet, it seems this is not the only ability of Photorhabdus that can be exploited for organic...
Post-Tropical Storm Teddy in NASA Newfoundland nighttime view
NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite provided an infrared image of Post-tropical cyclone Teddy over the province of Newfoundland, Canada in the early morning hours of Sept. 24.
New app helps students self-monitor behavior, stay on task
Many students face challenges staying focused and on task in the classroom. Now that the COVID-19 pandemic has transformed many homes into classrooms, those struggles have become even more challenging for parents, students and teachers. University of Kansas researchers have developed a web-based, self-monitoring system that has proven to help students stay on task, reduce disruptive behavior,...
NASA estimating Beta's rains moving into the Tennessee valley
Using a NASA satellite rainfall product that incorporates data from satellites and observations, NASA estimated Post-tropical Cyclone Beta's rainfall rates as it moved over Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee. Beta continues a steady northeast track into Mississippi, bringing heavy rainfall across Mississippi into the Tennessee Valley.
Scientists achieve higher precision weak force measurement between protons, neutrons
Through a one-of-a-kind experiment at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, nuclear physicists have precisely measured the weak interaction between protons and neutrons. The result quantifies the weak force theory as predicted by the Standard Model of Particle Physics.
New system detects faint communications signals using the principles of quantum physics
Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have devised and demonstrated a system that could dramatically increase the performance of communications networks while enabling record-low error rates in detecting even the faintest of signals, potentially decreasing the total amount of energy required for state-of-the-art networks by a factor of 10 to 100.
Finding the Achilles' heel of a killer parasite
Two studies led by UT Southwestern researchers shed light on the biology and potential vulnerabilities of schistosomes—parasitic flatworms that cause the little-known tropical disease schistosomiasis. The findings, published online today in Science, could change the course of this disease that kills up to 250,000 people a year.
Neandertals have adopted male sex chromosome from modern humans
In 1997, the very first Neandertal DNA sequence—just a small part of the mitochondrial genome—was determined from an individual discovered in the Neander Valley, Germany, in 1856. Since then, improvements in molecular techniques have enabled scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology to determine high quality sequences of the autosomal genomes of several Neandertals,...
Experts lead research into impact of climate change on rainforest elephants
Experts from the University of Stirling, working closely with the Government of Gabon, have led an international study into the impact of climate change on Central Africa's rainforests and the threat posed to elephant populations in the region.
Mystery of giant proton pump solved
Mitochondria are the powerhouses of our cells, generating energy that supports life. A giant molecular proton pump, called complex I, is crucial: It sets in motion a chain of reactions, creating a proton gradient that powers the generation of ATP, the cell's fuel. Despite complex I's central role, the mechanism by which it transports protons across the membrane has so far been unknown. Now, Leonid...
Unusual climate conditions influenced WWI mortality and subsequent Spanish flu pandemic
Scientists have spotted a once-in-a-century climate anomaly during World War I that likely increased mortality during the war and the influenza pandemic in the years that followed.
A self-erasing chip for security and anti-counterfeit tech
Self-erasing chips developed at the University of Michigan could help stop counterfeit electronics or provide alerts if sensitive shipments are tampered with.
Satellite finds wind shear affecting Tropical Storm Lowell
NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite passed over the Eastern North Pacific Ocean and captured a visible image of Tropical Storm Lowell that revealed the storm was dealing with wind shear.
Metal wires of carbon complete toolbox for carbon-based computers
Transistors based on carbon rather than silicon could potentially boost computers' speed and cut their power consumption more than a thousandfold—think of a mobile phone that holds its charge for months—but the set of tools needed to build working carbon circuits has remained incomplete until now.
Air Force, SpaceX mum about sky-high rocket costs
Five years ago, Elon Musk, the multibillionaire CEO of the SpaceX rocket company, smashed his way into the business of launching U.S. military and intelligence satellites, a lucrative market that had been cornered for nearly a decade by United Launch Alliance.
A minuscule spacecraft joins a pilot's epic journey to fly from pole to pole
On November 16, 2019, pilot and author Robert DeLaurentis took off on an ambitious adventure. Setting out from San Diego county's Gillespie Field, he banked toward Grand Prairie, Texas on the first leg of a pole to pole expedition. At each stop along the way he planned to talk about STEM education, aviation safety and technology, all with the intention of encouraging and inspiring the next...