366 articles from THURSDAY 22.10.2020

DNA in fringe-lipped bat poop reveals unexpected eating habits

Poop is full of secrets. For scientists, digging into feces provides insights into animal diets and is particularly useful for understanding nocturnal or rare species. When animals eat, prey DNA travels all the way through animal digestive tracts and comes out again. Poop contains very precise information about the prey species consumed. At the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI), a...

Collaboration sparks new model for ceramic conductivity

As insulators, metal oxides—also known as ceramics—may not seem like obvious candidates for electrical conductivity. While electrons zip back and forth in regular metals, their movement in ceramic materials is sluggish and difficult to detect.

Turning streetwear into solar power plants

Researchers at Empa and ETH Zurich succeeded in developing a material that works like a luminescent solar concentrator and can even be applied to textiles. This opens up numerous possibilities for producing energy directly where it is needed, i.e. in the use of everyday electronics.

Aerial images detect and track food security threats for millions of African farmers

New research shows how a combination of imagery from mobile phones, drones and satellites can be used to clamp down on banana threats. The images of varying resolutions are fed into a platform "trained" through machine learning to identify banana crops and analyze threats with 97% overall accuracy. The findings were published in the ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing.

These Winged Dinosaurs Hurtled Through the Trees like Haywire Hang Gliders

During a blip in time in the late Jurassic, a dinosaur that weighed no more than a chinchilla flung itself from tree to tree, spread its wings and tried to soar. In theory, it sounds beautiful -- an early attempt at flight before birds figured out the blueprint.In practice, it was chaotic.The dinosaur, Yi qi, only barely managed to glide, stretching out and shimmying its skin-flap, downy-feathered...

Ancient Maya built sophisticated water filters

Ancient Maya in the once-bustling city of Tikal built sophisticated water filters using natural materials they imported from miles away, according to new research. A multidisciplinary team of anthropologists, geographers and biologists identified quartz and zeolite, a crystalline compound consisting of silicon and aluminum, that created a natural molecular sieve. Both minerals are used in modern...

Galactic archaeology

Computational astrophysics study modeled for the first time faint supernovae of metal-free first stars, yielding carbon-enhanced abundance patterns for star formation. Study investigated formation of first stars and the origin of elements heavier than hydrogen, helium, lithium.

A promising discovery could lead to better treatment for Hepatitis C

Virologists have identified a critical role played by a cellular protein in the progression of Hepatitis C virus infection, paving the way for more effective treatment. No vaccine currently exists for Hepatitis C virus infection, which affects more than 130 million people worldwide and nearly 250,000 Canadians. Antivirals exist but are expensive and not readily available in developing countries,...

Ancient origins of speed control during movement

Movement in animals is complex. Little has been known about how spinal inhibitory interneurons work to silence other neurons and related muscle groups in coordination with the active muscle groups across changing speeds. Now a research team has discovered in a study of zebrafish that there is a very orderly relationship between when these critical inhibitory neurons are born, their participation...

AI detects hidden earthquakes

Tiny movements in Earth's outermost layer may provide a Rosetta Stone for deciphering the physics and warning signs of big quakes. New algorithms that work a little like human vision are now detecting these long-hidden microquakes in the growing mountain of seismic data.

How'd we get so picky about friendship late in life? Ask the chimps

When humans age, they tend to favor small circles of meaningful, already established friendships rather than seek new ones. People are also more likely to lean toward positive relationships rather than ones that bring tension or conflict. These behaviors were thought to be unique to humans but it turns out chimpanzees, one of our closest living relatives, have these traits, too. The study shows...

Colorado wildfires drag on later than normal, break records

While it could be an apocalyptic scene out of a movie, it has become the reality of Colorado's wildfire season. One of Colorado’s smaller fires exploded late Wednesday from 30 square miles (78 square kilometers) to 196 square miles (508 square kilometers) and closed Rocky Mountain National Park. Fire officials say it has so far burned 265 square miles (686 square...

Chimps pare down their social circle in later years – study

Researchers say chimpanzees and humans share same pattern of social ageingThere is more that comes with older age than greying hair and wrinkled skin. When humans reach their later years, they favour more established friends and their social circle is pared down.Now, for what appears to be the first time, scientists have seen the same behaviour in another species. More than two decades of...

Researchers develop an efficient, low-energy method for upcycling polyethylene plastic waste into valuable molecules

When we started using plastics about 70 years ago, not much thought—if any—was given to the implications of their lifespan and the fact that they can take centuries to decompose. Consequently, as plastics have diversified and become easier to manufacture, the planet is now straddling some 8.3 billion tons of the stuff—almost every bit of plastic ever produced—without enough technology or...

The next generation of biodiversity conservation targets must aim higher than ever

Nearly three decades have passed since world leaders agreed to reverse biodiversity loss. It hasn't gone according to plan. This year, the current decade of biodiversity conservation targets are set to expire well short of the goal line. The world needs to change strategies if we are to have any hope for biodiversity. A global group of scientists has provided advice for a more successful...

When fracking moves into the neighborhood, mental health risks rise

Hydraulic fracturing has boomed in the U.S. over the past decade, but unless you live near it, you may not realize just how close fracking wells can be to homes and schools. In Colorado, the wellbore—the hole drilled to extract oil or gas—can be 500 feet from someone's house under current state rules. In some states, like Texas, drilling can be even closer.