160 articles from TUESDAY 5.10.2021

The genetic basis of tail-loss evolution in humans and apes

NYU researchers at the Tandon School of Engineering and the Grossman School of Medicine are trying to understand an age-old question that bedeviled most of us at some point: Why do all the other animals have tails, but not me? The loss of the tail is one of the main anatomical evolutionary changes to have occurred along the lineage leading to humans and to the "anthropomorphous apes." The loss of...

Bat souvenir trade and risks to public health

Little is known about the global bat souvenir trade, its extent and impact on bat populations and forest ecosystems, and the potential risks posed to public health with bats known carriers of zoonotic diseases.

Late persistence of human ancestors at the margins of the monsoon in India

The longest lasting tool-making tradition in prehistory, known as the Acheulean, appears more than 1.5 million years ago in Africa and 1.2 million years ago in India, and mainly consists of stone handaxes and cleavers (Figure 1). New research led by the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History has re-examined a key Acheulean site at the margins of the monsoon zone in the Thar Desert,...

Can butterfly wings help detect COVID-19 faster?

An international team, led by Swinburne University of Technology and Australian National University (ANU), have made a breakthrough discovery that could potentially lead to faster, more accurate molecular or virus tests, including for COVID-19.

Soil microorganism provides clues into the breakdown of natural red dye

Although it is widely used in the food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries worldwide, the breakdown of carminic acid (a natural red dye extracted from insects) in nature has remained unclear. Through a combination of biochemical and structural analyses, researchers from Japan have now provided insight into this puzzle.

Convergence: Courage in a Crisis review – pandemic film dilutes the outrage

Nine stories from the Covid frontlines deliver emotional punch, but the documentary’s desire for a global message blunts its impact“I can’t breathe” went mainstream as a rallying cry during the Black Lives Matter protests of summer 2020, just as respiratory difficulties of a different kind were beginning to exact an increasingly frightening toll across the world. This panoramic and often...

Trio of scientists win Nobel prize for physics for climate work

Sykuro Manabe, Klaus Hasselmann and Giorgio Parisi share award for advancing climate knowledgeThree scientists have won the 2021 Nobel prize in physics for their groundbreaking contributions to our understanding of complex physical systems – including how humanity influences the Earth’s climate.The winners, Syukuro Manabe, Klaus Hasselmann and Giorgio Parisi, will share the award, announced on...

Revealing the secrets of ground beetle wing casings

The striking colors of many creatures in nature result from their structures at a microscopic or even nanoscopic level. A good example of this is the metallic coloring of certain beetles. Researchers have paid increased attention to understanding what causes the effects found in nature, so that they can recreate these properties in so-called biomimetic materials. A team from The University of...

Innovative sensor specifically and precisely detects molecules

Researchers of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and Technical University of Darmstadt have developed a novel sensor for gas molecules by combining a graphene transistor with a customized metal-organic coating. The innovative sensor specifically and precisely detects molecules and represents the prototype of an entirely new class of sensors. The ethanol sensor developed responds to neither...

Seahorses are terrible swimmers but great predators

Seahorses are not exactly Olympic swimmers—in fact, they're considered to be particularly poor swimmers. Despite being relatively slow, however, they are adept at preying on small, quick-moving animals. In a new study conducted at Tel Aviv University, researchers have succeeded in characterizing the incredible preying capability of seahorses, discovering that they can move their head up at the...

Study: Growing potential for toxic algal blooms in the Alaskan Arctic

Changes in the northern Alaskan Arctic ocean environment have reached a point at which a previously rare phenomenon—widespread blooms of toxic algae—could become more commonplace, potentially threatening a wide range of marine wildlife and the people who rely on local marine resources for food. That is the conclusion of a new study about harmful algal blooms (HABs) of the toxic algae...

Sounding rocket mission to offer snapshot of sun's magnetic field

Measuring a magnetic field isn't so hard if you're inside of it. Measuring a magnetic field remotely—whether from across a room, across a country, or 93 million miles away—is an entirely different story. But that's exactly what a team of NASA scientists and international collaborators aim to do with the CLASP2.1 mission: measure the magnetic field in a critical slice of the sun's atmosphere...