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72 articles from PhysOrg

Tapirs and large peccaries are key to ecological balance in Neotropical forests, study shows

A study conducted by researchers affiliated with São Paulo State University (UNESP) in Brazil shows that large mammals have a major impact on plant diversity, primary productivity and biomass in the understory of Neotropical forests. Species like the lowland tapir (Tapirus terrestris) and white-lipped peccary (Tayassu peccari) help keep an ecological balance in areas such as the Atlantic...

Extraordinary black hole found in neighboring galaxy

Astronomers have discovered a black hole unlike any other. At one hundred thousand solar masses, it is smaller than the black holes we have found at the centers of galaxies, but bigger than the black holes that are born when stars explode. This makes it one of the only confirmed intermediate-mass black holes, an object that has long been sought by astronomers.

New study calls into question the importance of meat eating in shaping our evolution

Quintessential human traits such as large brains first appear in Homo erectus nearly 2 million years ago. This evolutionary transition towards human-like traits is often linked to a major dietary shift involving greater meat consumption. A new study published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, however, calls into question the primacy of meat eating in early human...

Team demonstrates molecular electronics sensors on a semiconductor chip

The first molecular electronics chip has been developed, realizing a 50-year-old goal of integrating single molecules into circuits to achieve the ultimate scaling limits of Moore's Law. Developed by Roswell Biotechnologies and a multi-disciplinary team of leading academic scientists, the chip uses single molecules as universal sensor elements in a circuit to create a programmable biosensor with...

Calf personality, feeding, and growth: When one style doesn't fit all

In a natural setting, cows and nursing calves together set the feeding schedule for the calf, and calves wean gradually, completing weaning at varying ages. By contrast, in artificial rearing systems with minimal cow-calf contact, the weaning schedule may be strictly determined, with reductions of milk intake based solely on the calf's age. But how well do different calves thrive under different...

Overweight dogs respond well to high-protein, high-fiber diet

A study of overweight dogs fed a reduced calorie, high-protein, high-fiber diet for 24 weeks found that the dogs' body composition and inflammatory markers changed over time in ways that parallel the positive changes seen in humans on similar diets. The dogs achieved a healthier weight without losing too much muscle mass, and their serum triglycerides, insulin and inflammatory markers all...

Squatina mapama, new species from Panama: First report of an angel shark from the Central American Caribbean

Between 2010 and 2011, two research expeditions sponsored by the Spanish government exploring the biodiversity of benthic organisms—those living on the ocean floor—on Central America's Pacific and Caribbean coasts, came across a new shark species. The Squatina mapama n. sp., collected off the Caribbean coast of Panama became the first record of an angel shark from the Central American...

Researchers find new way of gaining quantum control from loss

Researchers at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) have demonstrated a new way to control the quantum state through the loss of particles—a process that is usually avoided in the quantum device, offering a new way towards the realization of unprecedented quantum states.

Impact of the pandemic on rural shopping habits

Researchers at the University of Southampton have explored how the pandemic has impacted the shopping habits and attitudes of consumers aged 65+ living and shopping in rural communities in the South of England.

Webb's journey to L2 Is nearly complete

On Monday, Jan. 24, engineers plan to instruct NASA's James Webb Space Telescope to complete a final correction burn that will place it into its desired orbit, nearly 1 million miles away from the Earth at what is called the second Sun-Earth Lagrange point, or "L2" for short.

The cutting of the child tax credit expansion could leave many families without enough food on the table

The discontinuation of the Biden administration's monthly payments of the child tax credit could leave millions of American families without enough food on the table, according to our new study in JAMA Network Open. The first missed payment on Jan. 15, 2022, left families that had come to rely on them wondering how they would make ends meet, according to many news reports.

Novel mathematical models illuminate light propagation in nonlinear optical fibers

Data traffic is rapidly growing and can soon overload the current internet infrastructure. The key to solve this overload problem is to improve the data transmission over optical fibers. Vinicius Oliari defended his Ph.D. on new, more accurate mathematical tools to better understand how light propagates through optical fibers the high power, nonlinear regime. These tools are an important step to...

How to optimize the process of polymer extrusion

Extrusion is a process widely used in the polymer processing industry. It involves pushing material through a die with a specific cross-sectional shape, resulting in products like profiles, thin sheets, films and tubes. However, the shape of the final product (the so-called extrudate) is highly influenced by a phenomenon called swell. Ph.D. candidate Michelle Spanjaards has developed a numerical...

Biologists discover new insect species

Its name sounds legendary, but the newly discovered insect Neuroterus (noo-ROH'-teh-rus) valhalla doesn't look or act the part. It's barely a millimeter long and spends 11 months of the year locked in a crypt.