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25 articles from ScienceDaily

'Golden' fossils reveal origins of exceptional preservation

A recent study found that many of the fossils from Germany's Posidonia shale do not get their gleam from pyrite, commonly known as fool's gold, which was long thought to be the source of the shine. Instead, the golden hue is from a mix of minerals that hints at the conditions in which the fossils formed. The discovery is important for understanding how the fossils -- which are among the world's...

A touch-responsive fabric armband -- for flexible keyboards, wearable sketchpads

It's time to roll up your sleeves for the next advance in wearable technology -- a fabric armband that's actually a touch pad. Researchers say they have devised a way to make playing video games, sketching cartoons and signing documents easier. Their proof-of-concept silk armband turns a person's forearm into a keyboard or sketchpad. The three-layer, touch-responsive material interprets what a...

Joyful music could be a game changer for virtual reality headaches

Listening to music could reduce the dizziness, nausea and headaches virtual reality users might experience after using digital devices, research suggests. Cybersickness -- a type of motion sickness from virtual reality experiences such as computer games -- significantly reduces when joyful music is part of the immersive experience, the study found. The intensity of the nausea-related symptoms of...

A stormy, active sun may have kickstarted life on Earth

The first building blocks of life on Earth may have formed thanks to eruptions from our Sun, a new study finds. A series of chemical experiments show how solar particles, colliding with gases in Earth's early atmosphere, can form amino acids and carboxylic acids, the basic building blocks of proteins and organic life.

'Zero plant extinction' is possible, says plant ecologist

Like animals, many plant species are struggling to adapt to a human-dominated planet. However, plants are often overlooked in conservation efforts, even though they are cheaper and easier to protect than animals and play a pivotal role in bolstering our food, fuel, and medical systems. A plant ecologist suggests an approach for preventing all future land plant extinctions across the globe which...

Could wearables capture well-being?

Applying machine learning models, a type of artificial intelligence (AI), to data collected passively from wearable devices can identify a patient's degree of resilience and well-being, according to investigators. The findings support wearable devices as a way to monitor and assess psychological states remotely without requiring the completion of mental health questionnaires.

Fish thought to help reefs have feces that's deadly to corals

Marine biologists found the feces of fish that were long thought to promote healthy reefs can damage and, in some cases, kill corals in controlled experiments, possibly due to high levels of coral pathogens. Conversely, the feces of coral predators were found to contain high levels of beneficial bacteria and could act like a 'coral probiotic,' the researchers say.

Too much water can make whiskies taste the same

While adding a little water is popularly thought to 'open up' the flavor of whisky, a new study indicates there's a point at which it becomes too much: about 20%. Researchers chemically analyzed how volatile compounds in a set of 25 whiskies responded to the addition of water, including bourbons, ryes, Irish whiskeys and both single malt and blended Scotches. They also had a trained sensory panel...