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59 articles from ScienceDaily

A tiny ancient relative of dinosaurs and pterosaurs discovered

Dinosaurs and pterosaurs may be known for their remarkable size, but a newly described species that lived around 237 million years ago suggests that they originated from extremely small ancestors. The fossil reptile, named Kongonaphon kely, or 'tiny bug slayer,' would have stood just 10 centimeters tall. The study may help explain the origins of flight in pterosaurs, the presence of 'fuzz' on both...

First direct evidence of ocean mixing across the Gulf Stream

A new study provides first direct evidence for Gulf Stream blender effect, identifying a new mechanism of mixing water across the swift-moving current. The results have important implications for weather, climate and fisheries because ocean mixing plays a critical role in these processes. The Gulf Stream is one of the largest drivers of climate and biological productivity from Florida to...

Group genomics drive aggression in honey bees

Researchers often study the genomes of individual organisms to try to tease out the relationship between genes and behavior. A new study of Africanized honey bees reveals, however, that the genetic inheritance of individual bees has little influence on their propensity for aggression. Instead, the genomic traits of the hive as a whole are strongly associated with how fiercely its soldiers attack.

Norman Conquest of 1066 did little to change people's eating habits

Archaeologists have combined the latest scientific methods to offer new insights into life during the Norman Conquest of England. Until now, the story of the Conquest has primarily been told from evidence of the elite classes of the time. But little has been known about how it affected everyday people's lives.

Age-related impairments reversed in animal model

Frailty and immune decline are two main features of old age. Researchers now demonstrate in an animal model that these two age-related impairments can be halted and even partially reversed using a novel cell-based therapeutic approach.

White dwarfs reveal new insights into the origin of carbon in the universe

A new analysis of white dwarf stars supports their role as a key source of carbon in galaxies. Every carbon atom in the universe was created by stars, but astrophysicists still debate which types of stars are the primary source of the carbon in our galaxy. Some studies favor low-mass stars that blew off their envelopes in stellar winds and became white dwarfs, while others favor massive stars that...

How does Earth sustain its magnetic field?

Life as we know it could not exist without Earth's magnetic field and its ability to deflect dangerous ionizing particles. It is continuously generated by the motion of liquid iron in Earth's outer core, a phenomenon called the geodynamo. Despite its fundamental importance, many questions remain unanswered about the geodynamo's origin. New work examines how the presence of lighter elements in the...

Biological factories: How do bacteria build up natural products?

The active agents of many drugs are natural products, so called because often only microorganisms are able to produce the complex structures. Similar to the production line in a factory, large enzyme complexes put these active agent molecules together. Biologists have now succeeded in investigating the basic mechanisms of one of these molecular factories.

Consumers prefer round numbers even when the specific number is better news

Consider this scenario: A vaccine for the novel coronavirus has been developed that is 91.27% effective. If public health officials present this information using the specific number, people are likely to think the vaccine is actually less effective than if it is presented as being 90% effective. This concept is a real-life application of recent findings from Gaurav Jain, an assistant professor of...

Heatwave trends accelerate worldwide

The first comprehensive worldwide assessment of heatwaves down to regional levels has revealed that in nearly every part of the world heatwaves have been increasing in frequency and duration since the 1950's. The research has also produced a new metric, cumulative heat, which reveals exactly how much heat is packed into individual heatwaves and heatwave seasons. As expected, that number is also on...

Order from noise: How randomness and collective dynamics define a stem cell

Without stem cells, human life would not exist. Due to them, a lump of cells becomes an organ, and a fertilized egg develops into a baby. But what actually makes a stem cell? Are these a stable population of specially gifted cells? Scientists discovered that instead, stem cells might emerge due to the collective behavior of cells within the organs.

Epigenetics: What the embryo can teach us about cell reprogramming

Cell reprogramming provides an outstanding opportunity for the artificial generation of stem cells for regenerative medicine approaches in the clinic. As current cell reprogramming methods are low in efficiency, researchers around the globe aim to learn lessons from the early embryo which might lead them to a more efficient and faster generation of high-quality, fully reprogrammed stem cells.

Light a critical factor in limiting carbon uptake, even in the north

A new study demonstrates that even when temperatures warm and cold stress is limited, light is still a major factor in limiting carbon uptake of northern high latitudes. The team analyzed satellite observations, field measurements, and model simulations and showed that there is a prevalent radiation limitation on carbon uptake in northern ecosystems, especially in autumn.

Why it's no last orders for the Tequila bat

Scientists studying the 'near threatened' tequila bat, best known for its role in pollinating the Blue Agave plant from which the drink of the same name is made from, have analyzed its DNA to help inform conservationists on managing their populations.

Owner behavior affects effort and accuracy in dogs' communications

Researchers have found that dogs adapt their communicative strategies to their environment and that owner behavior influences communicative effort and success. Experimental results found no evidence that dogs rely on communication history or follow the principle of least effort and suggest that owner behavior has a bigger impact on canine communication than previously thought.

Optical amplifiers: Highest peak power and excellent stability

Optical amplifiers based on chirped pulse amplification (CPA) are used to generate high intensity pulses. In the CPA scheme, a weak temporally stretched seed pulse is amplified to high energy in a laser amplifier and finally re-compressed resulting in an ultrashort pulse of very high intensity.

Targeted deep brain stimulation to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder

Researchers have further refined the use of deep brain stimulation in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder. By accurately localizing electrode placement in the brains of patients, the researchers were able to identify a fiber tract which is associated with the best clinical outcomes following deep brain stimulation.