ScienceDaily: All - March 04, 2024
Today's top research news
An evolutionary mystery 125 million years in the making
Plant biologists have uncovered an evolutionary mystery over 100 million years in the making. It turns out that sometime during the last 125 million years, tomatoes and Arabidopsis thaliana plants experienced an extreme genetic makeover. Just what happened remains unclear. But the mystery surrounds CLV3, a gene key to healthy plant growth and development.
Image: thale cress blossoms, lehic/shutterstock.com
Webb unlocks secrets of one of the most distant galaxies ever seen
Looking deeply into space and time, astronomers have studied the exceptionally luminous galaxy GN-z11, which existed when our 13.8 billion-year-old universe was only about 430 million years old.
New dressing robot can 'mimic' the actions of care-workers
Scientists have developed a new robot that can 'mimic' the two-handed movements of care-workers as they dress an individual.
It's not just you: Young people look, feel older when they're stressed
A new study finds younger adults look and feel older on stressful days -- but only on days when they also feel they have relatively less control over their own lives.
A new neuroimaging study reveals how the brain gets to the creative flow state.
A model for the evolution of intelligence
When certain species of wild birds and primates discover new ways of finding food in the wild, it can serve to measure their flexibility and intelligence. In the largest experimental study ever conducted on this topic, researchers have shown that foraging problems requiring overcoming obstacles, such as removing the lid off a container of food, are the only predictors of brain size and innovative behavior in the wild.
Unraveling the mystery of chiton visual systems
You'd probably walk past a chiton without even seeing it. These creatures often look like nothing more than another speck of seaweed on the crusty intertidal rocks. But it sees you. At least, if it's one of the species with eyes dotting its platemail shell.
Tests show high-temperature superconducting magnets are ready for fusion
A comprehensive study of high-temperature superconducting magnets confirms they meet requirements for an economic, compact fusion power plant.
Firearm ownership is correlated with elevated lead levels in children, study finds
Childhood lead exposure, primarily from paint and water, is a significant health concern in the United States, but a new study has identified a surprising additional source of lead exposure that may disproportionately harm children: firearms. A team found an association between household firearm ownership and elevated lead levels in children's blood in 44 states, even when controlling for other major lead exposure sources.
Beyond the ink: Painting with physics
Falling from the tip of a brush suspended in mid-air, an ink droplet touches a painted surface and blossoms into a masterpiece of ever-changing beauty. It weaves a tapestry of intricate, evolving patterns. Some of them resemble branching snowflakes, thunderbolts or neurons, whispering the unique expression of the artist's vision.
2020 extreme weather event that brought fires and snow to western US
The same weather system that led to the spread of the devastating Labor Day wildfires in 2020 brought record-breaking cold and early-season snowfall to parts of the Rocky Mountains. Now, new research is shedding light on the meteorology behind what happened and the impacts of such an extreme weather event.
Orcas demonstrating they no longer need to hunt in packs to take down the great white shark
An orca (killer whale) has been observed, for the first-ever time, individually consuming a great white shark -- and within just two minutes.
Evolution-capable AI promotes green hydrogen production using more abundant chemical elements
A research team has developed an AI technique capable of expediting the identification of materials with desirable characteristics. Using this technique, the team was able to discover high-performance water electrolyzer electrode materials free of platinum-group elements -- substances previously thought to be indispensable in water electrolysis. These materials may be used to reduce the cost of large-scale production of green hydrogen -- a next-generation energy source.