ScienceDaily: All - May 10, 2025
Today's top research news
Wasp mums use remarkable memory when feeding offspring
Wasp mothers have stunning brainpower when it comes to feeding their young, new research shows.
Luc Pouliot/Shutterstock.com
Wild chimpanzees alter the meaning of single calls when embedding them into diverse call combinations, mirroring linguistic operations in human language. Human language, however, allows an infinite generation of meaning by combining phonemes into words and words into sentences. This contrasts with the very few meaningful combinations reported in animals, leaving the mystery of human language evolution unresolved.
First fossil evidence of endangered tropical tree discovered
Scientists have discovered fossil evidence of an endangered, living tropical tree species. The unprecedented find was made in Brunei, a country on the large island of Borneo, and reveals a critical piece of the ancient history of Asia's rainforests, highlighting the urgent need for conservation in the region, according to researchers.
Ultrasound unlocks a safer, greener way to make hydrogels
Researchers have developed a new way to create hydrogels using ultrasound, eliminating the need for toxic chemical initiators. This breakthrough offers a faster, cleaner and more sustainable approach to hydrogel fabrication, and produces hydrogels that are stronger, more flexible and highly resistant to freezing and dehydration. The new method also promises to facilitate advances in tissue engineering, bioadhesives and 3D bioprinting.
Antibiotics from human use are contaminating rivers worldwide, study shows
Millions of kilometers of rivers around the world are carrying antibiotic pollution at levels high enough to promote drug resistance and harm aquatic life, a new study warns. The study estimated the scale of global river contamination from human antibiotics use. Researchers calculated that about 8,500 tons of antibiotics -- nearly one-third of what people consume annually -- end up in river systems around the world each year even after in many cases passing through wastewater systems.
A more realistic look at DNA in action
By creating a more true-to-life representation of DNA's environment, researchers have discovered that strand separation may take more mechanical force than the field previously believed.
Computing: Shedding light on shadow branches
Researchers have developed a new technique called 'Skia' to help computer processors better predict future instructions and improve computing performance.
A small bicycle handlebar sensor can help map a region's riskiest bike routes
Researchers have developed a system, called ProxiCycle, that logs when a passing car comes too close to a cyclist (four feet or less). A small, inexpensive sensor plugs into bicycle handlebars and tracks the passes, sending them to the rider's phone. The team tested the system for two months with 15 cyclists in Seattle and found a significant correlation between the locations of close passes and other indicators of poor safety, such as collisions.
A research team has achieved a significant breakthrough in developing broadly protective, live-attenuated influenza vaccines (LAIV). These innovative LAIV platforms offer potential to develop universal influenza vaccines that induce a more robust immune response against various virus subtypes, including both human and avian strains.
Urine, not water for efficient production of green hydrogen
Researchers have developed two unique energy-efficient and cost-effective systems that use urea found in urine and wastewater to generate hydrogen. The unique systems reveal new pathways to economically generate 'green' hydrogen, a sustainable and renewable energy source, and the potential to remediate nitrogenous waste in aquatic environments.
Researchers map 7,000-year-old genetic mutation that protects against HIV
Modern HIV medicine is based on a common genetic mutation. Now, researchers have traced where and when the mutation arose -- and how it protected our ancestors from ancient diseases.
Colonic inflammation explains missing link between obesity and beta-cell proliferation
How does obesity affect insulin production? Researchers are shining light on new stages of the ERK pathway.
World record for lithium-ion conductors
A team partially replaced lithium in a lithium antimonide compound with the metal scandium. This creates specific gaps, so-called vacancies, in the crystal lattice of the conductor material. These gaps help the lithium ions to move more easily and faster, resulting in a new world record for ion conductivity.
Researchers have developed an innovative photodetector capable of detecting a broad range of mid-infrared spectra.
An enzyme as key to protein quality
In neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's, proteins accumulate in the body's cells, fold incorrectly and clump together to form larger aggregates. Normally, cells are able to remove these aggregates themselves. However, if a certain enzyme is blocked, this clean-up process no longer works. The new findings provide a better understanding of the molecular basis of these processes.
Metals and hormone-disrupting substances such as estrogens present a genuine risk to the sustainability of agriculture and water management in Europe. This research provides new insights into the distribution, availability, and risks associated with these pollutants, while also highlighting shortcomings in current regulations.
Fatty liver in pregnancy may increase risk of preterm birth
Pregnant women with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) have an increased risk of giving birth prematurely and the risk increase cannot be explained by obesity, according to a new study.
New ancient fish species earliest known salmon ancestor
The Arctic landscape during the Cretaceous Period may have been dominated by the dinosaurs, but the rivers and streams held something more familiar. Alaska's fresh waters 73 million years ago were teeming with the ancient relatives of today's salmon, pike and other northern fish. A new article has named three new species of fish from that time period, including a salmonid, dubbed Sivulliusalmo alaskensis.
Heat and land use: Bees suffer in particular
In a new study, researchers are investigating the interaction of major global change drivers on insects.
Satellite measures CO2 and NO2 simultaneously from power plant emissions for the first time
A research team used the German environmental satellite EnMAP (Environmental Mapping and Analysis Program) to simultaneously detect the two key air pollutants carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in emission plumes from power plants -- with an unprecedented spatial resolution of just 30 meters. The newly developed method allows for tracking of industrial emissions from space with great precision and enables atmospheric processes to be analyzed in detail.
Amuse, a songwriting AI-collaborator to help create music
Researchers have developed AI technology similar to a fellow songwriter who helps create music.
Bacterium produces 'organic dishwashing liquid' to degrade oil
The marine bacterium Alcanivorax borkumensis feeds on oil, multiplying rapidly in the wake of oil spills, and thereby accelerating the elimination of the pollution, in many cases. It does this by producing an 'organic dishwashing liquid' which it uses to attach itself to oil droplets. Researchers have now discovered the mechanism by which this 'organic dishwashing liquid' is synthesized.
Bringing superconducting nanostructures to 3D
An international team has pioneered a nano-3D printing method to create superconducting nanostructures, leading to groundbreaking technological advancements.
Improving newborn genetic screening
More than a decade ago, researchers launched the BabySeq Project, a pilot program to return newborn genomic sequencing results to parents and measure the effects on newborn care. Today, over 30 international initiatives are exploring the expansion of newborn screening using genomic sequencing (NBSeq), but a new study highlights the substantial variability in gene selection among those programs.
Can frisky flies save human lives?
A scientist decided to find out why a bacterial infection makes fruit flies promiscuous. What he discovered could help curb mosquito-borne diseases and manage crop pests.
New gene linked to severe cases of Fanconi anemia
Mutations in FANCX appear to cause a lethal form of Fanconi anemia, a finding that sheds light on unexplained pregnancy loss and offers new avenues for genetic screening.
Internal clocks determine the ups and downs of Antarctic krill
Antarctic krill do not only react to external environmental influences such as light or food. They also use their internal clock to adapt to the extreme conditions of the polar environment.
Heart rhythm disorder traced to bacterium lurking in our gums
New research shows that the gum disease bacterium P. gingivalis can slip into the bloodstream and infiltrate the heart. There, it quietly drives scar tissue buildup -- distorting the heart's architecture, disrupting electrical signals, and raising the risk of atrial fibrillation.
Machine learning powers new approach to detecting soil contaminants
A team of researchers has developed a new strategy for identifying hazardous pollutants in soil -- even ones that have never been isolated or studied in a lab.
Green fabrication of hybrid materials as highly sensitive X-ray detectors
New bismuth-based organic-inorganic hybrid materials show exceptional sensitivity and long-term stability as X-ray detectors, significantly more sensitive than commercial X-ray detectors. In addition, these materials can be produced without solvents by ball milling, a mechanochemical synthesis process that is environmentally friendly and scalable. More sensitive detectors would allow for a reduction in the radiation exposure during X-ray examinations.
Stability solution brings unique form of carbon closer to practical application
Carbyne, a one-dimensional chain of carbon atoms, is incredibly strong for being so thin, making it an intriguing possibility for use in next-generation electronics, but its extreme instability made it nearly impossible to produce at all, let alone produce enough of it for advanced studies. Now, an international team of researchers may have a solution.
Studies point to redlining as a 'perfect storm' for breast cancer
New research indicates that while the residential segregation policy was outlawed decades ago, it still impacts women's health today.
Chimpanzee groups drum with distinct rhythms
New research from a team of cognitive scientists and evolutionary biologists finds that chimpanzees drum rhythmically, using regular spacing between drum hits. Their results show that eastern and western chimpanzees -- two distinct subspecies -- drum with distinguishable rhythms. The researchers say these findings suggest that the building blocks of human musicality arose in a common ancestor of chimpanzees and humans.
AI tool uses face photos to estimate biological age and predict cancer outcomes
Researchers developed FaceAge, an AI tool that calculate's a patient biological age from a photo of their face. In a new study, the researchers tied FaceAge results to health outcomes in people with cancer: When FaceAge estimated a younger age than a cancer patient's chronological age, the patient did significantly better after cancer treatment, whereas patients with older FaceAge estimates had worse survival outcomes.