ScienceDaily: Featured - December 01, 2024
Featured research news
Satellite evidence bolsters case that climate change caused mass elephant die-off
A new study has provided further evidence that the deaths of 350 African elephants in Botswana during 2020 were the result of drinking from water holes where toxic algae populations had exploded due to climate change.
Image: Shutterstock.com
Coral adaptation unlikely to keep pace with global warming
Coral adaptation to ocean warming and marine heatwaves will likely be overwhelmed without rapid reductions of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to an international team of scientists.
More than a million years ago, on a hot savannah teeming with wildlife near the shore of what would someday become Lake Turkana in Kenya, two completely different species of hominins may have passed each other as they scavenged for food. Scientists know this because they have examined 1.5-million-year-old fossils they unearthed and have concluded they represent the first example of two sets of hominin footprints made about the same time on an ancient lake shore. The discovery will provide more insight into human evolution and how species cooperated and competed with one another, the scientists said.
Clinical trial reveals twice-yearly injection to be 96% effective in HIV prevention
Recent results from a recent clinical trial indicate that a twice-yearly injection of Lenacapavir offers an overall 96% reduced risk of acquiring HIV. This makes Lenacapavir significantly more effective than the standard daily oral PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis).
First new treatment for asthma attacks in 50 years
A recent trial finds an injection given during some asthma and COPD attacks is more effective than the current treatment of steroid tablets, reducing the need for further treatment by 30%.
Early North Americans made needles from fur-bearers
Paleoindians at Wyoming's LaPrele mammoth site made needles from the bones of fur-bearers, likely to creat garments from the animals' furs to keep warm in a cool climate.
Nanorobot hand made of DNA grabs viruses for diagnostics and blocks cell entry
A tiny, four-fingered 'hand' folded from a single piece of DNA can pick up the virus that causes COVID-19 for highly sensitive rapid detection and can even block viral particles from entering cells to infect them, researchers report. Dubbed the NanoGripper, the nanorobotic hand also could be programmed to interact with other viruses or to recognize cell surface markers for targeted drug delivery, such as for cancer treatment.
Discovering the traits of extinct birds
Analysis of 216 extinct species by biologists found birds endemic to islands, occupied ecologically specific niche, lacking flight, with large bodies and sharply angled wings were the ones likely to disappear the soonest after 1500.
Moving 'hotspot' created world's longest straight underwater mountain belt
New research has revealed that the Ninetyeast Ridge -- the Earth's longest straight underwater mountain chain -- formed through a different process than previously believed. Stretching 5000 km along the Indian Ocean's 90-degree east longitude and nearly matching the length of North America's Rocky Mountains, the ridge offers crucial new insights into the movement of the Earth's tectonic plates.
'Genetic time machine' reveals complex chimpanzee cultures
Chimpanzees are known for their remarkable intelligence and use of tools, but could their cultures also evolve over time like human cultures? A new, multidisciplinary study suggests that some of their most advanced behaviors may have been passed down and refined through generations.
Fossil dung reveals clues to dinosaur success story
Researchers have been able to identify undigested food remains, plants and prey in the fossilized feces of dinosaurs. These analyses of hundreds of samples provide clues about the role dinosaurs played in the ecosystem around 200 million years ago.
Simple secret to living a longer life
Increasing physical activity levels could extend your life up to 11 more years according to new research using accelometry data. The study found that for the least active people in the population, a single one-hour walk could return a benefit of six additional hours of life.
World's oldest lizard wins fossil fight
A storeroom specimen that changed the origins of modern lizards by millions of years has had its identity confirmed.
Unexplained heat-wave 'hotspots' are popping up across the globe
A striking new phenomenon is emerging: distinct regions are seeing repeated heat waves that are so extreme, they fall far beyond what any model of global warming can predict or explain. A new study provides the first worldwide map of such regions, which show up on every continent except Antarctica like giant, angry skin blotches.
Inside the 'swat team' -- how insects react to virtual reality gaming
Humans get a real buzz from the virtual world of gaming and augmented reality but now scientists have trialled the use of these new-age technologies on small animals, to test the reactions of tiny hoverflies and even crabs. In a bid to comprehend the aerodynamic powers of flying insects and other little-understood animal behaviors, the study is gaining new perspectives on how invertebrates respond to, interact with and navigate virtual 'worlds' created by advanced entertainment technology.
Brain test shows that crabs process pain
Researchers have demonstrated that painful stimuli are sent to the brain of shore crabs providing more evidence for pain in crustaceans. EEG style measurements show clear neural reactions in the crustacean's brain during mechanical or chemical stimulation.
Astronomers may have discovered the answer to a mysterious stellar event
Researchers have made a record-breaking astrophysical discovery while simultaneously uncovering a possible explanation for the rare and extreme astrophysical event known as long-period radio transients.
Delay and pay: Climate tipping point costs quadruple after waiting
The cost of reversing the effects of climate change -- restoring melted polar sea ice, for example -- quickly climbs nearly fourfold soon after a tipping point is crossed, according to new work. Much work has been done to explore the environmental costs tied to climate change. But this new study marks the first time researchers have quantified the costs of controlling tipping points before and after they unfold.
Magnetic tornado is stirring up the haze at Jupiter's poles
Dark ovals in Jupiter's polar haze, visible only at UV wavelengths, were first noticed 25 years ago, then ignored. A new study shows that these dark UV ovals are common, appearing at the south pole in 75% of Hubble Space Telescope images taken since 2015. They appear less often at the north pole. The scientists theorize that a magnetic vortex generated in the ionosphere stirs up and concentrates the hydrocarbon haze that blankets the poles.
Uranus's swaying moons will help spacecraft seek out hidden oceans
A new computer model can be used to detect and measure interior oceans on the ice covered moons of Uranus. The model works by analyzing orbital wobbles that would be visible from a passing spacecraft. The research gives engineers and scientists a slide-rule to help them design NASA's upcoming Uranus Orbiter and Probe mission.
A clue to what lies beneath the bland surfaces of Uranus and Neptune
When Voyager 2 flew by Uranus and Neptune 40 years ago, astronomers were surprised that it detected no global dipole magnetic fields, like Earth's. The explanation: the ice giants are layered and unmixed, which prevents large scale convection to create a dipole field. But what substances would remain immiscible? A scientist modeled the interiors and found that water-rich and hydrocarbon-rich layers naturally form at extreme pressure and temperature, and they do not mix.
New study reveals the explosive secret of the squirting cucumber
A team has solved a mystery that has intrigued scientists for centuries: how does the squirting cucumber squirt? The findings were achieved through a combination of experiments, high-speed videography, image analysis, and advanced mathematical modelling.
Prehistoric hunter-gatherers heard the elks painted on rocks 'talking'
Researchers performed acoustic impulse response measurements in front of 37 rock painting site and found that the same vertical rock surfaces that have the painted elks, humans and boats, are also effective sound reflectors.
Focaccia: A Neolithic culinary tradition dating back 9,000 years ago
A new study indicates that during the Late Neolithic, between 7000 and 5000 BCE, the fully agricultural communities in the Fertile Crescent region of the Near East, developed a complex culinary tradition that included the baking of large loaves of bread and 'focaccias' with different flavors on special trays known to archaeologists as husking trays.
Bats' amazing plan B for when they can't hear
When bats can't hear, new research finds that these hearing-dependent animals employ a remarkable compensation strategy.
New AI tool generates realistic satellite images of future flooding
With help from AI, scientists developed a method that generates satellite imagery from the future to depict how a region would look after a potential flooding event.
Pandrug-resistant bacteria from the war in Ukraine are extremely pathogenic
It has been a year ago since bacteria from war-wounded at hospitals in Ukraine were analyzed. The study showed that some of the bacteria types had total resistance to antibiotics. Now, the same researchers have examined the infectiousness of the bacteria. 'The bacterium 'Klebsiella pneumoniae', which is resistant to all antibiotics, is also particularly aggressive and dangerous,' says the lead author of the study.
Novel supernova observations grant astronomers a peek into the cosmic past
An international team of researchers has made new observations of an unusual supernova, finding the most metal-poor stellar explosion ever observed.
Most energetic cosmic-ray electrons and positrons ever observed
Scientists have recently identified electrons and positrons with the highest energies ever recorded on Earth. They provide evidence of cosmic processes emitting colossal amounts of energy, the origins of which are as yet unknown.