ScienceDaily: Featured - December 17, 2023
Featured research news
Scientists measure the distance to stars by their music
A team of astronomers has used asteroseismology, or the study of stellar oscillations, to accurately measure the distance of stars from the Earth. Their research examined thousands of stars and checked the measurements taken during the Gaia mission to study the near Universe.
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Coevolution helps Santa's reindeer feast after flight
A new study suggests that it's not Rudolph's red nose that helps reindeer find food during snowy Arctic winters, but instead a unique adaptation of their eyes to their favorite food. Reindeer may have developed their unique ability to see in the ultraviolet spectrum so they can more easily spot their primary food, the algae-fungus fusion known as lichens -- which absorb UV -- in the winter landscape. The findings help explain the long-standing scientific mystery as to why reindeer -- including Rudolph and his fellow airborne ungulates from the classic story --Â can see in UV.
'Long flu' has emerged as a consequence similar to long COVID
New research comparing the viruses that cause the flu and COVID-19 shows that people hospitalized with seasonal influenza also can suffer long-term, negative health effects, especially involving their lungs and airways. The study also found that in the 18 months after infection, patients hospitalized for either COVID-19 or seasonal influenza faced an increased risk of death, hospital readmission, and other health problems.
A new analysis sheds light on the ancestry and genetics of woolly dogs, a now extinct breed of dog that was a fixture of Indigenous Coast Salish communities in the Pacific Northwest for millennia. Anthropologists and biologists analyzed genetic clues preserved in the pelt of 'Mutton,' the only known woolly dog fleece in the world, to pinpoint the genes responsible for their highly sought-after woolly fur. The study's findings include interviews contributed by several Coast Salish co-authors, including Elders, Knowledge Keepers and Master Weavers, who provided crucial context about the role woolly dogs played in Coast Salish society.
Reaching for the (invisible) stars
Supernovae -- stellar explosions as bright as an entire galaxy -- have fascinated us since time immemorial. Yet, there are more hydrogen-poor supernovae than astrophysicists can explain. Now, scientists may have found the missing precursor star population.
Can you change a chicken into a frog, a fish or a chameleon?
Researchers have developed a theoretical framework that can reproduce and predict the patterns associated with gastrulation in a chicken embryo.  Â
A new study of the remains of prehistoric and modern African antelopes found that AI technology accurately identified animals more than 90% of the time compared to humans, who had much lower accuracy rates depending on the expert.
AI study reveals individuality of tongue's surface
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and 3D images of the human tongue have revealed that the surface of our tongues are unique to each of us, new findings suggest. The results offer an unprecedented insight into the biological make-up of our tongue's surface and how our sense of taste and touch differ from person to person.
Do you celebrate your birthday in the same month as your mum? If so, you are not alone. The phenomenon occurs more commonly than expected -- a new study of millions of families has revealed.Â
Viking dentistry was surprisingly advanced
Widespread caries and toothache -- but also some dental work and filing of front teeth. Viking Age teeth from Varnhem bear witness to surprisingly advanced dentistry.
Unexpected chemistry reveals cosmic star factories´ secrets
Two galaxies in the early universe, which contain extremely productive star factories, have been studied by a team of scientists. Using powerful telescopes to split the galaxies' light into individual colors, the scientists were amazed to discover light from many different molecules -- more than ever before at such distances. Studies like this could revolutionize our understanding of the lives of the most active galaxies when the universe was young, the researchers believe.
Enzymes can't tell artificial DNA from the real thing
Researchers have come one step closer to unlocking the potential of synthetic DNA, which could help scientists develop never-before-seen proteins in the lab.
Breastfeeding alters infant gut in ways that boost brain development, may improve test scores
Breastfeeding, even partially alongside formula feeding, changes the chemical makeup -- or metabolome -- of an infant's gut in ways that positively influence brain development and may boost test scores years later, suggests new research. Â
Scientists unveil complete cell map of a whole mammalian brain
Researchers have created a complete cell atlas of a whole mammalian brain. This atlas serves as a map for the mouse brain, describing the type, location, and molecular information of more than 32 million cells and providing information on connectivity between these cells.
Ultra-hard material to rival diamond discovered
Scientists have solved a decades-long puzzle and unveiled a near unbreakable substance that could rival diamond, as the hardest material on earth, a study says. Researchers found that when carbon and nitrogen precursors were subjected to extreme heat and pressure, the resulting materials -- known as carbon nitrides -- were tougher than cubic boron nitride, the second hardest material after diamond.
Cause of pregnancy sickness -- and potential treatment
A new study has shown why many women experience nausea and vomiting during pregnancy -- and why some women, including the Duchess of Cambridge, become so sick they need to be admitted to hospital. The culprit is a hormone produced by the fetus -- a protein known as GDF15. But how sick the mother feels depends on a combination of how much of the hormone is produced by the fetus and how much exposure the mother had to this hormone before becoming pregnant.
What happens in the brain while daydreaming?
During quiet waking, brain activity in mice suggests the animals are daydreaming about a recent image. Having daydreams about a recently viewed image predicted how the brain would respond to the image in the future. The findings provide a clue that daydreams may play a role in brain plasticity.
Using next-gen CRISPR tool, scientists create unprecedented molecular map of human immune response
In a study of historic scale, scientists have created an intricate map of how the immune system functions, examining the detailed molecular structures governing human T cells using the next-generation CRISPR tool known as base editing. Their findings uncover detailed information that could help overcome the limitations of today's immunotherapies and identify new drug targets for a wide range of diseases, including autoimmune diseases and cancer.Â
Some icy exoplanets may have habitable oceans and geysers
A new study expands the search for life beyond our solar system by indicating that 17 exoplanets (worlds outside our solar system) could have oceans of liquid water, an essential ingredient for life, beneath icy shells. Water from these oceans could occasionally erupt through the ice crust as geysers. The science team calculated the amount of geyser activity on these exoplanets, the first time these estimates have been made. They identified two exoplanets sufficiently close where signs of these eruptions could be observed with telescopes.
Twenty-year study confirms California forests are healthier when burned -- or thinned
A 20-year experiment in the Sierra Nevada confirms that different forest management techniques -- prescribed burning, restoration thinning or a combination of both -- are effective at reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfire in California. These treatments also improve forest health, making trees more resilient to stressors like drought and bark beetles, and they do not negatively impact plant or wildlife biodiversity within individual tree stands, the research found.
Hallmark quantum behavior in bouncing droplets
In a study that could help fill some holes in quantum theory, the team recreated a 'quantum bomb tester' in a classical droplet test.
14-inch spacecraft delivers new details about 'hot Jupiters'
The Colorado Ultraviolet Transit Experiment (CUTE) spacecraft is about the size of a cereal box. It has also recorded incredibly detailed measurements of the atmospheres of planets hundreds of light-years from Earth.
Archaeologists unearth one of earliest known frame saddles
Recovered from looters, a new archaeological discovery from a cave in western Mongolia could change the story of the evolving relationship between humans and horses around the world.Â
How a drought led to the rise of skateboarding in 1970s California
Why did professional skateboarding arise in southern California in the 1970s? Was it a coincidence, or was it a perfect storm of multiple factors? It's fairly well-known that a drought in southern California in the mid-1970s led to a ban on filling backyard swimming pools, and these empty pools became playgrounds for freestyle skateboarders in the greater Los Angeles area. But a new cross-disciplinary study shows that beyond the drought, it was the entanglement of environmental, economic and technological factors that led to the explosive rise of professional skateboarding culture in the 1970s.
This Japanese 'dragon' terrorized ancient seas
Researchers have described a Japanese mosasaur the size of a great white shark that terrorized Pacific seas 72 million years ago. The mosasaur was named for the place where it was found, Wakayama Prefecture. Researchers call it the Wakayama Soryu, which means blue dragon.
Extremely rare bird captured on film
A striking and extremely rare half-female, half-male bird has been spotted by a zoologist.
'Exceptional' results in phase III leukemia trial
Leukaemia trial shows 'exceptional' results. Personalized treatment for the most common form of adult leukemia helps patients survive for longer and stay in remission, a phase III trial has found. Adult patients were given a combination of cancer growth blocking drugs over varied durations depending on how rapidly their disease responded.  More than 19 in 20 patients were in remission three years after starting treatment -- a significant improvement in progression-free and overall survival compared to standard treatment.