ScienceDaily: Featured - November 05, 2023
Featured research news
Rats have an imagination, new research suggests
Researchers have developed a novel system to probe a rat's thoughts, finding that animals can control their brain activity to imagine remote locations.
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Chimpanzees use hilltops to conduct reconnaissance on rival groups -- study
Research on neighboring chimpanzee communities in the forests of West Africa suggests a warfare tactic not previously seen beyond humans is regularly used by our closest evolutionary relatives.
New designs for solid-state electrolytes may soon revolutionize the battery industry
Researchers have announced a major breakthrough in the field of next-generation solid-state batteries. It is believed that their new findings will enable the creation of batteries based on a novel chloride-based solid electrolyte that exhibits exceptional ionic conductivity.
When massive stars or other stellar objects explode in the Earth's cosmic neighborhood, ejected debris can also reach our solar system. Traces of such events are found on Earth or the Moon and can be detected using accelerator mass spectrometry, or AMS for short.
In a surprising finding, light can make water evaporate without heat
At the interface of water and air, light can, in certain conditions, bring about evaporation without the need for heat, according to a new study.
First mice engineered to survive COVID-19 like young, healthy humans
Researchers have genetically engineered the first mice that get a human-like form of COVID-19, according to a new study.
Where is a sea star's head? Maybe just about everywhere
A new study that combines genetic and molecular techniques helps solve the riddle of sea star (commonly called starfish) body plans, and how sea stars start life with bilateral body symmetry -- just like humans -- but grow up to be adults with fivefold 'pentaradial' symmetry.
The remains of an ancient planet lie deep within Earth
The remnants of an ancient planet that collided with Earth to form the Moon lie deep within the earth, according to a new model.
Breakthrough discovery sheds light on heart and muscle health
The human heart, often described as the body's engine, is a remarkable organ that tirelessly beats to keep us alive. At the core of this vital organ, intricate processes occur when it contracts, where thick and thin protein-filaments interact within the sarcomere, the fundamental building block of both skeletal and heart muscle cells. Any alterations in thick filament proteins can have severe consequences for our health, leading to conditions such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and various other heart and muscle diseases.
Nanowire 'brain' network learns and remembers 'on the fly'
Like a collection of 'Pick Up Sticks', this neural network has passed a critical step for developing machine intelligence. For the first time, a physical neural network has successfully been shown to learn and remember 'on the fly', in a way inspired by and similar to how the brain's neurons work. The result opens a pathway for developing efficient and low-energy machine intelligence for more complex, real-world learning and memory tasks.
New research links high salt consumption to risk of Type 2 diabetes
The study surveyed more than 400,000 adults and found that participants who 'sometimes,' 'usually,' or 'always' added salt had a respective 13%, 20%, and 39% higher risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.
Sunflowers famously turn their faces to follow the sun as it crosses the sky. But how do sunflowers 'see' the sun to follow it? Plant biologists show that they use a different, novel mechanism from that previously thought.
Humans are disrupting natural 'salt cycle' on a global scale, new study shows
The Crab Nebula seen in new light by NASA's Webb
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has gazed at the Crab Nebula, a supernova remnant located 6,500 light-years away in the constellation Taurus. Since the recording of this energetic event in 1054 CE by 11th-century astronomers, the Crab Nebula has continued to draw attention and additional study as scientists seek to understand the conditions, behavior, and after-effects of supernovae through thorough study of the Crab, a relatively nearby example.
Study uncovers hundred-year lifespans for three freshwater fish species in the Arizona desert
New study finds some of the oldest animals in the world living in a place you wouldn't expect: fishes in the Arizona desert.
Protein interaction causing rare but deadly vaccine-related clotting found
A mechanism that led some patients to experience cases of deadly clotting following some types of COVID-19 vaccination has been identified in new research.
Engineers develop an efficient process to make fuel from carbon dioxide
Researchers developed an efficient process that can convert carbon dioxide into formate, a nonflammable liquid or solid material that can be used like hydrogen or methanol to power a fuel cell and generate electricity.
Window to avoid 1.5°C of warming will close before 2030 if emissions are not reduced
Without rapid carbon dioxide emission reductions, the world has a 50% chance of locking in 1.5°C of warming before 2030.
Want to achieve your goals? Get angry
While often perceived as a negative emotion, anger can also be a powerful motivator for people to achieve challenging goals in their lives, according to new research.
New species of mosasaur named for Norse sea serpent
Scientists have discovered a new species of mosasaur, large, carnivorous aquatic lizards that lived during the late Cretaceous. With 'transitional' traits that place it between two well-known mosasaurs, the new species is named after a sea serpent in Norse mythology, Jormungandr, and the small North Dakota city Walhalla near to where the fossil was found.
Virtual meetings tire people because we're doing them wrong
New research suggests sleepiness during virtual meetings is caused by mental underload and boredom. Earlier studies suggested that fatigue from virtual meetings stems from mental overload, but new research shows that sleepiness during virtual meetings might actually be a result of mental underload and boredom.
Insulin icodec, a once-weekly basal injection to treat type 1 diabetes, has the potential to be as effective in managing the condition as daily basal insulin treatments, according to new research. The results of the year-long phase 3 clinical trial could revolutionize the future of diabetes care and help millions of people better manage their condition.
Wireless device makes magnetism appear in non-magnetic materials
Researchers have succeeded in bringing wireless technology to the fundamental level of magnetic devices. The emergence and control of magnetic properties in cobalt nitride layers (initially non-magnetic) by voltage, without connecting the sample to electrical wiring, represents a paradigm shift that can facilitate the creation of magnetic nanorobots for biomedicine and computing systems where basic information management processes do not require wiring.
Cold War spy satellite imagery reveals Ancient Roman forts
A new study analyzing declassified Cold War satellite imagery reveals 396 previously undocumented Roman forts and reports that these forts were constructed from east to west, spanning from what is now western Syria to northwestern Iraq. The analysis refutes Father Antoine Poidebard's claim that the forts were located along a north-south axis.
Evolutionary chance made this bat a specialist hunter
It is generally believed that, for millions of years, bats and the insects they hunt at night have adapted to each other in an evolutionary arms race to become better at finding or avoiding each other. Now, a new study shows that this may not be the case at all.
