ScienceDaily: Quirky - June 26, 2024
Top quirky research news
Non-stop flight: 4,200 km transatlantic flight of the Painted Lady butterfly mapped
In October 2013 a researcher made a surprising discovery of Painted Lady Butterflies on the Atlantic beaches of French Guiana -- a species not typically found in South America. This unusual sighting prompted an international study to investigate the origin of these butterflies.
Your future medications could be personalized for you on a 3D printer
Scientists are helping to develop standards and safety protocols that would allow pharmacies to print drugs onsite at a dosage best for you.
Next platform for brain-inspired computing
Computers have come so far in terms of their power and potential, rivaling and even eclipsing human brains in their ability to store and crunch data, make predictions and communicate. But there is one domain where human brains continue to dominate: energy efficiency.
Image: peterschreiber.media/Shutterstock.com
Moving objects precisely with sound
Researchers have succeeded in directing floating objects around an aquatic obstacle course using only soundwaves. Their novel, optics-inspired method holds great promise for biomedical applications such as noninvasive targeted drug delivery.
Telltale greenhouse gases could signal alien activity
If aliens modified a planet in their solar system to make it warmer, we'd be able to tell. A new study identifies the artificial greenhouse gases that would be giveaways of a terraformed planet.
Researchers have found a way to bind engineered skin tissue to the complex forms of humanoid robots. This brings with it potential benefits to robotic platforms such as increased mobility, self-healing abilities, embedded sensing capabilities and an increasingly lifelike appearance. Taking inspiration from human skin ligaments, the team included special perforations in a robot face, which helped a layer of skin take hold.
First of its kind detection made in striking new Webb image
For the first time, a phenomenon astronomers have long hoped to directly image has been captured by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope's Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam). In this stunning image of the Serpens Nebula, the discovery lies in the northern area of this young, nearby star-forming region.
Meet CARMEN, a robot that helps people with mild cognitive impairment
Meet CARMEN, short for Cognitively Assistive Robot for Motivation and Neurorehabilitation -- a small, tabletop robot designed to help people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) learn skills to improve memory, attention, and executive functioning at home.
Geologists expect Chang'e-6 lunar surface samples to contain volcanic rock and impact ejecta
On June 25, China's Chang'e-6 (CE-6) lunar probe is set to return to Earth, carrying the first surface samples collected from the farside of the Moon. In anticipation of this historic event, scientists are publishing their predictions for the unique materials that may be found in the CE-6 samples.
A hidden treasure in the Milky Way -- Astronomers uncover ultrabright x-ray source
Astronomers uncovered that a well-known X-ray binary, whose exact nature has been a mystery to scientists until now, is actually a hidden ultraluminous X-ray source.
Star clusters observed within a galaxy in the early Universe
The history of how stars and galaxies came to be and evolved into the present day remains among the most challenging astrophysical questions to solve yet, but new research brings us closer to understanding it. New insights about young galaxies during the Epoch of Reionization have been revealed. Observations with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) of the galaxy Cosmic Gems arc (SPT0615-JD) have confirmed that the light of the galaxy was emitted 460 million years after the big bang. What makes this galaxy unique is that it is magnified through an effect called gravitational lensing, which has not been observed in other galaxies formed during that age.
Innovative 3D printing method streamlines multi-materials manufacturing
Researchers have developed a way to create complex devices with multiple materials -- including plastics, metals and semiconductors -- all with a single machine. The research outlines a novel 3D printing and laser process to manufacture multi-material, multi-layered sensors, circuit boards and even textiles with electronic components.
Study challenges popular idea that Easter islanders committed 'ecocide'
Some 1,000 years ago, a small band of Polynesians sailed thousands of miles across the Pacific to settle one of the world's most isolated places -- a small, previously uninhabited island they named Rapa Nui. Eventually, their numbers ballooned to unsustainable levels, they wrecked the environment, and their civilization collapsed. At least that is the longtime story, told in academic studies and popular books. A new study challenges this narrative of 'ecocide' saying that Rapa Nui's population never spiraled to unsustainable levels.
Meet SQUID, a new computational tool. Compared with other genomic AI models, SQUID is more consistent, reduces background noise, and can yield better predictions regarding critical mutations. The new system aims to bring scientists closer to their findings' true medical implications.
New study finds dinosaur fossils did not inspire the mythological griffin
For centuries, scientists thought they knew where the griffin legend came from. A new study takes a closer look at the data and folklore's influence on science.
Iron meteorites hint that our infant solar system was more doughnut than dartboard
Iron meteorites are remnants of the metallic cores of the earliest asteroids in our solar system. Iron meteorites contain refractory metals, such as iridium and platinum, that formed near the sun but were transported to the outer solar system. New research shows that for this to have happened, the protoplanetary disk of our solar system had to have been doughnut-shaped because the refractory metals could not have crossed the large gaps in a target-shaped disk of concentric rings. The paper suggests that the refractory metals moved outward as the protoplanetary disk rapidly expanded, and were trapped in the outer solar system by Jupiter.
Supermassive black hole appears to grow like a baby star
Supermassive black holes pose unanswered questions for astronomers around the world, not least 'How do they grow so big?' Now, an international team of astronomers has discovered a powerful rotating, magnetic wind that they believe is helping a galaxy's central supermassive black hole to grow. The swirling wind, revealed with the help of the ALMA telescope in nearby galaxy ESO320-G030, suggests that similar processes are involved both in black hole growth and the birth of stars.
Scientists have developed a new, more energy-efficient way for AI algorithms to process data. His model may become the basis for a new generation of AI that learns like we do. Notably, these findings may also lend support to neuroscience theories surrounding memory's role in learning.
Newly discovered dinosaur boasts big, blade-like horns
First conclusive evidence that a terrestrial leech species can jump
A new study presents video evidence that at least one species of terrestrial leech can jump, behavior that scientists have debated for more than a century.
Titan's lakes may be shaped by waves
Geologists studied Titan's shorelines and showed through simulations that coastlines of the moon's methane- and ethane-filled seas have likely been shaped by waves. Until now, scientists have found indirect and conflicting signs of wave activity, based on Cassini images of Titan's surface.
Jupiter's great red spot is not the same one Cassini observed in 1600s
Jupiter's iconic Great Red Spot has persisted for at least 190 years and is likely a different spot from the one observed by the astronomer Giovanni Domenico Cassini in 1665, a new study reports. The Great Red Spot we see today likely formed because of an instability in the planet's intense atmospheric winds, producing a long, persistent atmospheric cell, the study also finds.
Researchers create new class of materials called 'glassy gels'
Researchers have created a new class of materials called 'glassy gels' that are very hard and difficult to break despite containing more than 50% liquid. Coupled with the fact that glassy gels are simple to produce, the material holds promise for a variety of applications.
Researchers leverage shadows to model 3D scenes, including objects blocked from view
A new technique can model an entire 3D scene, including areas hidden from view, from just one camera image. The method relies on image shadows, which provide information about the geometry and location of hidden objects.
What happens when neutron stars collide?
New simulations show that hot neutrinos created at the interface of merging binary neutron stars are briefy trapped and remain out of equilibrium with the cold cores of the stars for 2 to 3 milliseconds.
Fishy parenting? Punishing offspring encourages cooperation
Scientists discovered that Neolamprologus savoryi fish use punishment to encourage offspring to cooperate in brood care, revealing advanced cognitive abilities previously thought unique to higher vertebrates. This study highlights that punishment for promoting cooperation exists beyond human societies, prompting a reevaluation of animal intelligence.
The world's oldest wine discovered
A white wine over 2,000 years old, of Andalusian origin, is the oldest wine ever discovered.
Breakthrough may clear major hurdle for quantum computers
The potential of quantum computers is currently thwarted by a trade-off problem. Quantum systems that can carry out complex operations are less tolerant to errors and noise, while systems that are more protected against noise are harder and slower to compute with. Now a research team has created a unique system that combats the dilemma, thus paving the way for longer computation time and more robust quantum computers.