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New data reveals severe impact of European contact with Pacific islands
Pacific island nations suffered severe depopulation from introduced diseases as a consequence of contact with European vessels, a new study shows. The research indicates population declines were a lot larger than previously thought and shows a big reassessment of the impact of globalization in the 19th century. 10/01/2022 10:43 AM
How are birdsongs composed? Listening to the Australian pied butcherbird
An international collaboration between musicians and birdsong scientists has found that in the Australian pied butcherbird songs surveyed, the order of song elements is strongly related to rhythmical timing. 10/01/2022 10:43 AM
Exploring Jupiter's moon, Europa, possible with silicon-germanium transistor technology
Europa is more than just one of Jupiter's many moons -- it's also one of most promising places in the solar system to look for extraterrestrial life. Under 10 kilometers of ice is a liquid water ocean that could sustain life. But with surface temperatures at -180 Celsius and with extreme levels of radiation, it's also one of the most inhospitable places in the solar system. Exploring Europa could be possible in the coming years thanks to new applications for silicon-germanium transistor technology research. 09/30/2022 04:32 PM
Evidence of social relationships between chimpanzees, gorillas
Drawn from more than 20 years of observations at Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park in the Republic of Congo, researchers documented lasting social ties between individual chimpanzees and gorillas that persisted over years and across different contexts. 09/30/2022 02:52 PM
Webb, Hubble capture detailed views of DART impact
Two of NASA's Great Observatories, the James Webb Space Telescope and the Hubble Space Telescope, have captured views of a unique NASA experiment designed to intentionally smash a spacecraft into a small asteroid in the world's first-ever in-space test for planetary defense. These observations of NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) impact mark the first time that Webb and Hubble simultaneously observed the same celestial target. 09/30/2022 01:37 PM
The road to future AI is paved with trust
The place of artificial intelligence, AI, in our everyday life is increasing and many researchers believe that what we have seen so far is only the beginning. However, AI must be trustworthy in all situations. A new project has drawn up a research-based roadmap intended to guide research funding bodies and decision-makers towards the trustworthy AI of the future. 09/30/2022 01:37 PM
When country ants go to town
Researchers have shown that a common ant species undergoes physiological and behavioral changes in unnatural settings. 09/30/2022 01:37 PM
SuperAger brains contain 'super neurons'
Neurons in an area of the brain responsible for memory were significantly larger in SuperAgers compared to cognitively average peers, individuals with early-stage Alzheimer's disease and even individuals 20 to 30 years younger than SuperAgers -- who are aged 80 years and older, reports a new study. The study of was the first to show that these individuals carry a unique biological signature that comprises larger and healthier neurons in the entorhinal cortex that are relatively void of tau tangles. 09/30/2022 01:36 PM
Molecular chaperones caught in flagrante
For an adequate immune response, it is essential that T lymphocytes recognize infected or degenerated cells. They do so by means of antigenic peptides, which these cells present with the help of specialized surface molecules (MHC I molecules). Using X-ray structure analysis, a research team has now been able to show how the MHC I molecules are loaded with peptides and how suitable peptides are selected for this purpose. 09/30/2022 11:26 AM
Don't crack: Deteriorating safety on frozen lakes in a warming world
An international team of climate and lake scientists has demonstrated that crossing frozen lakes with heavy trucks may soon be a thing of the past. 09/30/2022 10:27 AM
Gut bacteria may contribute to susceptibility to HIV infection
Certain gut bacteria -- including one that is essential for a healthy gut microbiome -- differ between people who go on to acquire HIV infection compared to those who have not become infected. 09/30/2022 09:08 AM
Changes in marine ecosystems going undetected
Existing ways of calculating biodiversity dynamics are not very effective in detecting wholesale species community change due to the effects of ocean acidification. 09/30/2022 09:08 AM
The majority of reindeer grazing land is under cumulative pressures
Reindeer herding has a long history in northern Norway, Sweden and Finland. It has shaped the Fennoscandian mountain landscape, and is also seen as means to mitigate climate change effects on vegetation. Yet a new study shows that the majority of this grazing land is exposed to cumulative pressures, threatened by the expansion of human activities towards the north. 09/30/2022 09:08 AM
Liking another group doesn't mean you dislike your own
A new study involving more than 879,000 participants published this week challenges the assumption that liking an outgroup means disliking your ingroup. It sheds light on a 1940s study in which Black girls preferred white dolls over Black dolls. 09/29/2022 08:41 PM
Collective effort needed to help children thrive following exposure to online risks
Helping children become more 'digitally resilient' needs to be a collective effort if they are to learn how to 'thrive online', according to new research. Digital resilience is the capability to learn how to recognize, manage and recover from online risks -- such as bullying and inappropriate content -- and has the potential to buffer how these experiences may impact young people's wellbeing. 09/29/2022 08:41 PM
Agricultural rewilding can help restore the environment and support production of high-welfare food, researchers say
Rewilding landscapes using elements of farming practice can help to restore ecosystems and produce high-welfare, high-quality food, researchers say. 09/29/2022 08:40 PM
Disarming the body's defenders
A new study shows how certain cancers neutralize T cells to subvert the immune system and help tumors grow. 09/29/2022 08:40 PM
Process converts polyethylene bags, plastics to polymer building blocks
Polyethylene plastics -- single-use bags and general-purpose bottles -- are indestructable forever plastics. That also makes them hard to recycle. Chemists have found a way to break down the polymer -- a chain of about a thousand ethylene molecules -- into three-carbon molecules, propylene, which are in high demand for making another plastic, polypropylene. The process could turn waste plastic into high-value feedstocks and reduce the need for fossil fuels to make propylene. 09/29/2022 08:40 PM
Exquisitely thin membranes can slash energy spent refining crude oil into fuel and plastic
Scientists have created a new type of nanomembrane that presents a less energy intensive way to fractionate hydrocarbons from crude oil. The global production of crude oil is currently around 80 million barrels per day. Hydrocarbons extracted from crude oil are the main ingredients for manufacturing fossil fuels, plastics, and polymers. The process by which they are extracted is extremely energy intensive. Membrane technology that can separate the molecules in crude oil by their different sizes and classes could be a far more energy efficient process, consuming 90% less energy. 09/29/2022 08:40 PM
'Mystery gene' matures the skeleton of the cell
Scientists have managed to track down one of the 'mystery genes' -- the gene that ensures that the final form of the protein actin is created, a main component of our cell skeleton. 09/29/2022 08:40 PM
from ScienceDaily
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