Birds Make Better Bipedal Bots Than Humans Do
A new machine called BirdBot balances walking efficiency and speed -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com.....»»
The relationship between emotions and economic decision-making differs across countries, multi-national analysis finds
When making economic decisions, humans can be driven by various factors, including their goals and emotions. Past studies have hypothesized that emotions play a crucial role in economic decisions, particularly those that involve risk or trade-offs be.....»»
Norway reports first cases of bluetongue disease in livestock since 2009
Norway reported Thursday dozens of confirmed and suspected cases of bluetongue, an insect-borne virus that is harmless to humans but can be fatal to sheep and other livestock, for the first time in the country since 2009......»»
Moving as one: Discovering how synchronous movements strengthen social bonds
Sharing stories over a cup of coffee; dancing in a group; cheering a football game in a crowd: these everyday rituals are among many different types of shared experiences that help humans develop social cohesion......»»
Scientists quantify energetic costs of the migratory lifestyle in a free flying songbird
Millions of birds migrate every year to escape winter, but spending time in a warmer climate does not save them energy, according to research by the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior (MPI-AB). Using miniaturized loggers implanted in wild blackb.....»»
Unraveling an ancient European extinction mystery: Disappearance of dwarf megafauna on paleolithic Cyprus
Scientists have unraveled a mystery about the disappearance of dwarf hippos and elephants that once roamed the picturesque landscape on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus before paleolithic humans arrived......»»
How crypto bros wrested Flappy Bird from its creator
Decadelong trademark fight culminates in new game hinting at "Web3 innovation." Enlarge / Imagine owning one of those funky birds as an NFT! (credit: Flappy Bird Twitter/X) Fans of ultra-viral mobile gaming hit Flappy Bi.....»»
Researchers find evidence that bumblebees make the same memory errors as humans
Psychologists at the University of Stirling have carried out research that shows wild bumblebees make the same memory errors as humans......»»
Remembering where your meals came from key for a small bird’s survival
For small birds, remembering where the food is beats forgetting when it's gone. Enlarge (credit: BirdImages) It seems like common sense that being smart should increase the chances of survival in wild animals. Yet for a.....»»
How bacteria actively use passive physics to make biofilms
When we think about bacteria, we may imagine single cells swimming in solution. However, similarly to humans, bacterial cells often socialize, using surfaces to coalesce into complex heterogeneous communities called biofilms. Within a group, bacteria.....»»
AI chatbots might be better at swaying conspiracy theorists than humans
Co-author Gordon Pennycook: "The work overturns a lot of how we thought about conspiracies." Enlarge / A woman wearing a sweatshirt for the QAnon conspiracy theory on October 11, 2020 in Ronkonkoma, New York. (credit: Stephanie.....»»
Clovis people used Great Lakes camp annually about 13,000 years ago, researchers confirm
The earliest humans to settle the Great Lakes region likely returned to a campsite in southwest Michigan for several years in a row, according to a University of Michigan study......»»
Carbohydrate polymers could be a sweet solution for water purification
Water polluted with heavy metals can pose a threat when consumed by humans and aquatic life. Sugar-derived polymers from plants remove these metals but often require other substances to adjust their stability or solubility in water......»»
Private astronauts on daring trek ahead of historic spacewalk
A private crew set out on an audacious orbital expedition Tuesday, journeying deeper into the cosmos than any humans in half a century as they prepare for the first ever spacewalk by non-professional astronauts......»»
Multiple ways to evolve tiny knee bone could have helped humans walk upright
The evolution of bones in primates' knees could have implications for how humans evolved to walk upright, a new study has found......»»
Thanks to humans, Salish Sea waters are too noisy for resident orcas to hunt successfully
The Salish Sea—the inland coastal waters of Washington and British Columbia—is home to two unique populations of fish-eating orcas, the northern resident and the southern resident orcas. Human activity over much of the 20th century, including red.....»»
Pollution of the potent warming gas methane soars and people are mostly to blame
The amount and proportion of the powerful heat-trapping gas methane that humans spew into the atmosphere is rising, helping to turbocharge climate change, a new study finds......»»
How viruses move through insects for transmission of diseases
Viruses are master parasites that have adapted to infect many host species. Some viruses even use multiple hosts to spread their infections—such as arboviruses that use insects to move their infections to mammalian hosts like humans. Understanding.....»»
Promoting horse welfare with an intestinal disease screening method
Researchers at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, are developing a promising method to support the diagnosis of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) in horses. Awareness of the prevalence of IBD in both humans and animals has increased in recent de.....»»
A roadmap for using viruses to enhance crop performance
Humans, livestock and companion animals benefit from virus-based vaccines and gene therapies, but crops do not. This paradox is highlighted by an international research group led by the Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology of Plants (IBMCP) wi.....»»
First robot leg with "artificial muscles" jumps nimbly: Study
Researchers said on Monday they had designed the first robotic leg with "artificial muscles"—oil-filled bags allowing machines to move more like humans—that can jump nimbly across a range of surfaces......»»