New grasshopper species from central Texas named in honor of two iconic musicians
The central region of Texas is a known hotspot of biological wonders. For the last five years, Dr. JoVonn Hill, an Assistant Professor and Director of the Mississippi Entomological Museum (MEM) at Mississippi State University, and his colleagues have.....»»
Scientists find ancient, endangered lamprey fish in Queensland, 1400 km north of its previous known range
The Australian brook lamprey (Mordacia praecox) is part of a group of primitive jawless fish. It's up to 15 cm long, with rows of sharp teeth. Surprisingly, it doesn't use these teeth to suck blood like most lamprey species—it's non-parasitic......»»
Every drop counts: New algorithm tracks Texas"s daily reservoir evaporation rates
Summer can be an extra challenging time for Texas's 189 major water supply reservoirs. With temperatures consistently reaching 100 degrees or higher, reservoir evaporation rates see high increases......»»
Physicists reach atomic-scale telegraphy with light
In the 1880s Heinrich Hertz discovered that a spark jumping between two pieces of metal emits a flash of light—rapidly oscillating electromagnetic waves—which can be picked up by an antenna. To honor his groundbreaking work, the unit of frequency.....»»
Saving the Mary River turtle: How the people of Tiaro rallied behind an iconic species
Australian freshwater turtles are facing an alarming trend. Almost half of these species are listed as vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered......»»
A "conservation conundrum"—when rat control to conserve one species threatens another
When pest rats and mice decimate populations of native species, pest control is a no-brainer. But what if baiting rats protects threatened songbirds, while poisoning critically endangered owls?.....»»
Bentley unwraps V-8 hybrid powertrain
Bentley's shift away from its iconic W-12 engine will not result in a loss of power......»»
Discovery of ancient Glaswegian shrimp fossil reveals new species
A short but robust little shrimp may have died out over 330 million years ago during the Carboniferous period, but the rare Scottish shellfish has been revitalized as a new species to science and as a Glaswegian......»»
Bird flu is bad for poultry and dairy cows: It"s not a dire threat for most of us—yet
Headlines are flying after the Department of Agriculture confirmed that the H5N1 bird flu virus has infected dairy cows around the country. Tests have detected the virus among cattle in nine states, mainly in Texas and New Mexico, and most recently i.....»»
A photocatalyst for sustainable syngas production from greenhouse gases
Researchers have developed a novel photocatalyst, named Rh/InGaN1-xOx, which is a nanoarchitecture consisting of rhodium nanoparticles anchored on oxygen-modified indium gallium nitride nanowires grown on silicon substrates......»»
In South Africa, tiny primates could struggle to adapt to climate change
In the "sky islands" of the Soutpansberg Mountains of South Africa, two closely related species of primate jostle for space. One is the thick-tailed greater galago (Otolemur crassicaudatus), also known as a bushbaby, which is about the size of a larg.....»»
Bsal and beyond: Task force helps stave off amphibian disease threat
Amphibians—like frogs and salamanders—are the most imperiled group of animal species in the world; infectious diseases are among the greatest threats to their existence. After a decade of research, a scientific task force is poised to stave off t.....»»
Apple doubles down on AI virtual musicians, adds intelligent stem splitting, more in new Logic Pro for iPad and Mac
Today at Apple’s Let Loose event, we got our first look at its new M4 chip and the new iPad Pros it powers, the next-generation iPad Air, and the new Apple Pencil Pro, but it wasn’t all hardware. Apple also briefly touched on the latest editions.....»»
New Vincetoxicum species found in Yunnan
Vincetoxicum is a genus of plants in the Apocynaceae family. It is distributed in Asia, especially in mountainous areas, and most of the known species occur in China and Japan. The extended Vincetoxicum includes about 150 species. In recent years, ne.....»»
Using algorithms to decode the complex phonetic alphabet of sperm whales
The allure of whales has stoked human consciousness for millennia, casting these ocean giants as enigmatic residents of the deep seas. From the biblical Leviathan to Herman Melville's formidable Moby Dick, whales have been central to mythologies and.....»»
Why parrots sometimes adopt—or kill—each other"s babies
Infanticide and adoption in the animal kingdom have long puzzled scientists. While both males and females of many species are known to kill the babies of their rivals to secure sexual or social advantage, other animals have been observed caring for t.....»»
What"s with the recent wild tornadoes? Expert weighs in
In the past week, weather authorities across the U.S. reported more than 100 tornadoes across the central and southern parts of the country, destroying dozens of homes and buildings from Oklahoma to Nebraska and Iowa......»»
Earthquakes are moving northeast in Midland Basin of Texas, scientists find
After analyzing seven years of earthquake data from the Midland Basin, a team of scientists at The University of Texas at Austin has found that seismic activity is probably on the move northeast toward the community of Big Spring......»»
Shining a light on untapped lunar resources
Near the moon's south pole lies a 13-mile wide, 2.5-mile-deep crater known as Shackleton, named for Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton. Shackleton—and craters like it—may contain untapped resources that can be accessed with lunar mining......»»
As business districts evolve post-pandemic, repurposing old or empty spaces should be on the drawing board
The COVID-19 pandemic and the hybrid work patterns it fostered have changed the way we think about office space, and central business districts in general. While fears of urban center "ghost towns" may have been premature, many cities around the worl.....»»
Collecting live snakes in remote Amazon regions for study is no easy task—here"s how we do it
Brazil records an average of 29,000 snakebites a year, leading to around 130 deaths. And it is in the Amazon that the greatest number of cases occur. This region is home to 38 of the 75 species of venomous snakes recorded in Brazil......»»