Reflected moonlight found to make barn owls less visible to prey
A team of biology and optics researchers affiliated with a host of institutions in Spain has found that the unique undercoating of the barn owl helps to make it less visible to prey when flying under the moon and starlit skies......»»
Researchers find having good neighbors and few top predators make predatory fish populations more resilient
A regime shift is gradually spreading through the archipelagos of the Swedish Baltic Sea coast, where shallow bays, previously dominated by pike and perch have one by one become dominated by one of their prey species, the three-spined stickleback......»»
Optical invention mirrors the image processing power of a human eye
On a cold, sunny day, you're driving on a rural road, surrounded by snow-covered fields. In an instant, your eyes process the scene, picking out individual objects to focus on—a stop sign, a barn—while the rest of the scene blurs in the periphery.....»»
Virtual reality study finds that environmental interventions may not reduce fear of crime
It has long been established that changing an environment can reduce crime. For example, increased light in an area has the potential to discourage would-be offenders by making them more visible......»»
Driverless Waymo car hits cyclist in San Francisco, causes minor scratches
The accident occurred after the cyclist was hidden by a truck and not visible as they crossed into the Waymo vehicle's path, the company said......»»
Robo-dinosaur scares grasshoppers to shed light on why dinos evolved feathers
The feathers may have helped dinosaurs frighten and flush out prey. Enlarge / Grasshoppers, beware! Robopteryx is here to flush you from your hiding place. (credit: Jinseok Park, Piotr Jablonski et al., 2024) Scientists.....»»
"Time to eat": Videos show that toe-tapping by frogs may be a strategy to draw out prey
It is well known that some species of frogs tap their posterior toes as they are seeking prey; this can be seen in many videos posted online. However, only a few studies to date have looked at the tapping habit itself, and not much is known about the.....»»
Asteroid making its closest approach to Earth this week
On 4 February, asteroid 2011 MD will make its closest approach to the Earth. Though it will not be visible with the naked eye, the asteroid will pass 15,000,000 km away from Earth—much closer than those in the asteroid belt and less than 10% of the.....»»
Physicists develop novel concept for detecting chiral molecules
In contrast to conventional mirrors, light can be reflected on surfaces known as metasurfaces without changing its polarization. This phenomenon has now been proven by physicists at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) and the Ma.....»»
What happens when you reintroduce a predator to a conservation area? These quolls were put to the task
In the first reintroduction of western quolls to a fenced conservation reserve, researchers from UNSW and Arid Recovery watched closely to measure their impacts on local prey species. While predation by quolls and the impacts of drought caused declin.....»»
How Late Is The Closest Grocery Store Open? – Detailed Analysis
Introduction How Late Is The Closest Grocery Store Open? […] Introduction How Late Is The Closest Grocery Store Open? Groceries are an all-time necessities for every household. Not only this, but night owls are more into late-night sh.....»»
Hubble views NGC 3384, a galaxy settling into old age
NGC 3384, visible in this image, has many of the characteristic features of so-called elliptical galaxies. Such galaxies glow diffusely, are rounded in shape, display few visible features, and rarely show signs of recent star formation. Instead, they.....»»
Image: Hubble captures Arp 295
One of the galaxies from a galactic group known as Arp 295 is visible in this new NASA Hubble Space Telescope image, along with part of the faint 250,000-light-year-long bridge of stars and gas that stretches between two of the galaxies. The galaxies.....»»
Image: Hubble spies side-by-side galaxies
A barred spiral galaxy and a lenticular galaxy come together to create this interacting pair known as Arp 140. The lenticular galaxy, NGC 274, is visible on the right side of this new NASA Hubble Space Telescope image, and the barred spiral, NGC 275,.....»»
Deciphering the patterns of human settlements on the Ordos Plateau
The Ordos Plateau, a distinctive geomorphic entity in China, has been a cradle of human civilization since the late Paleolithic era. Its unique geographical and climatic conditions have fostered a rich tapestry of human history, reflected in the sett.....»»
Gravity helps show strong force strength in the proton
The power of gravity is writ large across our visible universe. It can be seen in the lock step of moons as they circle planets; in wandering comets pulled off-course by massive stars; and in the swirl of gigantic galaxies. These awesome displays sho.....»»
When conditions cool down, a bacterial prey species becomes the predator
In a new study, two species of bacteria grown in a lab reversed their predator-prey relationship after one species was grown at a lower temperature. Marie Vasse of MIVEGEC, France, and colleagues have published these findings in PLOS Biology......»»
Drone chase highlights dangers to owls and breeding birds
On her way home from work on a recent wintry night, Kathy Keane ran into a group of people quietly watching a pair of great horned owls perched on a tree in Lincoln Park......»»
Image: An aurora in another light
The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite sensor on the NOAA-NASA Suomi NPP satellite captured this image of the aurora borealis, or northern lights, over western Canada at 3:23 a.m. MST (5:23 a.m. EST) on November 5, 2023......»»
Enhanced photoelectrochemical water splitting with a donor-acceptor polyimide
Polyimide (PI) has emerged as a promising organic photocatalyst owing to its distinct advantages of high visible-light response, facile synthesis, molecularly tunable donor-acceptor structure, and excellent physicochemical stability. However, the syn.....»»
Gravitational waves could show us the first minute of the universe
Astronomers routinely explore the universe using different wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum from the familiar visible light to radio waves and infrared to gamma rays. There is a problem with studying the universe through the electromagneti.....»»