Saturday Citations: Parrots on the internet; a map of human wakefulness; the most useless rare-earth element
We field a torrent of science news updates every week and on Saturday morning, we highlight three or four of them based on the observed preferences of a panel of dogs as shown by the Paired-Stimulus Preference Assessment, a standardized evaluation of.....»»
Sunlight and plastic: A risky combination for bottled water safety
Plastic water bottles are ubiquitous due to their convenience, yet they harbor potential risks. Sunlight exposure can lead these containers to degrade and emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are potentially detrimental to human health. The.....»»
Scientists discover surprising link between ancient biology and restricted human hair growth
University of Manchester scientists have linked one of the ways that cells respond to stressful conditions with restricted healthy hair growth......»»
Why scientists are intrigued by air in NASA"s Mars sample tubes
Atmospheric scientists get a little more excited with every rock core NASA's Perseverance Mars rover seals in its titanium sample tubes, which are being gathered for eventual delivery to Earth as part of the Mars Sample Return campaign. Twenty-four h.....»»
Citizen scientists gather eDNA in water samples for global biodiversity census
Kara Andres, a postdoctoral fellow with the Living Earth Collaborative at Washington University in St. Louis, collected samples of water from Simpson Lake, in Valley Park, Mo., as part of a coordinated global effort to use environmental DNA—genetic.....»»
Turning infrared light visible: New device uses 2D material to up-convert infrared light
The human eye can only see light at certain frequencies (called the visible spectrum), the lowest of which constitutes red light. Infrared light, which we can't see, has an even lower frequency than red light. Researchers at the Indian Institute of S.....»»
Defunct satellites burning up in the atmosphere could damage the ozone layer
Communications companies such as Starlink plan to launch tens of thousands of satellites into orbit around Earth over the next decade or so. The growing swarm is already causing problems for astronomers, but recent research has raised another questio.....»»
The earliest merging quasars ever seen
Studying the history of science shows how often serendipity plays a role in some of the most important discoveries. Sometimes, the stories are apocryphal, like Newton getting hit on the head with an apple. But sometimes, there's an element of truth t.....»»
Extensive eye-tracking dataset derived from Japanese L2 English learners" text reading
Language processing is a highly intricate human function, and it has been extensively studied in the fields of psychology and education. Eye movement measurement, particularly for written language, has proven to be a beneficial method for language pr.....»»
Rare bone marrow cells revealed in new comprehensive atlas
While research has uncovered many details about how blood cells function within bone marrow, the work of other cells existing in that space has remained a relative mystery. Now, researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pe.....»»
Ex-OpenAI star Sutskever shoots for superintelligent AI with new company
Safe Superintelligence, Inc. seeks to safely build AI far beyond human capability. Enlarge / Ilya Sutskever physically gestures as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman looks on at Tel Aviv University on June 5, 2023. (credit: Getty Images).....»»
Groundbreaking discovery: How researchers found remnants of Earth"s primordial crust near Perth
Our planet was born around 4.5 billion years ago. To understand this mind-bendingly long history, we need to study rocks and the minerals they are made of......»»
Apple Store TRX in Kuala Lumpur looks as cool inside as out
We got a partial look at the outside of the Apple Store TRX in Kuala Lumpur a few weeks ago, and the tiered pyramid design looked pretty spectacular. Apple has now shared photos of the inside of the store, ahead of Saturday’s opening, and it doe.....»»
"Nature"s mirror": Climate change batters Albania"s butterflies
Bright yellow, black, red and blue, Alexanor butterflies once fluttered abundantly on southwestern Albania's flowery slopes. Now, like many related species, scientists say they are disappearing due to human impacts, including climate change......»»
Researchers develop platform to probe, control qubits in silicon for quantum networks
The quantum internet would be a lot easier to build if we could use existing telecommunications technologies and infrastructure. Over the past few years, researchers have discovered defects in silicon—a ubiquitous semiconductor material—that coul.....»»
New training programs will prepare astronauts to perform medicine while thousands of miles away from Earth
In the coming decade, more people will go to space than ever before as human spaceflight enters a new era. NASA, the European Space Agency and other governmental agencies are partnering to develop crewed missions beyond the moon. At the same time, th.....»»
How glacier algae are challenging the way we think about evolution
People often underestimate tiny beings. But microscopic algal cells not only evolved to thrive in one of the most extreme habitats on Earth—glaciers—but are also shaping them......»»
Non-native plants and animals expanding ranges 100-times faster than native species, finds new research
An international team of scientists has recently found that non-native species are expanding their ranges many orders of magnitude faster than native ones, in large part due to inadvertent human help. Even seemingly sedentary non-native plants are mo.....»»
Researchers investigate the impacts of space travel on astronauts" eye health
As space travel becomes more common, it is important to consider the impacts of space flight and altered gravity on the human body. Led by Dr. Ana Diaz Artiles, researchers at Texas A&M University are studying some of those impacts, specifically effe.....»»
Earth"s atmosphere is our best defense against nearby supernovae, study suggests
Earth's protective atmosphere has sheltered life for billions of years, creating a haven where evolution produced complex lifeforms like us. The ozone layer plays a critical role in shielding the biosphere from deadly UV radiation. It blocks 99% of t.....»»
Ohio train derailment caused chemical pollution falling to Earth"s surface across the US and beyond, study reveals
A new study published in the journal Environmental Research Letters reveals that the environmental impact of the February 3, 2023, Norfolk Southern train accident in East Palestine, Ohio covered a very large geographical area. Inorganic pollutants re.....»»