Studying vampire bats to predict the next pandemic
In June, Virginia Tech Assistant Professor Luis Escobar led a team of students into the Andes Mountains and lowlands of Colombia to understand how vampire bats can help predict and prevent the next big epidemic. Escobar is an expert in assessing how.....»»
Faster flowing glaciers could help predict nearby volcanic activity
Glaciers that are within three miles of a volcano move nearly 50% quicker than average, a new study has found, which could help create early warning of future eruptions......»»
Researchers advocate for new framework to measure sustainable economic growth
The global economy is in transition, with energy systems moving from a central reliance on fossil fuels. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic reshaped consumer behavior, labor markets, and business practices, and geopolitics and war have disrupted long.....»»
Birds, bees and bats working together means more macadamia nuts
An international research team led by the universities of Göttingen and Hohenheim in Germany has gained new insights into how the interaction of birds, bees and bats significantly increases the quantity and quality of macadamia nuts. Furthermore, th.....»»
New tools give researchers hope for fungus-ravaged US bats
Standing at a woodland entrance to the world's longest cave system in Kentucky, a park ranger warns those about to enter of an extremely deadly fungus—not for humans, but for the bat populations it has devastated across North America......»»
Heat hardiness: Scientists identify key phase for tomato heat tolerance
By studying tomato varieties that produce fruit in exceptionally hot growing seasons, biologists at Brown University identified the growth cycle phase when tomatoes are most vulnerable to extreme heat, as well as the molecular mechanisms that make th.....»»
A causal theory for studying the cause-and-effect relationships of genes paves the way for targeted treatments
By studying changes in gene expression, researchers learn how cells function at a molecular level, which could help them understand the development of certain diseases......»»
Scientists calculate predictions for meson measurements
Nuclear physics theorists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory have demonstrated that complex calculations run on supercomputers can accurately predict the distribution of electric charges in mesons, particles made.....»»
"Shallow" sports and "deep" social hierarchies: Not all pecking orders are created equally
University of Michigan researchers have added a new dimension to the mathematics used to predict the outcomes of all manner of competitions, including sports, games and social hierarchies in both humans and animals......»»
Vampire bats" metabolism mirrors that of blood-sucking insects, biologists find
A pair of biologists at the University of Toronto has found that vampire bats are able to burn amino acids as a fuel source similarly to blood-sucking insects. In their study published in the journal Biology Letters, Giulia Rossi and Kenneth Welch co.....»»
Scientists find key to engineering water-responsive biopolymers
Scientists at the Advanced Science Research Center at the CUNY Graduate Center (CUNY ASRC) have developed a novel approach to better understand and predict the behaviors of water-responsive materials—solid matter that can change shape by absorbing.....»»
Monkeys know who will win the election—primal instincts humans share with them shape voters" choices
As Election Day looms with Kamala Harris and Donald Trump locked in a dead heat, pollsters and pundits are scrambling for clues to predict the outcome......»»
Bats use echolocation to make mental maps for navigation
Despite only working over short distances, echolocation is enough to get bats home. Many species of bats use echolocation to avoid obstacles like tree branches and hunt small inse.....»»
A comparison of bat and bird wings reveals their evolutionary paths are vastly different
Bats are incredibly diverse animals: They can climb onto other animals to drink their blood, pluck insects from leaves or hover to drink nectar from tropical flowers, all of which require distinctive wing designs......»»
Astronomers predict the orbits of potentially hazardous comets from meteor showers
Comets have long been seen as omens and portents, and it's easy to understand why. They first appear as faint smudges of light in the sky, sometimes fading soon after and sometimes becoming brighter than the planets, with a long, glowing tail. They h.....»»
The mortality rate of bats at modern-day swimming pools is comparable to that at Messel 47 million years ago
More than 500 bat fossils have been discovered at the Messel Pit UNESCO World Heritage Site over 42 years. A new study, published today in the journal Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments, investigates whether the high number of fossils is due t.....»»
Study shows bats have acoustic cognitive maps
Echolocating bats have been found to possess an acoustic cognitive map of their home range, enabling them to navigate over kilometer-scale distances using echolocation alone......»»
Research shows decline in out-of-home activities since pandemic
Compared with just before the COVID-19 pandemic, people are spending nearly an hour less a day doing activities outside the home, behavior that researchers say is a lasting consequence of the pandemic......»»
Do Spiders Dream Like Humans Do?
During the pandemic, researcher Daniela Rößler couldn't go out, so she started looking around her for her next research project. Then she found a really big one, and it had been right in front of her all along......»»
A Bird Flu Vaccine Might Come Too Late to Save Us from H5N1
If the influenza virus infecting cattle workers starts a pandemic, help in the form of a vaccine is months away.....»»
Experimental setup simulates Arctic methane explosions
Russian researchers have developed an experimental setup that will help simulate gas-dynamic processes and predict explosions in Arctic soils......»»