Why do humans possess a twisted birth canal?
The relatively narrow human birth canal presumably evolved as a "compromise" between its abilities for parturition, support of the inner organs, and upright walking. But not only the size of the birth canal, also its complex, "twisted" shape is an ev.....»»
AI, as it stands today, is a valuable tool for the auto industry but a poor substitute for humans
As the industry experiments with artificial intelligence, business owners need to be aware of the technology's promise and its limitations......»»
Saturday Citations: Brown dwarf actually brown dwarfs; the adaptability of ice-age humans; archaeologists excited
This week, researchers discovered a near-Earth microquasar that sheds new light on sources of relativistic outflows. Doctors reported finding a triphallic gentleman. And neuroscientists reported on modest cognitive boosts from short (or "acute," in c.....»»
Research provides molecular insights into sexual dimorphism of chicken feathers
Birds possess unique skin appendages called feathers that are derived from the outermost layer of skin cells. Feathers are important for several functions, such as flight, temperature regulation, protection from external stimuli, and mating behavior......»»
Controlling sound waves with Klein tunneling improves acoustic signal filtration
In the context of sensory modalities, eyes work like tiny antennae, picking up light, electromagnetic waves traveling at blistering speeds. When humans look at the world, their eyes catch these waves and convert them into signals the brain reads as c.....»»
It’s increasingly unlikely that humans will fly around the Moon next year
It's not just Orion's heat shield; the mission's ground systems are running out of time. Don't book your tickets for the launch of NASA's Artemis II mission next year just yet. W.....»»
Microbiome studies in humans and zoo animals pave the way for new drug development
Microorganisms do not just colonize the body of mammals during infections. Billions of microbes can be found on and in healthy humans and animals at any given time, communicating with each other via chemical signals and thus influencing their health......»»
DNA confirms these 19th-century lions ate humans
“Tsavo Man-Eaters” killed dozens of people in late 1890s, including Kenya-Uganda Railway workers. For several months in 1898, a pair of male lions turned the Tsavo region of K.....»»
Humans have near-equal numbers of male and female babies, unlike many other animals—a new genetic study looks for clues
We know that boys and girls are produced in much the same frequency. But how—and why—is this 1:1 ratio achieved?.....»»
"It"s scary - but so"s giving birth": The female unit gunning down Russian drones
"It"s scary - but so"s giving birth": The female unit gunning down Russian drones.....»»
Coastal cities have a hidden vulnerability to storm-surge and tidal flooding that"s entirely caused by humans
Centuries ago, estuaries around the world were teeming with birds and turbulent with schools of fish, their marshlands and endless tracts of channels melting into the gray-blue horizon......»»
DNA confirms these 19th century lions ate humans
“Tsavo Man-Eaters” killed dozens of people in late 1890s, including Kenya-Uganda Railway workers. For several months in 1898, a pair of male lions turned the Tsavo region of K.....»»
Human Origins Look Ever More Tangled with Gene and Fossil Discoveries
Fossil and gene discoveries paint an ever-more-intertwined history of humans combining with vanished species like Neandertals.....»»
What do planet formation and badminton have in common?
Dust grains in protoplanetary disks align via the same aerodynamics as the sport. The birth of a planet starts with a microscopic grain floating in a protoplanetary disk, a swirli.....»»
Reports: Tesla’s prototype Optimus robots were controlled by humans
But the prototypes used "artificial intelligence" to control their walking. After Elon Musk provided his "long-term" vision for autonomous, humanoid robots at last week's "We, Rob.....»»
Is the physics of red blood cells in bats a key to "artificial hibernation" for humans?
The mechanical properties of red blood cells (erythrocytes) at various temperatures could play an important role in mammals' ability to hibernate. This is the outcome of a study that compared the thermomechanical properties of erythrocytes in two spe.....»»
How "vaccinating" plants could reduce pesticide use and secure global food supplies
In a growing and changing world, we need to find ways of putting food on everyone's table. Pesticides have enabled mass cultivation on an incredible scale, but they can have harmful secondary effects on humans and wildlife, and pests are rapidly evol.....»»
Ancient hominins had humanlike hands, indicating earlier tool use, study reveals
An analysis by Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Germany, on the manual capabilities of early hominins reveals that some Australopithecus species exhibited hand use similar to modern humans......»»
Invisible text that AI chatbots understand and humans can’t? Yep, it’s a thing.
A quirk in the Unicode standard harbors an ideal steganographic code channel. What if there was a way to sneak malicious instructions into Claude, Copilot, or other top-name AI ch.....»»
Ancient humans were so good at surviving the last ice age, they didn"t have to migrate like other species
Humans seem to have been adapted to the last ice age in similar ways to wolves and bears, according to our recent study, challenging longstanding theories about how and where our ancestors lived during this glacial period......»»
What colors do bees see? And how do we know?
I was reading a children's book about insects to my daughter, and it said that bees see colors differently than humans do. My daughter immediately asked, in short succession: "What colors do they see? Why? How do we know?" I did some homework to find.....»»