Ye olde pathogen: Learning about evolution from ancient DNA
As long as humans have been around, there have been pathogens to make us sick. Some have achieved infamy in human history—the bubonic plague, for example, or smallpox—and with modern technologies, scientists can time-travel to find out what the b.....»»
Licking an ice lolly at school might make a good memory, but this isn"t the secret to learning science
A group of scientists, including people from the Royal Society of Chemistry, recently proposed that experiences such as licking an ice lolly should be part of the science curriculum. By licking a lolly and seeing how it melts—the idea goes—childr.....»»
New machine learning model offers simple solution to predicting crop yield
A new machine-learning model for predicting crop yield using environmental data and genetic information can be used to develop new, higher-performing crop varieties......»»
Indie App Spotlight: ‘Study Snacks’ makes learning more fun
Welcome to Indie App Spotlight. This is a weekly 9to5Mac series where we showcase the latest apps in the indie app world. If you’re a developer and would like your app featured, get in contact. Study Snacks is a beautifully designed and play.....»»
Kara Sprague joins HackerOne as CEO
HackerOne announced that it has appointed Kara Sprague to succeed Marten Mickos as CEO. Sprague joins HackerOne at a powerful moment in its evolution, having seen 200% product growth in its pentesting and AI red teaming business and 120% growth in vu.....»»
Early exposure to diverse faces helps babies overcome prejudices later in life, study suggests
Babies who have more diverse social contacts in the first years of their life can get over their prejudices more easily by the age of 17. That's according to research published in npj Science of Learning by neuroscientist Saskia Koch of Radboud Unive.....»»
Double-peaked supernovae offer clues to pre-supernova outbursts
New research helps in understanding the evolution and final stages of massive stars, the role of binary interactions, and the mechanisms behind mass loss, which ultimately affect the properties of the resulting supernova and its remnant. This work al.....»»
Five lessons from ancient civilizations for keeping homes cool in hot, dry climates
Modern buildings tend to take electricity and air conditioning for granted. They often have glass facades and windows that can't be opened. And when the power goes out for days in the middle of a heat wave, as the Houston area experienced in July 202.....»»
Ancient viral genomes preserved in glaciers reveal climate history—and how viruses adapt to climate change
As humans alter the planet's climate and ecosystems, scientists are looking to Earth's history to help predict what may unfold from climate change. To this end, massive ice structures like glaciers serve as nature's freezers, archiving detailed recor.....»»
What a submerged ancient bridge discovered in a Spanish cave reveals about early human settlement
A new study led by the University of South Florida has shed light on the human colonization of the western Mediterranean, revealing that humans settled there much earlier than previously believed. This research, detailed in a recent issue of the jour.....»»
Ancient gene gives spiders their narrow waist, research reveals
An ancient gene is crucial for the development of the distinctive waist that divides the spider body plan in two, according to a study published August 29 in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by Emily Setton from the University of Wisconsin-Madiso.....»»
Tuberculosis under the sea: A marine sponge microbe provides insights into the bacterium"s evolution
The surprising discovery of a bacterium in a marine sponge from the Great Barrier Reef with striking similarity to Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the pathogen responsible for tuberculosis (TB), could unlock and inform future TB research and treatment st.....»»
Does your Duolingo app icon look sick? You’re not alone
Quick, someone give the Duolingo app icon a tissue! Everyone's favorite language learning owl has a case of the sniffles......»»
The Vesuvius challenge is using AI to virtually unroll Pompeii"s ancient scrolls
The Vesuvius Challenge is an unparalleled competition in the field of classical studies, with the potential to pave the way for something akin to a second Renaissance. Its objective is to use artificial intelligence (AI) to virtually unroll hundreds.....»»
Proper greening of schoolyards fosters inclusion, creative learning and children"s health
At a time of growing interest in the naturalizing of school playgrounds, it is important to ensure that these environments are properly designed and governed in order to reap the many benefits they can bring to schoolchildren and society in general......»»
Spectroscopy study reveals electrons in cocatalyst periphery drive photocatalytic hydrogen evolution
Synchronizing periodic excitations of photocatalysts with a Michelson interferometer on operando FT–IR spectroscopy, researchers led by Toshiki Sugimoto succeeded in observing and identifying the reactive electron species for photocatalytic hydroge.....»»
Machine-learning models can predict colonization outcomes of complex microbial communities
Microbial communities are constantly exposed to the invasion of exogenous species, which can significantly alter their composition and function. The capacity of a microbial community to resist invasion is regarded as an emergent property resulting fr.....»»
Colorado"s Standley Lake baby bald eagles survive after years of tragedy
Three baby bald eagles at Standley Lake survived to become juveniles and are learning to hunt and live on their own after years of tragedy and mishaps, Westminster officials said this week......»»
Larger ant colonies drive the evolution of worker castes: Division of labor is key to life"s complexity, says study
Just like human societies, ant societies have a division of labor. Within a colony, some individuals feed the young while others are soldiers who protect the colony from intruders. New research across 794 ant species, published in Nature Ecology & Ev.....»»
Land-sea "tag-team" devastated ocean life millions of years ago, reveal scientists
Scientists have revealed how a "tag-team" between the oceans and continents millions of years ago devastated marine life—and altered the course of evolution on Earth......»»
Ancient sea cow that was attacked by both a primeval crocodile and shark sheds new light on prehistoric food chains
A new study showing how a prehistoric sea cow was preyed upon by not one, but two different carnivores—a crocodilian and a shark—is revealing clues into both the predation tactics of ancient creatures and the wider food chain millions of years ag.....»»