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.....»»
Does AI in the classroom facilitate deep learning in students?
Multitasking robots collaborate with humans in large warehouses, and chatbots respond to queries on banking websites. Artificial intelligence assistants even sort documents for law firms. William & Mary Assistant Professor of Computer Science Janice.....»»
New perspectives for using corals in climate research
Ancient ocean temperatures are most commonly reconstructed by analyzing the ratio of different oxygen atoms in the calcium carbonate remains of fossils. However, this presents many challenges, including a combination of biological processes known as.....»»
Penguin wing fossil shows importance of Zealandia in penguin evolution
Three small fossil penguin bones, collected in South Canterbury in 1987, are now shedding new light on how penguin wings have evolved. A new study, published in the Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, describes a new species of penguin that.....»»
Mass extinction 66 million years ago triggered rapid evolution of bird genomes, study finds
Shortly after an asteroid slammed into Earth 66 million years ago, life for non-avian dinosaurs ended, but the evolutionary story for the early ancestors of birds began......»»
New model uses satellite imagery, machine learning to map flooding in urban environments
As climate change causes storms to intensify, new tools are needed to map where flooding occurs in under-studied areas......»»
Researchers discover high levels of non-coding RNAs in testes, suggesting new roles in sperm function and evolution
Researchers at the University of Toronto have mapped the spatial distribution of around 700 long non-coding RNAs, otherwise known as lncRNAs, in the testes. The team discovered much higher levels of lncRNAs in the testes than had been previously esti.....»»
Engineers use machine learning to measure chaos in systems
How do we measure chaos and why would we want to? Together, Penn engineers Dani S. Bassett, J. Peter Skirkanich Professor in Bioengineering and in Electrical and Systems Engineering, and postdoctoral researcher Kieran Murphy leverage the power of mac.....»»
Researchers identify unique phenomenon in Kagome metal
In traditional Japanese basket-weaving, the ancient "Kagome" design seen in many handcrafted creations is characterized by a symmetrical pattern of interlaced triangles with shared corners. In quantum physics, the Kagome name has been borrowed by sci.....»»
Scientists now know when an ancient lake supported human life in the Namib Sand Sea
Desert regions in northern Africa and the Arabian Peninsula have been well studied by archaeologists as the home of early humans and as routes of migration along "green corridors.".....»»
It looks like big changes are coming to the Nest Learning Thermostat
The leaked images reveal a Google Nest Learning Thermostat with a radical redesign and heaps of cool new features......»»
Has NASA found evidence of ancient life of Mars? An expert examines the latest discovery
NASA has announced the first detection of possible biosignatures in a rock on the surface of Mars. The rock contains the first martian organic matter to be detected by the Perseverance rover, as well as curious discolored spots that could indicate th.....»»
Old videos of chimpanzees suggest they are capable of speech
A small team of speech specialists and psychologists from Sweden, the U.K. and Switzerland has found, via study of old videos, that at least three chimpanzees had learned to speak human words, suggesting that the animals are capable of learning this.....»»
Complex life on Earth began around 1.5 billion years earlier than previously thought, new study claims
Environmental evidence of the very first experiments in the evolution of complex life on Earth, has been uncovered by an international team of scientists......»»
The hidden drivers of evolution: Transposable elements in Rosaceae genomes
Transposable elements are mobile DNA sequences that play a crucial role in plant genome architecture and gene regulation. They drive genome size variation and affect gene expression by altering regulatory networks. Despite their significance, the div.....»»
NASA Mars rover captures rock that could hold fossilized microbes
NASA's Perseverance Mars rover has made what could be its most astonishing discovery to date: possible signs of ancient life on the Red Planet......»»
X-ray microCT unveils ancient pottery techniques
Researchers from Ca' Foscari University of Venice have uncovered insights into ancient pottery forming techniques using X-ray micro-computed tomography (microCT). The study, published in the Journal of Archaeological Science, reveals how advanced 3D.....»»
Invasive, blood-sucking fish "may hold the key to understanding where we came from," say biologists
One of just two vertebrates without a jaw, sea lampreys that are wreaking havoc in Midwestern fisheries are simultaneously helping scientists understand the origins of two important stem cells that drove the evolution of vertebrates......»»
Perseverance rover finds tantalizing hints of possible ancient life on Mars
Perseverance has located some tantalizing indications of possible microbial life on Mars - although it's too early for scientists to be sure......»»
Perseverance rover discovers rock with potential signs of ancient life
A vein-filled rock is catching the eye of the science team of NASA's Perseverance rover. Nicknamed "Cheyava Falls" by the team, the arrowhead-shaped rock contains fascinating traits that may bear on the question of whether Mars was home to microscopi.....»»
Bat evolution study supports gliding-to-flying hypothesis
In new research published in PeerJ, researchers from the University of Washington, University of Texas at Austin and Oregon Institute of Technology, led by undergraduate student Abby Burtner, have advanced our understanding of the evolutionary origin.....»»