AUSTIN, Texas — Like many predators, the fringe-lipped bat primarily uses its hearing to find its prey, but with human-generated noise on the rise, scientists are examining how bats and other animals might adapt to find their next meal. According to a new study, when noise masks the mating calls of the bat’s prey, túngara frogs, the bat shifts to another sensory mode—echolocation. (more…)
Washington, DC — In the race to discover a proposed ninth planet in our Solar System, Carnegie’s Scott Sheppard and Chadwick Trujillo of Northern Arizona University have observed several never-before-seen objects at extreme distances from the Sun in our Solar System. Sheppard and Trujillo have now submitted their latest discoveries to the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center for official designations. A paper about the discoveries has also been accepted to The Astronomical Journal. (more…)
Computersimulation erlaubt Einblick in Dampfblasen auf molekularer Ebene
Wasser kann über lange Zeit einer beachtlichen Zugbelastung standhalten. Dies ist eine Voraussetzung für wichtige biologische Prozesse wie etwa den Wassertransport in Bäumen. Experimente über die Stabilität von Wasser unter Zugbelastung kamen bis dato jedoch zu stark unterschiedlichen Resultaten. PhysikerInnen um Christoph Dellago von der Universität Wien entwickelten mit Hilfe von Computersimulationen ein mikroskopisches Modell, das die Stabilität von Wasser abhängig von der angelegten mechanischen Spannung quantitativ vorhersagt. Dabei zeigte sich, dass die Zugstabilität von Wasser höher ist als bisher angenommen. Die aktuelle Studie erscheint im Fachmagazin “PNAS”. (more…)
Discovery could have major impact on multibillion-dollar cleaning products industry
A team of researchers, led by the University of Minnesota, has invented a new soap molecule made from renewable sources that could dramatically reduce the number of chemicals in cleaning products and their impact on the environment. (more…)
A new study shows that rocks formed by the grinding together of other rocks during earthquakes are rich in trapped hydrogen — a finding that suggests similar seismic activity on Mars may produce enough hydrogen to support life. (more…)
Brown University’s Stephen Houston and a team of leading researchers in anthropology and Maya archeology methodically verify the authenticity of the oldest known manuscript in ancient America. (more…)
Tübinger Wissenschaftler finden Übereinstimmungen bei der Entwicklung von Sprache und Schädelknochen
Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler der Universität Tübingen haben Belege dafür gefunden, dass die Ausprägung bestimmter menschlicher Schädelknochen Rückschlüsse auf die Zugehörigkeit zu einer Sprachgemeinschaft zulässt. (more…)
AUSTIN, Texas — A panel of academic and industrial thinkers has looked ahead to 2030 to forecast how advances in artificial intelligence (AI) might affect life in a typical North American city – in areas diverse as transportation, healthcare and education – and spur discussion of how to ensure the safe, fair and beneficial development of these rapidly emerging technologies. (more…)
