Earliest fish-trapping facility in Central America discovered in Maya lowlands
An archaeologist from the University of New Hampshire and her team have collected data which indicates the presence of a large-scale pre-Columbian fish-trapping facility. Discovered in the Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary (CTWS), the largest inland wetland in Belize, the team dated the construction of these fisheries to the Late Archaic period (cal. 2000-1900 BCE), pre-dating Amazonian examples by a thousand years or … ⌘ Read more

‘e-Drive’: New gene drive reverses insecticide resistance in pests… then disappears
Insecticides have been used for centuries to counteract widespread pest damage to valuable food crops. Eventually, over time, beetles, moths, flies and other insects develop genetic mutations that render the insecticide chemicals ineffective. ⌘ Read more

Natural substance from edible cyanobacterium could combat skin aging by enhancing collagen
Cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, have existed for billions of years, adapting to a diverse range of environments. Their remarkable ability to photosynthesize and make their own food, as well as their adaptability across a variety of habitats, make them a subject of focus for the research fraternity. ⌘ Read more

Exploring the impact of offshore wind on whale deaths
In the winter of 2022–2023, nearly a dozen whales died off the coast of New Jersey, near the sites of several proposed wind farms. Their deaths prompted concern that related survey work being conducted in the area somehow contributed to their deaths. ⌘ Read more

AI and genus-conditioned algorithms create precise simulation-ready models of 600,000 existing urban trees
The Irish philosopher George Berkely, best known for his theory of immaterialism, once famously mused, “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” What about AI-generated trees? They probably wouldn’t make a sound, but they will be critical nonetheless for applications such as adaptation of urban flora to climate change. ⌘ Read more

Parasaurolophus pipes: Modeling the dinosaur’s crest to study its sound
Fossils might give a good image of what dinosaurs looked like, but they can also teach scientists what they sounded like. The Parasaurolophus is a duck-billed dinosaur with a unique crest that lived 70 million to 80 million years ago. It stood around 16 feet tall and is estimated to have weighed 6,000 to 8,000 pounds. ⌘ Read more

Emperor penguin released at sea 20 days after waddling onto Australian beach
The only emperor penguin known to have swum from Antarctica to Australia was released at sea 20 days after he waddled ashore on a popular tourist beach, officials said Friday. ⌘ Read more

Quantum-inspired design boosts efficiency of heat-to-electricity conversion
Researchers at Rice University have found a new way to improve a key element of thermophotovoltaic (TPV) systems, which convert heat into electricity via light. Using an unconventional approach inspired by quantum physics, Rice engineer Gururaj Naik and his team have designed a thermal emitter that can deliver high efficiencies within practical design parameters. ⌘ Read more

Smarter city planning: Researchers use brain activity to predict visits to urban areas
Urbanization, the process by which cities and towns expand in size and population, is rapidly advancing globally, and the percentage of people living in urban environments has increased from 33% in 1960 to 57% in 2023. ⌘ Read more

Low levels of common contaminants but high levels of other elements in waters linked to abandoned lithium mine
Lithium ore and mining waste from a historic lithium mine located west of Charlotte, North Carolina, are unlikely to contaminate surrounding waters with common pollutants such as arsenic and lead, according to a new study. ⌘ Read more

DNA-based methods found highly effective for identifying insect species
A team of researchers from Linnaeus University and Linköping University, extensively evaluated DNA barcoding and metabarcoding methods. A comprehensive study has demonstrated that DNA-based methods are remarkably reliable for identifying insect species and estimating biodiversity. Barcoding approaches offer robust and resource-efficient alternatives to traditional taxonomic identification, which is promising news for biodiversi … ⌘ Read more

Astronomers take first close-up picture of a star outside our galaxy
Located a staggering 160,000 light-years from us, the star WOH G64 was imaged thanks to the impressive sharpness offered by the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope Interferometer (ESO’s VLTI). The new observations reveal a star puffing out gas and dust in the last stages before it becomes a supernova. ⌘ Read more

Volcano on Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula erupts for the 7th time in a year
A volcano on the Reykjanes Peninsula in southwestern Iceland has erupted for the seventh time since December. ⌘ Read more

Engraved trees map the way to preserving Sámi culture
Archaeologists analyzed trees engraved by the Indigenous Sámi of Arctic Europe, revealing the significance of these rare remnants of Sámi culture and the importance of preserving them from ongoing deforestation. ⌘ Read more