DNA in fringe-lipped bat poop reveals unexpected eating habits
Hypothesized approach of a sleeping white-necked jacobin, Florisuga mellivora, by the fringe-lipped bat, Trachops cirrhosus. Credit: Amy Koehler Poop is full of secrets. For scientists, digging into feces provides insights into animal diets and is particularly useful for understanding nocturnal or rare species. When animals eat, prey DNA travels all the way through animal digestive […]
All seniors could get COVID-19 vaccine by end of January, HHS head says
All seniors, health care workers, first responders and vulnerable individuals could be vaccinated against COVID-19 by the end of January, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar told reporters Wednesday (Oct. 21) during a news briefing. But this ambitious timeline rests on a critical factor: enough data to know that […]
Maya imported zeolite and quartz to filter drinking water — ScienceDaily
Ancient Maya in the once-bustling city of Tikal built sophisticated water filters using natural materials they imported from miles away, according to the University of Cincinnati. UC researchers discovered evidence of a filter system at the Corriental reservoir, an important source of drinking water for the ancient Maya in what is now northern Guatemala. A […]
Your grip strength could hint at future health problems
Some medical researchers think that grip strength is an important health metric. (Kelly Sikkema/Unsplash/) Adam Taylor is a professor and director of the Clinical Anatomy Learning Centre at Lancaster University. This story originally featured on The Conversation. The human hand is remarkable. Not only does it allow us to throw, grab, climb and pick things […]
African crocodiles lived in Spain six million years ago
IMAGE: A crocodile next to a mastodon of the genus Anancus and primitive horses of the genus Hipparion in a similar environment to what could have been Valencia six million years… view more Credit: José Antonio Peñas (SINC) Millions of years ago, several species of crocodiles of different genera and characteristics inhabited Europe and sometimes even […]
Collaboration sparks new model for ceramic conductivity
Credit: CC0 Public Domain As insulators, metal oxides—also known as ceramics—may not seem like obvious candidates for electrical conductivity. While electrons zip back and forth in regular metals, their movement in ceramic materials is sluggish and difficult to detect. An interdisciplinary collaboration led by Richard Robinson updated the “small polaron hopping model” to reflect different […]
Aliens on 1,000+ stars might be able to detect life on Earth
There are about 1,000 star systems where aliens, if they existed, could be watching us from afar, new research suggests. Those 1,004 star systems are in a direct line of sight to our planet, and close enough to us that they could not only detect planet Earth, but also chemical traces of Earthly life. Over […]
Bat-winged dinosaurs were clumsy fliers
Only two dinosaur species are known to have had wings made out of stretched skin, like bats. But unlike bats, these dinos were capable of only limited gliding between trees, a new anatomical analysis suggests. That bat-winged gliding turned out to be a dead end along the path to the evolution of flight, researchers say. […]
The multiracial population is one of the fastest-growing minority groups but faces stigma challenges — ScienceDaily
Policy changes can help to fight stigmas of multiracial Americans, one of the fasting growing minority groups in the United States according to a Rutgers University-led study. Published in the journal Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences, the study finds that such stigmas may be combated by legitimizing multiracial identities. Despite the increasing […]
The moon will soon have cell service
Talk about roaming! (NASA /) If NASA’s Artemis program succeeds in returning humans to the moon in 2024, the astronauts may have the option of tweeting their first words before leaving their first footprints. Last week, the US space agency announced a $14.1 million contract with the telecommunications company Nokia to build an LTE cellular […]
