A violet-tailed sylph (Aglaiocercus coelestis) hummingbird is pictured in a private reserve in Mindo, Ecuador on August 16, 2024. A sprawling Ecuadoran forest reserve, home to toucans and the spectacled bear, is at the heart of a tug-of-war between environmentalist and miners. A year ago, residents and environmentalists scored a hard-won victory in a local … Read more
Credit: CC0 Public Domain Recent research from the University of Bath shows discrimination against women worsens if Artificial Intelligence (AI) is used by lenders for loans, but that ethical lenders could choose to tweak the AI algorithms to address this bias and still improve their profits as well as their brand reputation. The study of … Read more
Adult samples of Akarotaxis gouldae (left) compared to adult samples of Akarotaxis nudiceps (right) show subtle yet distinct morphological differences, including the presence of two bands on the bodies of Akarotaxis gouldae as well as a shorter snouts and jaws. Credit: Andrew Corso A new species of Antarctic dragonfish, Akarotaxis gouldae or Banded Dragonfish, has … Read more
People carrying umbrellas walk across a street in Tokyo on August 30. Typhoon Shanshan weakened to a tropical storm but was still dumping heavy rains as it slowly churned through Japan. A powerful typhoon now downgraded to a tropical storm was still disrupting flights and trains in Japan Saturday, with authorities warning of possible landslides … Read more
Credit: Neuron (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2024.04.036 Animal behavior is known to rely on transforming sensory information into motor commands, often influenced by an animal’s internal needs. While in mammals and other large animals this process is supported by complex brain processes, simpler versions of it might also guide the behavior of smaller living organisms, including insects. … Read more
Numbers of jackass morwong have plummeted. Credit: Graham Edgar, CC BY When fish are taken from our oceans faster than they can reproduce, their population numbers decline. This over-fishing upsets marine ecosystems. It’s also bad for human populations that rely on fish for protein in their diets. To manage fishing areas sustainably, we need accurate … Read more
Credit: Matthew Kapust / Sanford Underground Research Facility Most of the matter in the universe is missing. Scientists believe around 85% of the matter in the cosmos is made of invisible dark matter, which has only been detected indirectly by its gravitational effects on its surroundings. My colleagues and I—a team of some 250 scientists … Read more
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe and ESA’s Solar Orbiter missions measuring the same stream of plasma flowing away from the sun at different distances. Parker measured copious magnetic waves near the edge of the corona (the “Alfvén surface”), while Solar Orbiter, located past the orbit of Venus, observed that the waves had disappeared and that their … Read more
Credit: Ella Ragasa from Pexels Located to the east of Madagascar, the bountiful, volcanic French island of Réunion has sometimes been called a sister to Hawaiian volcanoes because of the similarity in their climate and geographical nature. Those familiar with its seemingly pristine vegetation may be surprised to find out that half of the plants … Read more
by Alison Derry, Annabelle Fortin-Archambault and Beatrix Beisner, The Conversation A researcher from Groupe de recherche interuniversitaire en limnologie sampling zooplankton from an Alaskan lake. Credit: A. Derry, CC BY Freshwater ecosystems are impacted by human activities, including climate change, pollution and invasive species. We are researchers at the Université du Québec à Montréal and … Read more
