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Collective battery storage beneficial for decarbonized world
Batteries are potentially a game-changing technology as we decarbonize our economy, and their benefits are even greater when shared across communities, a new study has found. Co-author Associate Professor Michael Jack, Director of the Energy Programme in the Department of Physics, says reducing costs are seeing rapid deployment of batteries for household use, mainly for…
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Disease threatens to decimate western bats
A four-year study concludes that the fungal disease, white-nose syndrome, poses a severe threat to many western North American bats. Since it was first detected in 2006, white-nose syndrome has killed millions of bats in eastern and central North America. The spread of the fungal pathogen that causes white-nose syndrome in hibernating bats has reached…
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Marine ecologists reveal mangroves might be threatened by low functional diversity of invertebrates
Researchers compiled a dataset of 209 crustacean and 155 mollusk species from 16 mangrove forests around the world. They found that mangroves, when compared with other ecosystems, are among those with the lowest functional redundancy among resident fauna recorded to date, which suggests that these coastal vegetations are among the most precarious ecosystems in the…
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Flies possess more sophisticated cognitive abilities than previously known
Common flies feature more advanced cognitive abilities than previously believed. Using a custom-built immersive virtual reality arena, neurogenetics and real-time brain activity imaging, researchers found attention, working memory and conscious awareness-like capabilities in fruit flies. In a new study, researchers at the University of California San Diego’s Kavli Institute for Brain and Mind (KIBM) have…
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Student researchers discover genes unique to humans in search for source of our evolutionary distinctiveness
A team of student researchers has discovered human microRNA genes not shared with any other primate species and which may have played an important role in the unique evolution of the human species. The students found at least three families of microRNA genes on chromosome 21. The team utilized genome alignment tools to compare the…
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There may be more bird species in the tropics than we know
Study of a perky little bird suggests there may be far more avian species in the tropics than those identified so far. After a genetic study of the White-crowned Manakin, scientists say it’s not just one species and one of the main drivers of its diversity is the South American landscape and its history of…
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Newly discovered enzyme helps make valuable bioactive saponins
Researchers discovered a new enzyme, closely related to the CSyGT family of enzymes involved in producing cellulose in plant cell walls. Unexpectedly, they found the new enzyme is responsible for a key step in the biosynthesis of saponins, bioactive products with high-value applications in medicine and the food industry. The new enzyme opens up novel…
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Diversity of life and the ‘paradox of sex’
New research finds that sexual reproduction and multicellularity drive diversity among different species. A new University of Arizona-led study, published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, tested whether sexual reproduction and multicellularity might help explain this mysterious pattern. «We wanted to understand the diversity of life,» said paper co-author John Wiens, a professor…
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Scientists create mind-blowing tool to ‘see’ millions of brain cell connections in mice
To solve the mysteries of how learning and memory occur, scientists have created a system to track millions of connections among brain cells in mice — all at the same time — when the animals’ whiskers are tweaked, an indicator for learning. Researchers say the new tool gives an unprecedented view of brain cell activity…
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Drought and climate change shift tree disease in Sierra Nevada
A study provides some of the first evidence that climate change and drought are shifting the range of infectious disease in forests suffering from white pine blister rust disease. A study from the University of California, Davis, provides some of the first evidence that climate change and drought are shifting the range of infectious disease…