SciGlow is a newsletter of science stories from the major research labs. Headlines link to in-depth articles and editorials. SciGlow keeps scientists and others up-to-date on current research.
Jackdaws are more likely to join a mob to drive off predators if lots of their fellow birds are up for the fight, new research shows. The study found that when more birds call out to show they are willing to mob a predator, more other jackdaws join in. University of Exeter scientists say this … Read more
On 22 December 2018, a flank of the Anak Krakatau volcano plunged into the Sunda strait between the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Java, triggering a tsunami that killed 430 people. An international research team led by Thomas Walter of the German Research Centre for Geosciences GFZ in Potsdam has now shown that the volcano … Read more
Inspired by the unique and efficient swimming strategy of cephalopods, scientists developed an aquatic robot that mimics their form of propulsion. These high-speed, squidlike robots are made of smart materials, which make them hard to detect – an advantage that has potential military reconnaissance and scientific applications – while maintaining a low environmental footprint. Physicists … Read more
A team of evolutionary biologists, led by Dr. Rui Diogo at Howard University, USA, and writing in the journal Development, have demonstrated that numerous atavistic limb muscles – known to be present in many limbed animals but usually absent in adult humans – are actually formed during early human development and then lost prior to birth. … Read more
Researchers from the U.S., Russia, and China have bent the rules of classical chemistry and synthesized a “forbidden” compound of cerium and hydrogen – CeH9 – which exhibits superconductivity at a relatively low pressure of 1 million atmospheres. The paper came out in Nature Communications. Superconductors are materials capable of conducting an electric current with no resistance … Read more
Scientists have challenged one of the great mysteries of physics – by undertaking an experiment in space proposed by The University of Queensland a decade ago. The School of Mathematics and Physics’ Professor Timothy Ralph collaborated on the study, which he said could bring quantum technologies, such as a global quantum internet, closer to being … Read more
Living close to the sea could support better mental health in England’s poorest urban communities, finds a new study published today in the journal Health and Place. Researchers from the University of Exeter used survey data from nearly 26,000 respondents in their analysis, which marks one of the most detailed investigations ever into the wellbeing effects … Read more
Minister for Education Dan Tehan will announce a new $35 million Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence to develop ways to make mineral processing more environmentally sustainable and do much to secure the future availability of the metals we depend on for modern living. Member for Robertson, Lucy Wicks, will make the announcement at the University … Read more
A preventive treatment developed by Stanford researchers could greatly reduce the incidence and severity of wildfires. The approach, outlined Sept. 30 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, involves an environmentally benign gel-like fluid that helps common wildland fire retardants last longer on vegetation. Applied to ignition-prone areas, these materials retain their ability to prevent … Read more
Researchers at the University of Illinois have shown through a multi-year study that cowbirds (Molothrus ater) conform to Bateman’s Principle, which holds that reproductive success is greater in males than in females when they have more mates. Cowbirds are distinct from 99% of other bird species in that they are brood parasites and lay their … Read more