Tuesday, October 05, 2021

Exceptional learning capacities revealed in some gifted dogs

Does your dog understand you? All dogs are smart but some are uniquely gifted at learning words. According to a new study, just published in Royal Society Open Science, these gifted dogs can learn up to 12 new toy names in one week. Not only that, but they can also remember the new toy names for at least two months. The dogs presented their exceptional skills as part of the Genius Dog Challenge, a series of live broadcasted experiments, which went viral over social media.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-10-exceptional-capacities-revealed-gifted-dogs.html

Researchers describe new tardigrade fossil found in 16 million year old Domincan amber

Tardigrades, also known as water bears, are a diverse group of charismatic microscopic invertebrates that are best known for their ability to survive extreme conditions. A famous example was a 2007 trip to space where tardigrades were exposed to the space vacuum and harmful ionizing solar radiation, and still managed to survive and reproduce after returning to Earth. Tardigrades are found in all the continents of the world and in different environments including marine, freshwater, and terrestrial.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-10-tardigrade-fossil-million-year-domincan.html

Exceptional learning capacities revealed in some gifted dogs

Does your dog understand you? All dogs are smart but some are uniquely gifted at learning words. According to a new study, just published in Royal Society Open Science, these gifted dogs can learn up to 12 new toy names in one week. Not only that, but they can also remember the new toy names for at least two months. The dogs presented their exceptional skills as part of the Genius Dog Challenge, a series of live broadcasted experiments, which went viral over social media.

Researchers describe new tardigrade fossil found in 16 million year old Domincan amber

Tardigrades, also known as water bears, are a diverse group of charismatic microscopic invertebrates that are best known for their ability to survive extreme conditions. A famous example was a 2007 trip to space where tardigrades were exposed to the space vacuum and harmful ionizing solar radiation, and still managed to survive and reproduce after returning to Earth. Tardigrades are found in all the continents of the world and in different environments including marine, freshwater, and terrestrial.

Russian crew blast off to film first movie in space

A Russian actress and director blasted off to the International Space Station on Tuesday in a historic bid to best the United States to film the first movie in orbit.

Russian crew blast off to film first movie in space

A Russian actress and director blasted off to the International Space Station on Tuesday in a historic bid to best the United States to film the first movie in orbit.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-10-russian-crew-blast-movie-space.html

Global warming kills 14 percent of world's corals in a decade

Dynamite fishing and pollution—but mostly global warming—wiped out 14 percent of the world's coral reefs from 2009 to 2018, leaving graveyards of bleached skeletons where vibrant ecosystems once thrived, according to the largest ever survey of coral health.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-10-global-percent-world-corals-decade.html

Severe droughts dry up dreams of Turkish farmers

Turkish farmer Hava Keles stares inconsolably at withered vines of rotting tomatoes in a field that has been devastated by a series of droughts blamed on climate change.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-10-severe-droughts-turkish-farmers.html

eFootball fiasco symptom of growing rush to bring out games

The scathing reviews of the "grotesque" eFootball 2022 and its "horrible" graphics are a potent illustration of the risks posed by increasing pressure to rush video games to market, experts say.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-10-efootball-fiasco-symptom-games.html

Science seeks ancient plants to save favourite foods

From a bowl of rice to a cup of coffee, experts say the foods we take for granted could become much scarcer unless we can make them resistant to climate change.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-10-science-ancient-favourite-foods.html

Facebook wants US monopoly suit tossed due to bias

Facebook on Monday urged a federal judge to toss out a US monopoly lawsuit, arguing that the regulator behind it has "an axe to grind" and it lacks supporting facts.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-10-facebook-monopoly-tossed-due-bias.html

Global warming kills 14 percent of world's corals in a decade

Dynamite fishing and pollution—but mostly global warming—wiped out 14 percent of the world's coral reefs from 2009 to 2018, leaving graveyards of bleached skeletons where vibrant ecosystems once thrived, according to the largest ever survey of coral health.

Severe droughts dry up dreams of Turkish farmers

Turkish farmer Hava Keles stares inconsolably at withered vines of rotting tomatoes in a field that has been devastated by a series of droughts blamed on climate change.

Science seeks ancient plants to save favourite foods

From a bowl of rice to a cup of coffee, experts say the foods we take for granted could become much scarcer unless we can make them resistant to climate change.

Zero net emissions by 2050: a huge challenge for airline industry

How can passengers take 10 billion flights a year without contributing to global warming? The question of "greening" the international aviation sector by 2050 constitutes a colossal task whose stakes—and sheer numbers—can make the head spin, according to the airlines themselves.

Nobel panel to reveal 2021 prize for physics

The 2021 Nobel Prize for physics is being announced Tuesday, an award that has in the past honored discoveries about fundamental forces of nature and cosmic phenomena.

Scandal-hit NSO backs international spyware rules

The Israeli company at the heart of the Pegasus surveillance scandal on Tuesday said it would support international regulation to prevent repressive governments from abusing powerful spyware like its own.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-10-scandal-hit-nso-international-spyware.html

Zero net emissions by 2050: a huge challenge for airline industry

How can passengers take 10 billion flights a year without contributing to global warming? The question of "greening" the international aviation sector by 2050 constitutes a colossal task whose stakes—and sheer numbers—can make the head spin, according to the airlines themselves.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-10-net-emissions-huge-airline-industry.html

US jury orders Tesla to pay ex-employee $137 million over racism

A jury in California on Monday ordered Tesla to pay a Black former employee $137 million in damages for turning a blind eye to racism the man encountered at the firm's auto plant in Fremont, US media reported.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-10-jury-tesla-ex-employee-million-racism.html

Ex-Facebook employee bringing sharp criticisms to Congress

A former Facebook data scientist has stunned lawmakers and the public with revelations of the company's awareness of apparent harm to some teens from Instagram and her accusations of dishonesty in its fight against hate and misinformation. Now she is coming before Congress.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-10-ex-facebook-employee-sharp-criticisms-congress.html

Nobel panel to reveal 2021 prize for physics

The 2021 Nobel Prize for physics is being announced Tuesday, an award that has in the past honored discoveries about fundamental forces of nature and cosmic phenomena.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-10-nobel-panel-reveal-prize-physics.html

Making self-driving cars human-friendly

Automated vehicles could be made more pedestrian-friendly thanks to new research which could help them predict when people will cross the road.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-10-self-driving-cars-human-friendly.html

Income inequality can harm children's achievement in maths—but not reading, 27-year study suggests

Inequalities in income affect how well children do in maths—but not reading, the most comprehensive study of its kind has found.

Income inequality can harm children's achievement in maths—but not reading, 27-year study suggests

Inequalities in income affect how well children do in maths—but not reading, the most comprehensive study of its kind has found.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-10-income-inequality-children-mathsbut-year.html