Science Daily

Dinosaurs get all the glory. But aetosaurs, a heavily armored cousin of modern crocodiles, ruled the world before dinosaurs did. These tanks of the Triassic came in a variety of shapes and sizes before going extinct around 200 million years ago. Today, their fossils are found on every continent except Antarctica and Australia.

Leafhoppers, a common backyard insect, secrete and coat themselves in tiny mysterious particles that could provide both the inspiration and the instructions for next-generation technology, according to a new study. In a first, the team precisely replicated the complex geometry of these particles, called brochosomes, and elucidated a better understanding of how they absorb both visible and ultraviolet light.

A new report uncovers how hydrogen gas, the energy of the future, provided energy in the past, at the origin of life 4 billion years ago. Hydrogen gas is clean fuel. It burns with oxygen in the air to provide energy with no CO2. Hydrogen is a key to sustainable energy for the future. Though humans are just now coming to realize the benefits of hydrogen gas (H2 in chemical shorthand), microbes have known that H2 is good fuel for as long as there has been life on Earth. Hydrogen is ancient energy.

New research shows that the next generation of lithium-sulphur (Li||S) batteries may be capable of being charged in less than five minutes, instead of several hours as is currently the case.

Researchers have identified new drug candidates for preventing and treating major respiratory viral infections.

Our eating habits in industrialized societies are far removed from those of ancient humans. This is impacting our intestinal flora, it seems, as newly discovered cellulose degrading bacteria are being lost from the human gut microbiome, especially in industrial societies.

Performing a new task based solely on verbal or written instructions, and then describing it to others so that they can reproduce it, is a cornerstone of human communication that still resists artificial intelligence (AI). A team has succeeded in modelling an artificial neural network capable of this cognitive prowess. After learning and performing a series of basic tasks, this AI was able to provide a linguistic description of them to a 'sister' AI, which in turn performed them.

A new study shows how heteroresistance, a transient resistance common in many bacteria, can act as a precursor to the development of antibiotic resistance. According to researchers, this is the first time this link has been demonstrated. 'If heteroresistance is a stepping stone towards resistance, we need to have much better control of its occurrence and effects,' explains the lead researcher behind the study.

When climate scientists look to the future to determine what the effects of climate change may be, they use computer models to simulate potential outcomes such as how precipitation will change in a warming world. Some scientists are also looking at something a little more tangible: coral.

Anyone who wants to produce medication, plastics or fertilizer using conventional methods needs heat for chemical reactions -- but not so with photochemistry, where light provides the energy. The process to achieve the desired product also often takes fewer intermediate steps. Researchers are now going one step further and are demonstrating how the energy efficiency of photochemical reactions can be increased tenfold. More sustainable and cost-effective applications are now tantalizingly close.

Researchers have performed the most comprehensive analysis to date of cancer of the ureters or the urine-collection cavities in the kidney, known as upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC). The study, which compared the characteristics of primary and metastatic tumors, provides new insights into the biology of these aggressive cancers and potential ways to treat them.

Scientists have developed the first wireless, implantable temperature sensor to detect inflammatory flareups in patients with Crohn's disease. The approach offers long-term, real-time monitoring and could enable clinicians to act earlier to prevent or limit the permanent damage caused by inflammatory episodes.

Researchers developed a system that enables projection mapping within an illuminated environment. Several standard projectors and one large-aperture projector reproduce the environmental illumination in all areas except for the target object, whereas texture projectors display the texture on the unilluminated object's surface. Experiments show that participants perceived the objects using surface-color mode instead of aperture-color mode, verifying that the proposed system has the potential to produce highly realistic interactive environments.

The development of hair was of central importance for the evolution of mammals and thus also of humans. However, the evolutionary origin of the genetic program of hair was previously unknown. An international research team led has now been able to show that important hair components and their genetic control have already evolved in amphibians. Human hair therefore shows unexpected similarities to the claws of clawed frogs. The results were recently published in the scientific journal 'Nature Communications'.

Important data can be stored and concealed quite easily in ordinary plastic using 3D printers and terahertz radiation, scientists show. Holography can be done quite easily: A 3D printer can be used to produce a panel from normal plastic in which a QR code can be stored, for example. The message is read using terahertz rays -- electromagnetic radiation that is invisible to the human eye.

Muscle injuries are common in the active population, and they cause the majority of player leaves in the world of sport. Depending on the severity, recovery of muscle function is quite slow and may require surgery, medication and rehabilitation. Now, a study reveals a strategy to improve and accelerate recovery from muscle injuries that has potential application in the sports and health sector in general.

Venting about a source of anger might feel good in the moment, but it's not effective at reducing the rage, new research suggests. Instead, techniques often used to address stress -- deep breathing, mindfulness, meditation, yoga or even counting to 10 -- have been shown to be more effective at decreasing anger and aggression.

Scientists have discovered how female Diadem butterflies have evolved to look like African Queen butterflies to repel predators.

A new method that aims to help people develop grit looks promising.

A new visitor was reported on the coast of Cyprus, thanks to the growing power of citizen science. Researchers collected information and specimens through personal communication with amateur naturalists, but also through the internet, in order to compose the mosaic of repeated appearances of a giant water bug on the eastern shoreline of the island.