Chip shortage puts the brakes on automakers

A shortage of silicon chips is forcing automakers to cut back on production across the globe and may encourage efforts to cut reliance on Asian suppliers.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-02-chip-shortage-automakers.html

Dog show: Pet pooches play more when humans are watching

Pet dogs are far more likely to play with one another when their owner is present and being attentive, according to a new study, raising the intriguing possibility that they are putting on a show for our benefit.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-dog-pet-pooches-humans.html

German farmers rail against insect protection plans

The German government is set unveil legislation on Wednesday to halt a dramatic decline in insect populations, but farmers are up in arms over measures they say threaten their livelihoods.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-german-farmers-rail-insect.html

WhatsApp flap shows importance of message platform to Facebook

When WhatsApp users began to raise concerns about a new privacy policy being rolled out, members of a Washington pickup soccer group decided to switch their communications to rival messaging platform Signal, ditching the Facebook-owned service.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-02-whatsapp-importance-message-platform-facebook.html

Cataloguing genetic information about yams

Yams are a staple food in West Africa, which produces over 90% of the world's yams each year. Yams play a key role in the food security, economic income, and traditional culture for the region.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-cataloguing-genetic-yams.html

Research reveals why plant diversity is so important for bee diversity

As abundant and widespread bees, it is common to see both bumble bees and honey bees foraging on the same flower species during the summer, whether in Britain or many other countries.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-reveals-diversity-important-bee.html

You don't need to know nature to love it: study

A common belief in nature conservation is that people need to "know nature" in order to care about it. However, new research has found that farmers in the Brazilian Amazon can develop strong connections with nature despite having little knowledge of local biodiversity—in this case local bird species.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-dont-nature.html

Social distancing in the natural world: Strategies to detect and avoid disease

The notion of social distancing rose to public prominence approximately a year ago, when health officials began recommending it as a way to slow the spread of the novel SARS-CoV-2 virus. Despite the novelty of the concept among many contemporary human audiences, social distancing has considerable precedent among animals. Writing in BioScience, Mark Butler of Florida International University and Donald C. Behringer of the University of Florida outline the role of social distancing in nature and compare it with its human counterpart. They describe numerous animals in which distancing has evolved, including guppies, chimpanzees, birds, ants, and mice, among many others.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-social-distancing-natural-world-strategies.html

Baby vampire bat adopted by mom's best friend

During a study with captive vampire bats at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in Panama, a young vampire bat pup was adopted by an unrelated female after its mother died. Although this observation was not the first report of adoption in vampire bats, it is uniquely contextualized by more than 100 days of surveillance-camera footage. This footage captured by STRI research associate Gerry Carter's lab at Ohio State University reveals intimate details about the changing social relationships between the mother, the pup and the adoptive mother throughout their time in captivity.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-baby-vampire-mom-friend.html

Millions of lives saved annually by 2040 if countries raise their climate ambitions: modelling study

Adopting policies that are consistent with achieving the Paris Agreement and prioritise health, could save 6.4 million lives due to better diet, 1.6 million lives due to cleaner air, and 2.1 million lives due to increased exercise, per year, across nine countries.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-millions-annually-countries-climate-ambitions.html

Friends matter: Giraffes that group with others live longer

A research team led by Monica Bond, research associate at the Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies of the University of Zurich (UZH), studied giraffes in Tanzania for five years. The biologists examined the relative effects of sociability, the natural environment, and human factors on survival of the mega-herbivore. They have now shown that adult female giraffes living in larger groups have higher survival chances than more socially isolated individuals.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-friends-giraffes-group-longer.html

Dragonflies perform upside down backflips to right themselves

The findings add to current knowledge of how insects fly and keep stable in the air. They could also help to inspire new designs in small aerial vehicles like drones, which can be useful for search-and-rescue attempts and building inspection.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-dragonflies-upside-backflips.html

Delta Air Lines to leave middle seats empty through April

Delta Air Lines said Monday it will continue to block some seats on all flights through spring break and Easter to provide a bit more space between passengers.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-02-delta-air-lines-middle-seats.html

Millie Hughes-Fulford, trailblazing astronaut, dies at 75

Millie Hughes-Fulford, a trailblazing astronaut and scientist who became the first female payload specialist to fly in space for NASA, died following a yearslong battle with cancer, her family said. She was 75.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-millie-hughes-fulford-trailblazing-astronaut-dies.html

Arab spacecraft closes in on Mars on historic flight

A spacecraft from the United Arab Emirates was set to swing into orbit around Mars in the Arab world's first interplanetary mission Tuesday, the first of three robotic explorers arriving at the red planet over the next week and a half.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-arab-spacecraft-mars-historic-flight.html

Biologists uncover forests' unexpected role in climate change

New research from West Virginia University biologists shows that trees around the world are consuming more carbon dioxide than previously reported, making forests even more important in regulating the Earth's atmosphere and forever shift how we think about climate change.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-biologists-uncover-forests-unexpected-role.html

Soft robots use camera and shadows to sense human touch

Soft robots may not be in touch with human feelings, but they are getting better at feeling human touch.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-02-soft-robots-camera-shadows-human.html

Variable weather makes weeds harder to whack

From flooded spring fields to summer hailstorms and drought, farmers are well aware the weather is changing. It often means spring planting can't happen on time or has to happen twice to make up for catastrophic losses of young seedlings.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-variable-weather-weeds-harder-whack.html

Early Indian monsoon forecasts could benefit farmers

Farmers in India should be provided with early forecasts of expected variations in the monsoon season in order to reduce crop losses, scientists say.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-early-indian-monsoon-benefit-farmers.html

Environmentally friendly behavior is easy—tourists just need a 'nudge'

A new study in Frontiers in Communication has demonstrated the powerful impact that subtle messaging and cues, or 'nudges', can provide on encouraging people to show socially desirable behaviors. Travelers who were observed on the Indonesian island of Gili Trawangan, a popular tourist destination, were more likely to demonstrate environmentally conscious actions, such as refusing a plastic bag or avoiding contact with a coral reef, when they were 'nudged' towards the desirable action with either a written or face to face interaction. The researchers found that any intervention, whether framed positively or negatively, was enough to lead people to make environmentally conscious decisions, compared to being given no behavioral cues or messaging. The study provides many practical takeaways that can be easily implemented by tourist operators or businesses, at a low cost, to increase environmental stewardship and promote positive behaviors in their customers.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-environmentally-friendly-behavior-easytourists-nudge.html