Whales dive deep for profitable prey

An international research team has investigated why dolphins and whales perform record-breaking dives to several kilometers deep. For the first time they were able to match hunting behavior to the prey present in the hunting zones. The study of researchers from the Netherlands and Germany is now published in the scientific journal Science Advances.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-04-whales-deep-profitable-prey.html

Go ahead for dark matter experiment

Neutrinos are the shyest elementary particles known to exist. At this moment billions of them are shooting through each square centimeter of your body.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-04-dark.html

Seen from space, Iceland's new volcano lights up the island at night

You've probably seen stunning images of the night side of the Earth from space. Most people have seen the veritable constellations of city lights scattered familiarly across the continents, separated by wide oceans of darkness. You very well may have seen some stunning videos from the ISS showing the dynamic and mesmerizing ribbons of the polar aurorae and the even more frenetic flashes of nighttime lightning storms. If you're a frequent reader of this site, you've likely even seen the effects of rolling blackouts during the catastrophic winter storms of February 2021 in Houston, as seen from space. Add another explosively extraordinary phenomenon to the list of nighttime space views: the March 2021 volcanic eruption in Iceland.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-04-space-iceland-volcano-island-night.html

Learning from below: A micro-ethnographic account of children's self-determination

At a West Coast-based after-school making/tinkering program, educators gathered participating kindergarten-5th grade students together at the beginning of each session, gave them instructions for the day's work, and then let them work independently or in small groups to complete science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) activities.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-04-micro-ethnographic-account-children-self-determination.html

Researchers develop 'explainable' artificial intelligence algorithm

Researchers from the University of Toronto and LG AI Research have developed an "explainable" artificial intelligence (XAI) algorithm that can help identify and eliminate defects in display screens.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-04-artificial-intelligence-algorithm.html

Researchers pave the way for calculating circular dichroism spectra more efficiently

Members of the CEST group published a recent paper introducing a novel method to calculate CD spectra in the open source GPAW code. The publication shows that the implemented approach is more efficient than the commonly used linear-response method and can easily calculate CD spectra of nanoscale systems, such as hybrid silver clusters composed of over 1000 atoms.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-04-pave-circular-dichroism-spectra-efficiently.html

New Los Alamos technology detects thermal neutrons in aircraft

A new technology developed by Los Alamos National Laboratory and Honeywell is providing needed atmospheric environment information to the aerospace industry. The device, called TinMan, has quantified the number of thermal neutrons, particles created by natural solar radiation—giving the aerospace industry a standard by which it can evaluate its semiconductor parts.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-04-los-alamos-technology-thermal-neutrons.html

Doubling the charging-recharging cycle of lithium batteries

The promotion of electric cars has dramatically increased the demand for lithium-ion batteries. However, cobalt and nickel, the main cathode materials for the batteries, are not abundant. If the consumption continues, it will inevitably elevate the costs in the long run, so scientists have been actively developing alternative materials. A joint research team co-led by a scientist from City University of Hong Kong (CityU) has developed a much more stable, manganese-based cathode material. The new material has higher capacity and is more durable than the existing cobalt and nickel cathode materials—90% of capacity is retained even when the number of charging-recharging cycles doubled. Their findings shed lights on developing low cost and high efficiency manganese-based cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-04-charging-recharging-lithium-batteries.html

Risk that the terrestrial carbon sink declines in the future

Climate consequences can in the future become even bigger than thought, because the capacity of the land vegetation to absorb carbon dioxide is likely to decline. This is the conclusion of a large international study with contribution by Umeå University. So far the vegetation has dampened climate change by taking up a significant fraction of carbon dioxide emissions, but it is uncertain if this effect will persist.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-04-terrestrial-carbon-declines-future.html

Mental health of police officers improved thanks to surfing program's 'unique approach'

Surfing helps improve police officers' wellbeing and mental health, according to research from the University of Exeter Business School.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-04-mental-health-police-officers-surfing.html

Team identifies inflammation-fighting nanoparticles in honey

Sugars make up about 95% of honey, explaining how the substance became synonymous with sweetness and a food staple of bee colonies, which repeatedly digest and regurgitate flower nectar to produce it.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-04-team-inflammation-fighting-nanoparticles-honey.html

NOAA launches two coastal models for mariner safety on West Coast, Gulf of Mexico

Today, NOAA announced two new coastal condition forecast models that will enhance critical decision making for mariners along the West Coast and Northern Gulf of Mexico. The models provide continuous quality-controlled data on water levels, currents, water temperature and salinity out to 72 hours.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-04-noaa-coastal-mariner-safety-west.html

NASA's Roman mission predicted to find 100,000 transiting planets

NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will create enormous cosmic panoramas, helping us answer questions about the evolution of our universe. Astronomers also expect the mission to find thousands of planets using two different techniques as it surveys a wide range of stars in the Milky Way.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-04-nasa-roman-mission-transiting-planets.html

New insights into the formation of bulk metallic glasses

With the ability to produce metallic glass in bulk quantities, the distinct mechanical behavior of these materials has opened up new application opportunities. However, the poor room temperature plasticity of bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) impedes many engineering applications. Because of that, it's critical to better understand their plastic deformation and flow mechanism.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-04-insights-formation-bulk-metallic-glasses.html

Statistical solution to processing very large datasets efficiently with memory limit

Any high-performance computing should be able to handle a vast amount of data in a short amount of time—an important aspect on which entire fields (data science, Big Data) are based. Usually, the first step to managing a large amount of data is either to classify it based on well-defined attributes or—as is typical in machine learning—"cluster" them into groups such that data points in the same group are more similar to one another than to those in another group. However, for an extremely large dataset, which can have trillions of sample points, it is tedious to even group data points into a single cluster without huge memory requirements.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-04-statistical-solution-large-datasets-efficiently.html

Where we live can affect male reproductive health, finds new study

New research, led by scientists at the University of Nottingham, suggests that the environment in which men live may affect their reproductive health.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-04-affect-male-reproductive-health.html

Melting ice sheets caused sea levels to rise up to 18 meters

It is well known that climate-induced sea level rise is a major threat. New research has found that previous ice loss events could have caused sea-level rise at rates of around 3.6 meters per century, offering vital clues as to what lies ahead should climate change continue unabated.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-04-ice-sheets-sea-metres.html

Canada rejects outright ban on bee-killing pesticides

Canada's health agency announced Wednesday restrictions on the use of neonicotinoid pesticides in agriculture to protect aquatic insects, backtracking on a proposed outright ban prompted by a massive bee die-off.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-04-canada-outright-bee-killing-pesticides.html

As US newspapers slide toward abyss, a bidding war breaks out

Even as US newspapers sink toward an abyss, an unusual bidding war has broken out for a major chain, pitting hedge fund operators against civic-minded billionaires seeking to promote a nonprofit model for the struggling industry.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-04-newspapers-abyss-war.html

Croatia acts to save its iconic Istrian goat

With wavy horns and a sturdy build, the Istrian goat stands proudly on Croatia's national flag. But in the pastures where the white-furred animal hails from, the breed is almost nowhere to be seen.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-04-croatia-iconic-istrian-goat.html

Amazon to bring workers back to offices by fall

Amazon plans to have its employees return to the office by fall as the tech giant transitions away from the remote work it implemented for many workers due to the coronavirus pandemic.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-04-amazon-workers-offices-fall.html

Ancient coins may solve mystery of murderous 1600s pirate

A handful of coins unearthed from a pick-your-own-fruit orchard in rural Rhode Island and other random corners of New England may help solve one of the planet's oldest cold cases.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-04-ancient-coins-mystery-1600s-pirate.html

Mothers bear the cost of the pandemic shift to remote work

For many parents, the COVID-19 pandemic has made life's everyday juggling act—managing work, school, extracurricular, and household responsibilities—much, much harder. And according to a new study led by Penn sociologists, those extra burdens have fallen disproportionately on mothers.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-04-mothers-pandemic-shift-remote.html