March 2015

3D reconstruction of the tetrapod skull. Top image: Right facial skeleton and skull roof shown in "exploded" view to show how the bones fit together. Center image: Left side of the cranium (braincase omitted) is shown in internal view. Bottom image: Right lower jaw in "exploded" view to illustrate sutural morphology. Individual bones shown in various colors. (Porro et al.)

Early Tetrapod Skull Looks like Crocodile

March 12, 2015September 4, 2015 Science Connectedarchaeology, biology, ecology, evolution, paleontology

Our 360 million-year-old tetrapod ancestors may have been more like modern crocodiles than previously thought, according to a new 3D skull reconstruction from the University of Bristol, UK. Acanthostega gunnari was a “four-footed” vertebrate, also known as a tetrapod, that invaded land during one of the great evolutionary transitions in Earth’s history, 380-360 million years ago. Tetrapods evolved from lobe-finned fish and display a number of adaptations that helped them survive on land. “These new analyses provide fresh clues about the evolution of the jaws and feeding system as the…

Male panther chameleon (Furcifer pardalis) photographed in Madagascar (© Michel Milinkovitch)

Biology Zoology

Chameleons’ Color Change Secret Revealed

March 11, 2015September 4, 2015 Science Connectedbiology, biomechanics, biophysics, evolution, Madagascar, zoology

Chameleons are known for the remarkable ability to perform complex and rapid color changes during social interactions. Now, a team of scientists from the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, has unveiled exactly how chameleons change their colors. According to the research team’s findings, chameleons can adjust a system of nanocrystals in their skin cells, called iridophores. Better yet, chameleons have two layers of these iridophores, and the second layer reflects infrared light. These two layers can be controlled independently of each other, enabling chameleons to put on their colorful displays.…

Brain-like computer: Artwork courtesy of CoolDesign via freedigitalphotos.net

Engineering New Technologies Physics

Brain-like Computers from Optical Fibers

March 10, 2015December 11, 2023 Science Connectedartificial intelligence, artificial intelligence, computer science, materials science, new tech, optics, physics

Researchers say to get ready for brain-like computers that can learn and adapt. Computers that function like a human brain could be reality.

Self-cleaning surfaces (Artwork by Vectorolie via freedigitalphotos.net)

Engineering New Technologies

New, Durable Self-cleaning Surfaces

March 9, 2015September 4, 2015 Science Connectedchemical engineering, chemistry, materials, materials engineering

Put away the polish! A new paint that creates self-cleaning surfaces has been developed by a research team at University College London (UCL). The coating can be applied to clothes, paper, glass and steel. When combined with adhesives, the paint maintains its self-cleaning properties after being wiped, scratched with a knife, and scuffed with sandpaper. Self-cleaning surfaces work by being extremely water repellent, but often stop working when damaged or exposed to oil. According to Claire Carmalt, professor of inorganic chemistry at UCL, “The surfaces tend to be mechanically weak…

Human evolution: The fossil mandible near where it was found (Brian Villmoare)

Archaeology Biology Paleontology

Fossil Sheds Light on Early Human Evolution

March 5, 2015October 4, 2023 Science Connectedanthropology, biology, earth science, evolution, fossils, human evolution, paleontology

The discovery of a fossilized lower jaw bone in Ethiopia has pushed back evidence of the human genus — Homo — to 2.8 million years ago. The find predates all previously unearthed fossils of the Homo lineage by approximately 400,000 years. For decades, scientists have been searching in Africa for fossils documenting the earliest phases of the Homo lineage. However, specimens recovered from between 3 and 2.5 million years ago have been frustratingly few and often in poor condition. As a result, there has been little agreement on when the…

How Our Skeletal Muscles Work (Eleanor Lutz, Tabletop Whale)

Biology

How Muscles Work, an Infographic

March 4, 2015October 5, 2021 Science Connectedbiology, infographic

See how your skeletal muscles work in this graphic by Eleanor Lutz. Skeletal muscles are the muscles that attach to the bones of your skeleton.

Energy-space photo of light confined on a nanowire, simultaneously shows both spatial interference and energy quantization. (Fabrizio Carbone/EPFL)

Physics

First Photo of Light as Wave and Particle

March 2, 2015September 4, 2015 Science Connectedlight, optics, physics

In 1905, Albert Einstein proposed that light has properties of both a wave and a stream of particles. Now, researchers in Switzerland have taken the first ever photo of light behaving both as a wave and as a stream of particles at the same time. The ability to observe light in this way could bring us a step closer to building super fast quantum computers, the researchers say. When UV light hits a metal surface it causes an emission of electrons. This is known as the photoelectric effect. A research…