News about PaperPanda, Open Access, and Research
If you were to move to a new country with a different language and bring along the family dog, your pet would likely have a hard time understanding commands from the locals, according to a new study looking at how dogs’ brains react to different languages. MRI scans revealed that dogs‘ brains can distinguish between familiar … Read more
Since their introduction in “Star Trek: The Original Series” in 1967 during the first season’s “Errand of Mercy” episode, the barbaric warmongering alien species known as the Klingons have been one of sci-fi’s greatest foes of the Federation. Created by screenwriter Gene L. Coon, legend has it that the purple-blooded antagonists were named after Lieutenant … Read more
By Gege Li A larva of a polychaete worm Jan van IJken Photographer Jan van IJken THESE mesmerising shots reveal the microscopic beauty of plankton – and their predators. They are part of a film and photo project called Planktonium by photographer Jan van IJken, who captured this diverse array of species in various Dutch … Read more
Inventorying the plants in a tract of woods or fields or searching for invasive species can take days of hot, hard work slogging through thorny brush and tick-infested grass. Now, researchers have shown that simply capturing and analyzing the DNA plants release into the air can work as well as putting boots on the ground—and … Read more
Earth and Mars likely arose from collisions between giant moon-size rocks instead of the clumping together of tiny pebbles over time, a new study found. Previous research suggested there may be two primary ways in which rocky planets such as Earth are built. The classic model proposes that moon-to-Mars-size rocks dubbed planetary embryos once regularly … Read more
The James Webb Space Telescope will rest in space at Lagrange Point 2, a spot directly behind Earth from the sun’s perspective. There, the instrument will make powerful observations of far-off celestial bodies; the telescope’s infrared view will be able to penetrate interstellar dust. (Image credit: Northrop Grumman) The James Webb Space Telescope could help … Read more
In the heart of the Milky Way, stars tread a complex measure. Bound by the gravitational field of the supermassive black hole in the galactic center, Sagittarius A*, a group of stars known as S-stars swoop on wild, years-long orbits. These orbits were recently studied to measure Sgr A*, a result that won the scientists … Read more
You’re looking at a 300-megapixel photo of our Sun. Astrophotographer Andrew McCarthy used a specially modified telescope, taking over 150,000 individual photos and combining them into this magnificent image (see below). “It took about 10 hours to stack all the data, and another 3-4 hours to get it from a raw stack to the final image,” … Read more
Leaves vibrate at a different frequency depending on whether soy plants are under water stress Life 7 December 2021 By Bas den Hond Leaves on a soy plant Igor Stevanovic / Alamy When leaves flutter in the breeze, the frequency of their vibrations may indicate whether the plant is dehydrated. This finding could lead to … Read more