News about PaperPanda, Open Access, and Research
From world politics to top-ranking businesses, to the upper rungs of academia and even Nobel laureates, men outnumber women by a significant margin. One claim to such disparity has been attributed to biology. The idea there’s some kind of ‘superdiversity’ among male brains has been repeatedly cited in the scientific literature in recent decades; but according … Read more
The variety of species found below an Antarctic ice shelf shows that life can survive in hostile, food-poor environments for thousands of years Environment 20 December 2021 By Adam Vaughan Hot water drilling in Antarctica Sophie Berger/AWI An astonishing variety of marine life has been discovered in the freezing darkness hundreds of metres below Antarctica’s … Read more
Billions of birds die each year from collisions with tall glass buildings, communication towers and power lines – a gobsmacking toll that’s expected to increase as cities grow outwards and upwards. A recent study suggests there could be a way to fix our deadly mistakes – by installing ‘acoustic lighthouses’ that blast white noise … Read more
Spiraling fractal branches draw connections between a staggering 2.2 million living species on Earth in the most comprehensive tree of life ever created. “It allows people to find their favorite living things, be they golden moles or giant sequoias, and see how evolutionary history connects them together to create a giant tree of all life … Read more
According to the first global analysis of plant diversity, the world’s flora is growing increasingly uniform, even on isolated islands like Australia. For decades now, scientists have been warning the world we are headed for a new geological epoch, called the ‘Homogecene’, when unique life forms become overshadowed by more adaptable species that can live … Read more
When you think of snails, sharp jagged teeth are not usually what comes to mind. But you might have to reconsider because these squishy mollusks have terrifying lickity-bits when you look close enough under the microscope. Snails use their weird-as-heck toothed-tongues called a radula to lick through all sorts of surfaces to feed, including grinding through … Read more
By Chen Ly Crocidura caudipilosa, one of the newly discovered species of shrew Kevin Rowe Fourteen new species of shrew have been discovered during a decade-long survey of small mammals on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. Shrews are a diverse group of small mammals that can be found almost anywhere in the world. Despite their … Read more
After a decade of documenting and observing Indonesian shrews on the island of Sulawesi, researchers have published their findings and detailed 14 new species – the biggest discovery of new mammals listed in a single paper since 1931. Specifically, we’re talking about 14 new endemic species of the shrew genus Crocidura. Using genetic and … Read more
Eastern mosquitofish, a problem invasive species, can be prevented from reproducing using a robot fish that they find scary Technology 16 December 2021 By Matthew Sparkes A robotic fish (top) that mimics the natural predator of mosquitofish (bottom right) Giovanni Polverino Robotic fish might help solve an ecological problem by scaring an invasive fish species … Read more
Although the name millipede comes from Latin for “thousand feet”, before now no species has been found with more than 750 legs. After the discovery of a new millipede with 1,306 legs however, this arthropod is finally living up to its name. The new species is Eumillipes persephone – emillipes translating as “true-thousand-foot”, with … Read more