Month: March 2022

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Scientists have filled in millions of missing pieces of human DNA, yielding the most complete, gapless sequence of the human genome ever produced, bar one tiny chromosome. The feat, made possible by ever-improving genome sequencing technologies and a consortium of more than 100 scientists, sets a new benchmark for understanding human genetic diversity in all
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Australia’s spectacular Great Barrier Reef is suffering “mass bleaching” as corals lose their color under the stress of warmer seas, authorities said Friday, in a blow widely blamed on climate change. The world’s largest coral reef system, stretching for more than 2,300 kilometers (1,400 miles) along the northeast coast of Australia, is showing the harmful
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Mammals are some of the most well-researched animals on Earth, yet there are potentially hundreds of undescribed species still hiding in the wild, according to new predictive modeling. Machine learning suggests most of these unknown creatures are small-bodied, like bats, rodents, and shrews. Their size has probably made it difficult for experts to identify morphological
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Powerful ambush hunters, Boa constrictor snakes are notorious for brutally incapacitating their prey – by squeezing them to death before swallowing them whole. Researchers have just discovered how the snakes achieve this without suffocating themselves. Contrary to popular belief, these nonvenomous reptiles actually kill their victims by choking off the blood flow to their heart
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Archaeologists in Scotland shed “genuine tears” upon discovering a stone covered with geometric carvings that the Picts, the Indigenous people of the region, designed about 1,500 years ago. The team unexpectedly found the 5.5-foot-long (1.7 meters) carved stone while doing a geophysical survey in Aberlemno, a village with Pictish roots. The stone has several geometric
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The cutting-edge number-crunching capabilities of artificial intelligence mean that AI systems are able to spot diseases early, manage chemical reactions, and explain some of the mysteries of the Universe. But there’s a downside to this incredible and virtually limitless artificial brainpower. New research emphasizes how easily AI models can be trained for malicious purposes as
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Record-breaking heatwaves hit both Antarctica and the Arctic simultaneously this week, with temperatures reaching 47°C and 30°C higher than normal. Heatwaves are bizarre at any time in Antarctica, but particularly now at the equinox as Antarctica is about to descend into winter darkness. Likewise, up north, the Arctic is just emerging from winter. Are these