science news 15.1.2019

Today's round-up of science stories. Links are normally to press releases on EurekAlert (at the bottom end I may also add a couple of newspaper stories). I include quotes from the summary (using quotation marks) in cases where the title alone doesn't reveal what the story is about.

(Categories are still evolving. Don't really want to put stuff in boxes, but have to have some kind of structure here.)


astrobiology

Double star system flips planet-forming disk into pole position
"... the first confirmed example of a double star system that has flipped its surrounding disc to a position that leaps over the orbital plane of those stars."



Caption: Artist's impression of a view of the double star system and surrounding disc.
Credit: University of Warwick/Mark Garlick


nanoworld

DNA origami: A precise measuring tool for optimal antibody effectiveness


humans

A new study shows that wine experts differ by geographic region
That was to be expected - it's all about the terroir the experts grow on ...

Step forward in understanding human feet

The secret to Rembrandt's impasto unveiled
"Rembrandt van Rijn revolutionized painting with a 3D effect using his impasto technique, where thick paint makes a masterpiece protrude from the surface. Thanks to the ESRF, the European Synchrotron, Grenoble, France, three centuries later an international team of scientists [...] have found how he did it."


evolution

Using genomic data, NYU Abu Dhabi researchers unlock history of North African date palm

Fossil deposit is much richer than expected
"Near the Dutch town of Winterswijk is an Eldorado for fossil lovers. A student at the University of Bonn has now analyzed pieces from museums and private collections for his master's thesis. He found an amazing amount of almost completely preserved skeletons, between 242 and 247 million years old. The good condition is presumably due to particularly favorable development conditions. These make Winterswijk a cornucopia for paleontology."
I picked this one up only because from a corner of Germany that I happen to know, Winterswijk is the nearest Dutch town, just across the border. I never knew it had any claim to scientific fame.


sustainability

Let's prepare now so farming insects as food is environmentally friendly, say scientists

Cities could play a key role in pollinator conservation


technology

WSU smart home tests first elder care robot

Where is George? Ask this software to look at the crowd
"Idtracker.ai is a mix of conventional algorithms and artificial intelligence developed at the Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown. From the video footage of a moving crowd composed of dozens of individuals, it learns to identify each and every individual in that crowd."

---------------


In the news media:

Insect collapse: ‘We are destroying our life support systems’


"To save the rainforest, we need to work with the palm oil industry," says Jennifer Lucey in the Guardian. "As a tropical field ecologist in Borneo, I learned why science must work with industry to protect the planet."