science news 14.2.2019

Today's selection of science news. 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. My own thoughts appear without quotation marks, if I have any.


evolution

Exceptional new titanosaur from middle Cretaceous Tanzania: Mnyamawamtuka

Giant 'megalodon' shark extinct earlier than previously thought


ecology

White-tailed deer shape acoustic properties of their forest habitat
"White-tailed deer feeding habits shape the acoustic properties of their forest habitat, potentially affecting the vocal communication of understory-dwelling songbirds and other species."
Love a bit of soundscape ecology.

Fate of meerkats tied to seasonal climate effects




This is a meerkat in the Kalahari.
Credit: UZH



recycling

Polymers pave way for wider use of recycled tires in asphalt


technology

The first walking robot that moves without GPS
"Desert ants are extraordinary solitary navigators. Researchers at CNRS and Aix-Marseille University, in the Institut des Sciences du Mouvement -- Etienne Jules Marey (ISM), were inspired by these ants as they designed AntBot, the first walking robot that can explore its environment randomly and go home automatically, without GPS or mapping."


humans

Decoding the human immune system
"For the first time ever, researchers are comprehensively sequencing the human immune system, which is billions of times larger than the human genome. In a new study published in Nature from the Human Vaccines Project, scientists have sequenced a key part of this vast and mysterious system -- the genes encoding the circulating B cell receptor repertoire."

Brain clock ticks differently in autism
"The neural 'time windows' in certain small brain areas contribute to the complex cognitive symptoms of autism, new research suggests. In a brain imaging study of adults, the severity of autistic symptoms was linked to how long these brain areas stored information. The differences in neural timescales may underlie features of autism like hypersensitivity and could be useful as a future diagnostic tool."


Many LGBTQ youth don't identify with traditional sexual identity labels

Stereotypes of romantic love may justify gender-based violence
"The media have become key agents of socialization in the construction of teenagers' and young people's identities. In particular, media representations of sexuality and love become informal educational agents of the first order on these issues."
The tail end of this year's Valentine's crop ...