science news 6.6.2019

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.


conservation

Analysis: World's protected areas safeguard only a fraction of wildlife


environment

Estimating microplastic consumption

Microorganisms on microplastics


biomaterials


First-ever spider glue genes sequenced, paving way to next biomaterials breakthrough

Researchers discover what makes deep-sea dragonfish teeth transparent
"A team of researchers led by the University of California San Diego have discovered what's responsible for making the teeth of the deep-sea dragonfish transparent. This unique adaptation, which helps camouflage the dragonfish from their prey, results from their teeth having an unusually crystalline nanostructure mixed with amorphous regions. The findings could provide 'bioinspiration' for researchers looking to develop transparent ceramics."


fluid dynamics

Making a splash is all in the angle
"Making a splash depends on the angle of a liquid as it hits and moves along a surface, according to a new study from Queen Mary University of London."
I'm sure Jackson Pollock worked that out already ...



Splash.
Credit: Queen Mary University of London


humans

Ancient DNA sheds light on Arctic hunter-gatherer migration to North America ~5,000 years ago
"New research reveals the profound impact of Arctic hunter-gathers who moved from Siberia to North America about 5,000 years ago on present-day Native Americans. Although this group is well-known from archaeology and ancient DNA, previous genetic studies suggested that they may have been largely replaced by the groups that gave rise to present-day Arctic peoples such as the Inuit, Yup'ik, and Aleuts. The present study proves that many present-day North Americans derive significant heritage from this ancient population."

Research reveals how the Internet may be changing the brain
"An international team of researchers from Western Sydney University, Harvard University, Kings College, Oxford University and University of Manchester have found the Internet can produce both acute and sustained alterations in specific areas of cognition, which may reflect changes in the brain, affecting our attentional capacities, memory processes, and social interactions."