science news 20.8.2019

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.


ecology

Researchers develop tools to help manage seagrass survival


climate change

New study offers roadmap for detecting changes in the ocean due to climate change


birds

These migratory birds will risk their lives for a good nap
more about the crazy ways birds sleep (including during flight) in my feature on the evolution of sleep which came out yesterday.



bio-inspired

New artificial compound eye could improve 3D object tracking



Researchers have created a bio-inspired compound eye that is helping scientists understand how insects sense an object and its trajectory with such speed. The compound eye could also be useful for 3D location systems for robots, self-driving cars and unmanned aerial vehicles.
Credit: Le Song, Tianjin University


sustainable tech

Bottles made of lignocellulose, perfumes of apples


humans

Variation in the shape of speech organs influences language evolution