science news 4.9.2019

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 in italics in cases where the title alone doesn't reveal what the story is about. My own thoughts appear without italics if I have any.


astrobiology

Study reveals 'radical' wrinkle in forming complex carbon molecules in space


earth

Oldest lake in Europe reveals more than one million years of climate history
That's Lake Ohrid (North Macedonia / Albania), in case you wondered.


zoology

New whale species discovered along the coast of Hokkaido

Birds in serious decline at Lake Constance



Nowadays a rare visitor: barn swallows have decreased by 70 percent around Lake Constance. The animals suffer above all from the disappearance of smallholder farms and barns where they can build their homes as well as the decline in insects.
Credit: Stephan Trösch

Slowed metabolism helps geese fly high
New physiology study sheds light on how bar-headed geese migrate over the Himalayas


sustainable tech

Europe's future is renewable
Europe has enough solar and wind resources to meet its electricity demand entirely from renewable sources. A new study by researchers at the Institute for Transformative Sustainability Research (IASS) in Potsdam shows that many regions and municipalities could meet their electricity demand using electricity systems based exclusively on renewables. However, their development would exacerbate land use pressure around metropolitan areas and larger conurbations.


humans

Scotland's genetic landscape echoes Dark Age populations

Human perception of colors does not rely entirely on language, a case study


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in the news:


squirrels listening to birds' chitchat