science news 4.12.2019

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

A study of Saturn's largest moon may offer insights for earth
Scientists studying the weather and climate of Titan, Saturn's largest moon, have reported a significant seasonal variation in its energy budget, a finding which could yield new insights into climate on Earth.


evolution

Compound eyes: The visual apparatus of today's horseshoe crabs goes back 400 million years
The extinct sea scorpion species Jaekelopterus rhenaniae had eyes comparable to those of today's horseshoe crabs. The two-and-a-half-meter predator was particularly apt at perceiving contrasts and contours under water.


Female fish can breed a new species if they aren't choosy about who is Mr. Right
Fish will mate with a species outside their own if the male's colouring is attractive enough or if the female can't see him properly, according to new research. Such 'mistakes' in mate choice can lead to the evolution of new species, an international team of scientists found after they analysed the DNA of more than 400 cichlid fish.


ecology

For some corals, meals can come with a side of microplastics
... some corals are more likely to eat microplastics when they are consuming other food, yet microplastics alone are undesirable.



Under a black light, fluorescent green microplastics are seen in the water during a small demonstration experiment. In the actual 2018 experiment discussed in this paper, the cauliflower coral seen above ingested microplastics when prey was also present in the water, but avoided eating microplastics when no prey was there.
Credit: Dennis Wise/University of Washington

Characterizing whale vocalization can help map migration


nanoworld

Electron correlations in carbon nanostructures

Hiring antibodies as nanotechnology builders
... to assemble nanoscale structures made of synthetic DNA.


humans

How does language emerge?
Researchers ... have tried to simulate the process of developing a new communication system in an experiment - with surprising results: even preschool children can spontaneously develop communication systems that exhibit core properties of natural language.
Not that surprising, as it has happened before, eg Nicaraguan sign language - but here's an attempt to reproduce the process under conditions where it can be studied from the beginning.


The art of the Roman surveyors emerges from newly discovered pavements in Pompeii


dystopian futures

Building a better breast with eye-tracking technology
aka reshaping the female body to fit the desires of the male gaze.


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From the news media:

COP 25 climate summit is on now.