Thursday, February 13, 2020

science news 13.2.2020

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.


evolution

Huge bacteria-eating viruses close gap between life and non-life
I was almost going to read this headline literally, until I realised they just translated bacteriophages.

Extinct giant turtle had horned shell of up to three meters


ecology

How roots find their way to water

Predators to spare
This is about the impact of the sea star wasting disease off the coast of California.


Pollinating opossums confirm decades-old theory


How bird flocks with multiple species behave like K-pop groups
Peer into a forest canopy, and you will likely spot multiple bird species flying and feeding together. But are birds in these flocks cooperating with one another or competing? A new study suggests both.



Species that pick insects off live leaves and nab them in the air - the most common foraging techniques - are relatively abundant in Florida;s mixed flocks. One example is the blue-gray gnatcatcher, Polioptila caerulea.
Credit: Mitchell Walters


conservation

Small marsupials in Australia may struggle to adjust to a warming climate


environment

Microplastics are new homes for microbes in the Caribbean

New study shows Deepwater Horizon oil spill larger than previously thought


humans

Human language most likely evolved gradually

'Ghost' of mysterious hominin found in West African genomes

Sleep problems in children, teens with autism are focus of new AAN guideline



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From the news media:

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