articles

Two pennies can be considered the same -- both are pennies, just as two elephants can be considered the same, as both are elephants. Despite the vast difference between pennies and elephants, we easily notice the common relation of sameness that holds for both pairs. 

Analogical ability -- the ability to see common relations between objects, events or ideas -- is a key skill that underlies human intelligence and differentiates humans from other apes.

Wind farms may be a vital source of green energy, but new research shows that the construction of off-shore wind farms could potentially be damaging the hearing of harbour seals and other marine life. Researchers at St. Andrews University in Scotland believe that there is cause for concern that human building operations in our coastal waters, for example the pile driving process that hammers the foundation posts for wind turbines into the sea bed, could be damaging the hearing of marine mammals to an extent we hadn’t previously guessed at.

As snowpack levels decline with the warming climate, many streams will experience less water flow, especially during summer months, potentially exposing more fish to predation by birds and other animals. A new study has found that providing adequate shade and cover in small streams may reduce predation on trout by as much as 12 percent, from just one species of bird – the kingfisher. 

Con sol de verano a la vuelta de la esquina, es importante estar preparado y proteger nuestra piel de los rayos potencialmente dañinos. Ya sea que utilice protector solar o un paraguas para sombra en la playa, hay que ser proactivo para que no tengamos quemaduras por el sol.

Nosotros tomamos precauciones, pero ¿cómo le hace el reino animal?¿Cómo pueden las especies animales pasar toda su vida al aire libre sin aparente preocupación por los altos niveles de la exposición solar?

De acuerdo con investigadores de la Universidad Estatal de Oregon, los animales hacen su propio protector solar.

Los resultados, publicados en la revista eLife, apuntaron a que muchos peces, anfibios, reptiles y aves pueden producir naturalmente un compuesto llamado gadusol, que entre otras funciones biológicas, proporciona protección contra la radiación ultravioleta, el componente ardiente de la luz solar.

Los investigadores también creen que esta capacidad puede haber sido obtenida a través de algún ingeniería genética prehistórica natural.

It turns out that the steady dripping of water deep underground can reveal a surprising amount of information about the constantly changing cycles of heat and cold, precipitation and drought in the turbulent atmosphere above. As water seeps down through the ground it picks up minerals, most commonly calcium carbonate. When this mineral-rich water drips into caves, it leaves mineral deposits behind that form layers which grow during wet periods and form dusty skins when the water dries up. Today, scientists can date these layers with extreme precision based on the radioactive decay of uranium into its daughter product thorium. Variations in the thickness of the layers is determined by a combination of the amount of water seeping into the cave and the concentration of carbon dioxide in the cave’s atmosphere so, when conditions are right, they can provide a measure of how the amount of precipitation above the cave varies over time. By analyzing the ratios of heavy to light isotopes of oxygen present in the layers, the researchers can track changes in the temperature at which the water originally condensed into droplets in the atmosphere changes and whether the rainfall’s point of origin was local or if traveled a long way before falling to the ground.