Physics
- Mathematics anxiety is a feeling of tension and fear when dealing with numbers or performing calculations. It is a common form of academic anxiety: according to an OECD report, around 40% of students feel nervous, helpless or anxious in everyday situations involving mathematics, such as solving problems or doing math homework.
- The European Union's Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 aims to halt biodiversity loss and restore ecosystems, but what does this mean for Europe's wood supply? In a new study, researchers examine how different modes of implementing the strategy's conservation targets could influence forestry and the wood-based bioeconomy in the EU.
- Chatbots—those little text bubbles that pop up in the corner of so many consumer sites—have long been a fixture in the digital world. Now, the growing popularity of generative AI programs has only supercharged their presence, and their abilities.
- Liking a co-worker's photo on social media. Sending them direct messages. Checking in on Slack more often than before.
- After Trump administration job cuts, nearly half of National Weather Service forecast offices have 20% vacancy rates—twice that of just a decade ago—as severe weather chugs across the nation's heartland, according to data obtained by The Associated Press.
- From toddlers in daycare to seedlings in forests, young organisms tend to get sick more easily than adults—a phenomenon that has long puzzled parents and scientists alike.
Environment
- As AI developers harvest Wikipedia content to train their models, the resulting surge in automated traffic is driving up costs for the non-profit that runs the popular crowdsourced encyclopaedia
- A spider species eat their siblings as soon as they die but tolerate each other when they are alive, suggesting a mysterious signal helps them to determine when to dine on a nest mate
- Beekeepers often experience some seasonal losses, but this past winter, more than half of all US honeybee colonies died off, potentially the largest loss in US history
- Wakes from offshore wind farms can reduce the power generated by neighbouring farms – an issue that is growing more prevalent as turbines get bigger and more numerous
- The US anti-vaccine movement is now firmly embedded in the highest levels of government, where those overseeing public health agencies are making drastic cuts both wide and deep
- The way bonobos combine vocal sounds to create new meanings suggests the evolutionary building blocks of human language are shared with our closest relatives
General
- by Paul McClureTaking advantage of a unique public health policy in the UK, a new study has found that receiving the shingles vaccine reduces dementia risk by 20%. The findings bolster a growing body of research linking the vaccine to lower numbers of dementia cases.Continue ReadingCategory: Brain Health, Body & MindTags: Dementia, Shingles, Vaccines, Herpesvirus, Stanford University
- by Paul McClureScientists have discovered how an Australian jumping spider's semi-hydraulics allows it to speed jump long distances with precision while experiencing g-forces higher than those of fighter pilots. Their insights might help robotics research.Continue ReadingCategory: Biology, ScienceTags: Spiders, Biomechanics, Hydraulics, Robotic construction, Macquarie University
- by Utkarsh SoodWhat you're looking at is a one-off, mid-engine, hand-built wedge car with an exterior fashioned almost entirely of mirror-polished aluminum. Its exposed-metal design puts a certain Tesla Cybertruck to shame.Continue ReadingCategory: Automotive, TransportTags: Maserati, Supercar, Tesla Motors, Cybertruck, Custom, McLaren
- by Utkarsh SoodIt was on a purpose-built R 80 G/S that Hubert Auriol won the second-ever Paris-Dakar rally in 1981, which happened to be BMW's inaugural attempt. And now, inspired by that very model, BMW has unveiled its new dirt-focused boxer.Continue ReadingCategory: Motorcycles, TransportTags: BMW, BMW Motorrad, Dakar Rally, Retro, Off-road, Enduro, Triumph
- by C.C. WeissOne of the longstanding trailblazers in the American overland scene, Arizona-based AT Overland is back with one of its most promising truck camping solutions yet. The Goldilocks of its Aterra series, the all-new Aterra Slide-In turns any Toyota Tundra or Ford F-150 into an ultra-capable overland explorer with its own hard-sided standing-height shelter. Buy it […]
- by Utkarsh SoodI admit, I held off from covering this peculiar electric motorcycle for fear that people might not take me seriously in the wake of April Fools' Day. But this wind/solar motorcycle is as real as it can get, and is even available for purchase!Continue ReadingCategory: Motorcycles, TransportTags: Renewable Energy, Wind-powered, Solar Powered, Electric Motorcycles, China