Saarland University

Recordings of the sounds in tropical forests could unlock secrets about biodiversity and aid conservation efforts around the world, according to a perspective paper published in Science. Compared to on-the-ground fieldwork, bioacoustics —recording entire soundscapes, including animal and human activity — is relatively inexpensive and produces powerful conservation insights. The result is troves of ecological data in a

Image by nextconf via Flickr Much of the press coverage around Flattr, the “social payments” startup, focuses on the fact that it was founded by Peter Sunde, who is perhaps better known for being the (former) spokesperson for The Pirate Bay. I have no doubt that this is a big reason why the company got

What’s the best way to tell how a country is doing (and serving its citizens)? It’s not just a measure of economic output, that’s for sure. This new index tracks everything from opportunity to health to sustainability. Guess where the U.S. ranks. For many years, the powers that be thought that economic indicators were the

Image via Wikipedia Not using your computer at the moment? You can now donate your computer’s idle time to cutting-edge biomedical research aimed at finding a cure for HIV, Parkinson’s, arthritis, and breast cancer. Through the University of Delaware‘s “[email protected]” project, led by Michela Taufer, assistant professor of computer and information sciences, and supported by

A finely tuned molecular process in the camouflage of certain squid may lead to the next generation of bio-inspired synthetic materials Squids, octopuses and cuttlefish are undisputed masters of deception and camouflage. Their extraordinary ability to change color, texture and shape is unrivaled, even by modern technology. Researchers in the lab of UC Santa Barbara

A piece of work by the UPV/EHU-University of the Basque Country has for the first time implemented a model of quantum artificial life on a quantum computer The Quantum Technologies for Information Science (QUTIS) research group, led by the Ikerbasque Professor Enrique Solano of the UPV/EHU’s Department of Physical Chemistry, has developed a quantum biomimetic

10 times the installed capacity of coal power plants today New research from SMU’s Geothermal Laboratory, funded by a grant from Google.org, documents significant geothermal resources across the United States capable of producing more than three million megawatts of green power — 10 times the installed capacity of coal power plants today. Sophisticated mapping produced

Research-funding agencies that require scientists to declare at the proposal stage how their projects will be “transformative” may actually be hindering discovery, according to a study by Oregon State University ecologists. The requirement can result in decreased funding for the “incremental” research that often paves the way for paradigm-shifting breakthroughs, the OSU scientists assert. Their