Older forests resist change—climate change, that is

Older forests in eastern North America are less vulnerable to climate change than younger forests—particularly for carbon storage, timber production, and biodiversity—new University of Vermont research finds.

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Behavioural correlations of the domestication syndrome are decoupled in modern dog breeds

Scientists since Darwin have been intrigued by the simultaneous alteration of multiple morphological, physiological and behavioural traits across a wide range of domesticated animals, such as horses, pigs and dogs. For instance, reduced brain size, floppy ears, increased docility and hormonal changes are commonly seen in domesticated animals but not their wild ancestors. This phenomenon is known as the domestication syndrome, and the traits within this syndrome are assumed to change together in a correlated fashion during domestication. But surprisingly, whether or not any of these traits are in fact correlated has never been formally tested.

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NASA to open International Space Station to tourists from 2020

NASA said Friday it will open up the International Space Station to business ventures including space tourism as it seeks to financially disengage from the orbiting research lab.

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When smartphone finger taps can lead to side channel attack

You type, hacker deciphers, your password is doomed. That is the grim scenario being discussed in a paper that is now on arXiv. "Hearing your touch: A new acoustic side channel on smartphones," is by authors Ilia Shumailov, Laurent Simon, Jeff Yan and Ross Anderson.

* This article was originally published here

Only 1% of social service policies for children include information about healthy sleep

Preliminary results from a new study indicate that a mere 1% of U.S. social service policies impacting children include material regarding healthy sleep education and promotion.

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High levels of rare gut bacteria may be linked to restless legs syndrome

Small intestine bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) may be more prevalent among patients with restless legs syndrome (RLS), according to preliminary findings from a small, new study.

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How brassinosteroid signaling makes roots grow longer under nitrogen deficiency

As sessile organisms, plants rely on their ability to adapt the development and growth of their roots in response to changing nutrient conditions. One such response, known to be displayed by plants grown in low nitrogen conditions, is the elongation of primary and lateral roots to explore the surrounding soil. This adaption to the lack of the essential element nitrogen is of particular interest, as it reflects a "foraging strategy," by which the root system can exploit nutrients from a larger soil volume. Until recently, this was the least understood nitrogen-dependent root response. Scientists from the IPK in Gatersleben have now identified the hormone pathway regulating root foraging under low nitrogen conditions and a signalling component that modulates the intensity of this response. These findings open up the possibility of breeding crops with root systems enabling more efficient nitrogen uptake.

* This article was originally published here

Researchers find ways to hackproof smart meters

Smart electricity meters are useful because they allow energy utilities to efficiently track energy use and allocate energy production. But because they're connected to a grid, they can also serve as back doors for malicious hackers.

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Mapping the ocean's unseen heroes, one microbe at a time

The picture of how climate change is impacting our ocean is often told via its larger inhabitants: scrawny polar bears, bleached coral, dwindling catch in fishing nets. But just as importantly, microscopic marine organisms play an essential role in our biosphere.

* This article was originally published here

Dashing the dream of ideal 'invisibility' cloaks for stress waves

Whether Harry Potter's invisibility cloak, which perfectly steers light waves around objects to make them invisible, will ever become reality remains to be seen, but perfecting a more crucial cloak is impossible, a new study says. It would have perfectly steered stress waves in the ground, like those emanating from a blast, around objects like buildings to make them "untouchable."

* This article was originally published here

Somebody's watching you: The surveillance of self-driving cars

Picture the future, where driving is a thing of the past. You can hop in your car or one from a ride-share, buckle up and tell the car where you want to go. During your ride, you can check your email and look up a few things online through your dashboard. Meanwhile, your whereabouts and other details are being tracked remotely by companies. As self-driving cars develop further, autonomous vehicles will play a much larger role in the digital economy as car companies and others harness personalized customer information through geospatial and navigation technologies, combining it with existing financial consumer profiles, according to a study in Surveillance and Society.

* This article was originally published here

Autonomous boats can target and latch onto each other

The city of Amsterdam envisions a future where fleets of autonomous boats cruise its many canals to transport goods and people, collect trash, or self-assemble into floating stages and bridges. To further that vision, MIT researchers have given new capabilities to their fleet of robotic boats—which are being developed as part of an ongoing project—that lets them target and clasp onto each other, and keep trying if they fail.

* This article was originally published here