Science

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/8001312

Scientists in Brazil described a new-to-science species of poison dart frog last year. It was first found among the leaves of wild banana plants on a research expedition to the Juruá River Basin in the western Amazon in 2023.

The frog, around the length of a paperclip (14–17 millimeters, or 0.5-0.7 inches), is reddish-brown and blue on top, bright blue with black spots underneath, and has copper-colored legs. It was named Ranitomeya aetherea, in reference to the word “ethereal.”

“We attribute this name to one’s feeling of enchantment and delicacy when encountering these frogs, as if they were from outside this world,” the study’s authors wrote in the species’ description.

The species has only been found at one site, where it lays its eggs in the small pools of water that collect inside plant leaves. This remote habitat is largely intact, with no immediate threats from deforestation or wildfires, creating a shield of protection from human-led activities.

This is in stark contrast to most other amphibian species, 40% of which are threatened with extinction. However, researchers stressed that biopiracy — the illegal collection and trade of rare species — and climate change are still threats.

The frog’s exact toxicity is unknown, but the whole Ranitomeya family is known to be poisonous, with toxins on their skin and bright colors to alert would-be predators.

“We know it’s poisonous to those that try to prey on it,” lead author Alexander Mônico, a researcher at the National Institute for Amazonian Research (INPA), told Mongabay. “But for us it’s fine, we’re able to handle them with our bare hands. We just need to be careful about any cuts.”

cross-posted from: https://piefed.social/c/science/p/1784382/single-dose-of-dmt-could-help-treat-depression

People with major depressive disorder can see a rapid and lasting improvement after a single dose of the psychedelic drug dimethyltryptamine (DMT) when it is combined with psychotherapy, doctors have said. > > A small clinical trial involving 34 people found that psychedelic-assisted therapy prompted a swift reduction in depressive symptoms that endured long after the drug had worn off, with some still feeling the benefits six months later. > > “There is an immediate antidepressant effect that is significantly sustained over a three-month period and that’s exciting because this is one session with a drug, embedded in psychological support,” said Dr David Erritzoe, a psychiatrist at Imperial College London and lead investigator on the trial.

Summary: we could have considerable extra time to figure out how to not pollute everything and ourselves with microplastic. Systematic flaws in several microplastic studies point towards human body fat mimicking the signature of polyethylene, leading to serious overestimation of how far microplastic can penetrate:

"One of the team behind the letter was blunt. “The brain microplastic paper is a joke,” said Dr Dušan Materić, at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research in Germany. “Fat is known to make false-positives for polyethylene. The brain has [approximately] 60% fat.” Materić and his colleagues suggested rising obesity levels could be an alternative explanation for the trend reported in the study."

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/41881536

Balanophora is a plant that abandoned photosynthesis long ago and now lives entirely as a parasite on tree roots, hidden in dark forest undergrowth.

Turning the clocks back in autumn may bring more than an extra hour of sleep. A large study in England found that the seasonal time change was followed by fewer clinic visits for sleep, heart, and psychiatric conditions among nearly 684,000 patients.

Ancient genetic data from central Argentina reveal a previously unknown human population that endured there for millennia.

The finding shows that one long-lasting group stayed rooted in its homeland while cultures, languages, and technologies shifted around it.

A good, recent overview of methods for recycling various commodity plastics, especially alternatives to mechanical recycling (e.g. chemical depolymerization, gasification). The effects on worker health and the environment in general are also considered.

Full Abstract:

In this systematic review, advancements in plastic recycling technologies, including mechanical, thermolysis, chemical and biological methods, are examined. Comparisons among recycling technologies have identified current research trends, including a focus on pretreatment technologies for waste materials and the development of new organic chemistry or biological techniques that enable recycling with minimal energy consumption. Existing environmental and economic studies are also compared. The findings highlight differences in the environmental characteristics of various recycling methods, including their ability to recover plastic resins, carbon footprint, electricity consumption and gas emissions. The comparisons also reveal the challenges associated with these methods: mechanical recycling often encounters economic barriers due to contamination and inefficiencies in sorting and cleaning processes; thermolysis is constrained by high energy demands and operational costs, whereas chemical and biological recycling faces limitations related to scalability and material costs. Additionally, current challenges, emerging research areas and future directions in plastic recycling are discussed. For example, the role of innovative techniques, such as artificial intelligence, in refining recycling processes is emphasized. The importance of incorporating circular economy principles in the integrated sustainable analysis of recycling processes is also highlighted. The innovative contribution of this review is to address both technological developments and their environmental and economic implications. The focus is placed on literature from the past 10 years to ensure coverage of the most recent advancements. Overall, the insights of this review article aim to guide researchers, policymakers and industry stakeholders in improving sustainable management practices for plastic waste.

A Japanese research team successfully harnessed E. coli to produce PDCA, a strong, biodegradable plastic alternative. Their method avoids toxic byproducts and achieves record production levels, overcoming key roadblocks with creative fixes.

A new study published in Political Psychology suggests that people at both ends of the political spectrum may experience more intense physical reactions to emotionally stirring stimuli, such as inspirational speeches or powerful music. These responses, often described as “aesthetic chills,” were more pronounced among both very liberal and very conservative participants, and this heightened reaction appears to be linked to traits like religiosity and bodily awareness.

While past work suggested that conservatives might be especially responsive to emotionally resonant moments, the current findings point to a broader pattern. The intensity of people’s physical reactions seemed to grow the further their political beliefs strayed from the center, hinting at a possible connection between emotional depth and ideological extremity, regardless of direction.

PDF of study: Individual differences in aesthetic experience point to the role of bodily awareness in political orientation (Archive)

Archive link

We are Indigenous scientists who work and live in the settler-colonial countries of Aotearoa (New Zealand), Canada, Australia and the United States, with expertise spanning microbiology, astrophysics, behavioural ecology, hydrogeology, water science, Traditional Knowledge, Indigenous Research Methodologies and Indigenous geographies. Here, we outline eight steps that academic institutions can take to stop marginalizing Indigenous people.

People’s connection to nature has declined by more than 60% since 1800, almost exactly mirroring the disappearance of nature words such as river, moss and blossom from books, according to a study.

Direct link to study: Modelling Nature Connectedness Within Environmental Systems: Human-Nature Relationships from 1800 to 2020 and Beyond

Archived link of the article

Inspired by the work of Victorian mathematician Mary Everest Boole, try making a symmetric curve using string and some hole-punched card, says Peter Rowlett