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Hedgehogs are indeed not so widespread in England any more

A recent 'HogWatch' survey conducted in England has provided new insights into the country's declining hedgehog population. The study suggests a moderate decline of up to 7.4% in areas frequented by hedgehogs, with possible constraints due to habitat fragmentation.

SourceSpringer·JournalEuropean Journal of Wildlife Research·DateMay 12, 2016

Terrestrial laser scanning in California

Researchers evaluated the performance of Riegl Z620i and LPM-800HA terrestrial laser scanners on characterizing natural surfaces. They established a procedure to test componential uncertainty budgets and demonstrated the relationship between reference network uncertainty and imaged surface repeatability.

SourceGeological Society of America·JournalGeosphere·DateFeb 8, 2016

Scientists peg Anthropocene to first farmers

A new study suggests that the beginning of the Anthropocene era was linked to the emergence of agriculture around 6,000 years ago. The researchers found a shift in the frequency of aggregated versus segregated species pairs in ancient ecosystems, which they attribute to human activity that altered the terrestrial landscape.

SourceUniversity of Vermont·JournalNature·DateDec 17, 2015

Tissue cartography

Two postdoctoral scholars from UC Santa Barbara's Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics developed a method called ImSAnE, which constructs an atlas of two-dimensional maps for dynamic tissue surfaces. This allows scientists to analyze layered tissues with relative ease and reduces data size and processing time.

SourceUniversity of California - Santa Barbara·JournalNature Methods·DateNov 2, 2015

Combining computer vision and brain computer interface for faster mine detection

Computer scientists developed a new method combining computer vision algorithms and brain-computer interface to detect mines in sonar images, outperforming existing methods. The system uses classifiers to capture changes in pixel intensity and improves accuracy by detecting 99.5% of true positives and reducing false positives.

SourceUniversity of California - San Diego·JournalIEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering·DateMay 4, 2015

Heterosexuals have egalitarian views on legal benefits for same-sex couples, not on PDA

A study by Indiana University PhD candidates found that heterosexuals are equally supportive of legal benefits for same-sex couples as they are for heterosexual couples, but are less supportive of PDA. Gay and lesbian individuals were also found to be less supportive of certain public displays of affection due to safety concerns.

SourceAmerican Sociological Association·JournalAmerican Sociological Review·DateNov 20, 2014

Datasets used by policymakers, scientists for public health analyses inconsistent

Researchers found significant differences between two commercially available datasets used to analyze the relationship between neighborhood socioeconomic characteristics and food and alcohol establishments. The study highlights the need for accurate data to support policy decisions on issues like incentives for grocery stores in econom...

BGRF announces OncoFinder algorithm for reducing errors in transcriptome analysis

The OncoFinder algorithm reduces errors in transcriptome analysis by mapping gene expression onto signalling pathways, allowing for more effective evaluation and analysis. The method enables scientists to characterise functional states of transcriptomes more accurately, improving research and clinical applications.

SourceBiogerontology Research Foundation·JournalFrontiers in Molecular Biosciences·DateAug 17, 2014

Pseudo-mathematics and financial charlatanism

The article examines how backtesting can lead to overfitting, resulting in misleadingly good results that don't translate to real-world performance. Researchers argue that few companies and researchers conduct out-of-sample testing, leading to a lack of transparency in investment strategies.

SourceAmerican Mathematical Society·JournalNotices of the American Mathematical Society·DateApr 10, 2014

New bioinformatics tool to visualize transcriptomes

ZENBU integrates genome browsers with data analysis and linked expression views to facilitate interactive visualization of next-generation sequencing results. The tool allows for dynamic combination of thousands of experimental datasets, enabling scientists to discover new biological mechanisms.

SourceRIKEN·JournalNature Biotechnology·DateMar 9, 2014

Data are lost to science at 'astonishing rate'

A recent study found that most scientific data is inaccessible after just 20 years, with over 80% of publicly funded research data lost forever. Researchers are calling for journals to require authors to share their data on public archives before publication.

SourceCell Press·JournalCurrent Biology·DateDec 19, 2013