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At the newly opened Toddler Lab at Birkbeck, University of London, a new technique for imaging the brain using infrared light means we are starting to understand how young children learn to plan complex goals. The lab utilises functional near-infrared spectroscopy or fNIRS and motion capture gloves to measure how children learn to plan and achieve goals. Pictured: Finn

A new kind of brain scan is letting us understand how toddlers think

3 November 2021

Technological advances mean that we can finally tackle an age-old question: what's going on in the minds of children?

Red feathers determine which common waxbill is the boss

3 November 2021

For a songbird called the common waxbill, dominance isn't governed by body size, intelligence, or even temperament, but by the intensity of the colours in their chest feathers

horned adder (Bitis caudalis), photographed in Namibia

Vipers evolved either nose or eye horns depending on their habitat

2 November 2021

The horns on vipers’ eyes could help camouflage their head in rocky areas or trees, while those with nose horns may blend in better on forest floors

Scotch whisky-makers rely on peat smoke – but it's a climate concern

2 November 2021

The UK’s peatlands store vast amounts of carbon and need protecting – but is that compatible with the traditional use of peat smoke as a flavouring in whisky-making?

2E3TB2E Soy plantation in Amazon rainforest near Santarem - deforestation for the agribusiness - economic development creating environmental degradation - isolated Brazil nut trees sentenced to death. Opening of a road where before there was a forest.

Over 100 countries at COP26 pledge to end deforestation by 2030

1 November 2021

The declaration on deforestation comes alongside £14 billion of new funding to combat forest loss over five years

NASA's Curiosity Mars rover tests new way to search for alien life

1 November 2021

The search for life on Mars requires complex chemical analysis, which the Curiosity rover has tested for the first time. It didn't find anything, but the technique could be used on other worlds

Brain implants boost ability to think flexibly and shake anxiety

1 November 2021

Electrically stimulating a region within the centre of the brain helped people with pre-existing brain implants to adapt to changing goals and improve their well-being, pointing to a method for personalised treatment

common barn owl ( Tyto albahead ) head close up; Shutterstock ID 379547776; purchase_order: -; job: -; client: -; other: -

Barn owls make mental maps of their surroundings while they are flying

1 November 2021

Neurons that help humans make mental maps, called place cells, have now been seen in flying birds for the first time

Mandatory Credit: Photo by ALEX PLAVEVSKI/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock (12559629l) A photo made with a drone shows wind power generators in Yancheng, Jiangsu province, China, 27 October 2021. SHFRP New Energy has produced the world's longest wind power glass fiber blade S90, and the domestic longest wind power blade S102. On 02 September 2021, the onshore blade S89, 89 meters long equipped with a new generation of electric wind power product platform units was successfully rolled off the assembly line. Production cuts, high coal prices, and the Chinese government's determination to cut emissions caused a severe power supply crunch. Amid economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, the cost of thermal coal has almost doubled this year to the increased demand for industrial use of electricity. China wind power generator blades factory, Yancheng - 27 Oct 2021

Smart scheduling for big computing tasks cuts emissions up to a third

1 November 2021

We could slash emissions from database backups or long machine-learning tasks by waiting to run them until renewable energy makes up the largest part of the energy mix

Skin patch coated in covid-19 vaccine may work better than injections

29 October 2021

Covid-19 vaccines in use today have to be stored at cold temperatures, but a patch covered in tiny plastic spikes coated in a vaccine could provide an alternative