June 19, 2024: Gray whales in the Pacific Northwest are shrinking, a spider-like robot could explore the caves of Mars, and a photographer strikes back against AI. —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor | | | A Tale of Shrinking Whales | Of the tens of thousands of gray whales on Earth, the 200-odd individuals of the Pacific Coast Feeding Group don't fit in. They're smaller and slimmer than their compatriots, they use different foraging techniques to catch different food and they stick to coastal waters rather than braving the deep oceans. Scientists combined drone images of 130 animals taken between 2016 and 2022 with computer modeling and detailed records of individual local whales over the decades. They found that gray whales born in this particular population in the last 20 years are 13 percent smaller than those born before about 2000.
Why this is interesting: Researchers aren't sure what's causing the strange shrinkage or whether it may be affecting gray whales more generally, though it's likely the changes are in response to the environment–perhaps changing ocean temperatures. Scientists do worry that smaller whales may struggle to feed or have fewer offspring.
What the experts say: "If these findings have longer-term impacts on the persistence of that group, that would really be a concern," Aimée Lang, a biologist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Southwest Fisheries Science Center, who wasn't involved in the new research. --Meghan Bartels, Senior News Reporter | | | Geospatial Ecology of Marine Megafauna (GEMM) Lab, Marine Mammal Institute, Oregon State University | | | A new spider-like robot might soon be deployed on Mars to explore the Red Planet's extensive caves and lava tubes. The ReachBot has a small central body and up to eight appendages. Those limbs are flexible enough to extend straight or roll up. At the end of each arm is a three-fingered gripper equipped with "microspines," made from sewing needles, that help the bot grasp rough or slippery rocks. ReachBot can perceive its surroundings through cameras and sensors on the central body and in the grippers.
Why this is so cool: Six rovers have already successfully landed on Mars, but much of the planet remains unexplored—including its extensive underground network. Some astrobiologists think this is where they might detect signs of past or present Martian life. Caves might also be potential sites for human habitation in the future.
What the experts say: "If you really want to explore all over the inside of a [Martian] cave, ReachBot is going to be hard to beat," says senior study author Mark Cutkosky, a mechanical engineer at Stanford University. Cutkosky and his colleagues found inspiration for their design from long-legged spider cousins called harvestmen, aka daddy longlegs. | | | Field testing the ReachBot in a lava tube in the Mojave Desert. BDML Stanford University | | | • Some cities are converting unused commercial office space into apartments. This is how they're doing it. | 5 min read | | | The picture above, entitled F L A M I N G O N E, is a real photograph taken in Aruba by Miles Astray, a photographer and writer. It was among the winning entries in the 1839 Awards, a new photography competition with a category for images created by artificial intelligence. A panel of judges selected the photo as a winner in the AI category and it won the People's Vote Award before it was disqualified for being real. "I was hoping that if it won, it would show that nature still outdoes the machine in terms of creativity and beauty and fascination," Astray told Scientific American. | | | - Leaders failed to adopt a global pandemic treaty at this year's World Health Assembly, but they extended negotiations until May 2025. Such a treaty would support an open exchange of scientific information in real time and the equitable distribution of medical disease countermeasures. It is something we should absolutely adopt to protect future generations from the ravages of pandemics, write Lawrence O. Gostini and Alexandra Finch, a professor and adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University, respectively. "The truth is there is mutual benefit in international cooperation, and to a strong pandemic treaty. The biggest threat to global health now is indifference, inaction and a failure to learn the lessons of the COVID pandemic," they say. | 5 min read
| | | • A biologist exposes an ineffective mosquito-eradication tool--and gets slapped with a defamation lawsuit. | Undark | • All "equals" are not equal, and the equal sign may, in fact, be misleading. | Popular Mechanics | | | "Nature still outdoes the machine," is something you could not dispute if faced with all the incredible images Today in Science readers have sent in this year of the April 8 eclipse and solar storm auroras in May. If the wonders on this planet don't impress you (respectfully, do you have a pulse?), then surely the stunners streaming back from the James Webb Space Telescope, Euclid Telescope, and Hubble are a reminder that the universe is a visual wonderland, and we are the lucky observers. | —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor | | Subscribe to this and all of our newsletters . | | | | Scientific American
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