PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Bluetooth technology unlocks urban animal secrets

Bluetooth technology unlocks urban animal secrets
2024-11-13
(Press-News.org) Mobile phones could be the key to a cheaper and more reliable way of tracking animals for ecology and conservation research, according to a new study from The Australian National University (ANU). 

Traditional animal tracking methods are often expensive and require the tagged animals to be close to the tracking technology. 

Now, ANU researchers have developed a cheap, lightweight Bluetooth beacon that can provide regular updates through our network of mobile phones in areas used by people carrying phones or smartwatches. 

Study lead author and ANU ecologist, Associate Professor Damien Farine, said the new Bluetooth device helps overcome existing challenges when it comes to animal tracking. 

“By piggybacking off the global network of personal mobile phones, we’re using Bluetooth beacons as a gateway for tracking animals, and we’ve demonstrated its potential to study the movements, home ranges and social networks of urban living animals,” he said. 

“Until now animal tracking studies have faced technological limitations such as high costs or the need for tags to remain near detectors, and this new device overcomes these limitations. 

“The device works through mobile phones, so as people walk near the birds, they pick up the tag’s signal, and their phones upload the data to the cloud. This all happens automatically with no information collected about the phones themselves, only the identity and location of the tag. 

“Animals can have fascinating responses to urban habitats, and the ability to cheaply and reliably track them will help to unlock many secrets of our urban wildlife.” 

According to the ANU researchers, these simple and inexpensive beacons can provide regular position updates in areas with medium to high density of people, with a battery life of one to two years. 

“There’s a lot that we still have to learn about how animals adapt to and survive in urban habitats, but the tags we developed are cheap, lightweight, and have no download costs,” said Associate Professor Farine. 

The research is published in Methods in Ecology and Evolution. 

END

[Attachments] See images for this press release:
Bluetooth technology unlocks urban animal secrets

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

This nifty AI tool helps neurosurgeons find sneaky cancer cells

2024-11-13
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: Suzanne.Leigh@ucsf.edu, (415) 680-5133 Subscribe to UCSF News This Nifty AI Tool Helps Neurosurgeons Find Sneaky Cancer Cells  Technique offers new hope for increased survival in patients with brain tumors.  What’s New:   An AI-based diagnostic system reveals cancerous tissue that may not otherwise be visible during brain tumor surgery. This enables neurosurgeons to remove it while the patient is still under anesthesia – or treat it afterwards with targeted therapies.  Why it Matters:  Brain tumors can ...

Treatment advances, predictive biomarkers stand to improve bladder cancer care

Treatment advances, predictive biomarkers stand to improve bladder cancer care
2024-11-13
CHAPEL HILL, North Carolina — Recent advances in bladder cancer treatments may offer hope of curative care to more patients, including those with high-risk localized, muscle-invasive disease, according to an editorial published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Matthew Milowsky, MD, FASCO, a bladder cancer expert at UNC School of Medicine and UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, wrote that the promise of incorporating new treatments and predictive biomarkers to select the right patient for the right treatment every time offers a bright future for bladder cancer patients. Platinum-based chemotherapy has long been the standard treatment for metastatic bladder cancer and for ...

NYC's ride-hailing fee failed to ease Manhattan traffic, new NYU Tandon study reveals

2024-11-13
New York City's 2019 ride-hailing surcharge cut overall taxi and ride-share trips by 11 percent in Manhattan but failed to reduce traffic congestion, a key goal of the policy, according to a new NYU Tandon School of Engineering study published in Transportation Research Part A. “While this surcharge differs from the MTA's proposed congestion pricing plan, the study's findings can contribute to the current discourse,” said Daniel Vignon – assistant professor of Civil and Urban Engineering (CUE) and member of C2SMARTER, a U.S. Department of Transportation Tier 1 University Transportation Center – who led the research with CUE PhD student Yanchao ...

Meteorite contains evidence of liquid water on Mars 742 million years ago

Meteorite contains evidence of liquid water on Mars 742 million years ago
2024-11-13
An asteroid struck Mars 11 million years ago and sent pieces of the red planet hurtling through space. One of these chunks of Mars eventually crashed into the Earth somewhere near Purdue and is one of the few meteorites that can be traced directly to Mars. This meteorite was rediscovered in a drawer at Purdue University in 1931 and therefore named the Lafayette Meteorite.  During early investigations of the Lafayette Meteorite, scientists discovered that it had interacted with liquid water while on Mars. Scientists have long wondered when that interaction with liquid water took place.  ...

Self-reported screening helped reduce distressing symptoms for pediatric patients with cancer

2024-11-13
TORONTO – Regular, self-reported symptom screening was associated with reduced symptom burden when compared with usual care for pediatric patients with cancer, according to new research led by scientists at the University of Toronto and The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids). The study, published today in JAMA, reported results of a randomized control trial of 445 participants aged 8 to 18 years receiving cancer treatment from across 20 pediatric cancer centres in the U.S. Half of the centres participating implemented the screening intervention while ...

Which risk factors are linked to having a severe stroke?

2024-11-13
EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 4 P.M. ET, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2024 MINNEAPOLIS – People with conditions or habits such as high blood pressure, an irregular heartbeat called atrial fibrillation, or smoking, not only have a higher risk of stroke, they may also have more severe strokes than people without these risk factors, according to a study published in the November 13, 2024, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. “Stroke can lead to disability or even death, yet there are a number of risk factors that people can modify with a change ...

Opening borders for workers: Abe’s profound influence on Japan’s immigration regime

Opening borders for workers: Abe’s profound influence on Japan’s immigration regime
2024-11-13
Japan grapples with labor shortage due to low birth rates and an aging population, prompting recent governments to bring in more foreign workers. Under the leadership of the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, significant immigration reforms were introduced between 2012 and 2020, aiming to alleviate these challenges by increasing the foreign population. However, despite these efforts, the government has continued to uphold the long-standing status quo of not having a formal immigration policy, mainly to balance business and nationalist interests. This status ...

How skills from hospitality and tourism can propel careers beyond the industry

2024-11-13
Far from the stereotype of low-wage, low-skill positions, hospitality and tourism jobs could be powerful launchpads for broader career success, according to a new study from the University of Surrey. Researchers believe that working in these roles cultivates a wealth of transferable skills that can lead to lucrative opportunities in sectors like finance, healthcare, and technology.  In a study published in the Annals of Tourism Research, a team led by Dr Brigitte Stangl identified 116 unique transferable skills that employees gain while working in these sectors, highlighting the industry’s role as a vital training ground for essential skills.  The study found that employees ...

Research shows managers of firms handling recalls should review media scrutiny before deciding whether to lobby

2024-11-13
Lobbying can help companies reduce costs related to product recall, but it can also have a negative impact on the firm’s image. Research published in Strategic Management Journal offers clear data on the phenomenon, suggesting that managers should pay careful attention to the reputational cues from the media to determine when lobbying may be problematic and to refrain from the practice. Firms can use lobbying to influence the government, which in turn potentially limits their costs during product recall crises. Previous research has shown that when a firm increases its lobbying spending by approximately $417,014, which has been found to ...

New model system for the development of potential active substances used in condensate modifying drugs

New model system for the development of potential active substances used in condensate modifying drugs
2024-11-13
The origin of many diseases such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's can be found at the molecular level in our body, in other words, in proteins. In a healthy system, these proteins are responsible for numerous physiological functions. In order to carry out certain tasks, they may also assemble in groups consisting of numerous proteins. Once that job is done, they split up again and go their own ways. However, if larger clusters of a hundred or more proteins form so-called fibrils, which are bundles of long, filament-like accumulations of proteins, the ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Astronomers take the first close-up picture of a star outside our galaxy

Here’s something Americans agree on: Sports build character

Engineering nature’s blueprint: Dendron-based assemblies for chlorophyll’s materials

Study reveals how cell types shape human brain networks

New genetic explanation for heart condition revealed

Poor mental health linked to browsing negative content online

People with migraine at high risk of depression during pandemic

Climate-driven hazards increases risk for millions of coastal residents, study finds

Females sleep less, awaken more frequently than males

Most Americans want primary care providers to address mental health

Millions of Americans hurt by others’ drinking, drug use: study

Plasma-derived atomic hydrogen advances low-temperature CO2 methanation at high yield

Photon qubits challenge AI, enabling more accurate quantum computing without error-correction techniques

Single gene causes embryo notochord deformity in zebrafish

Sylvester Cancer Tip Sheet - Nov 2024

AI speaks volumes when it comes to detecting Parkinson’s disease

Signals of inflammation during pregnancy linked to aging and memory changes 50 years later

Two million ex-smokers currently vape in England

When trees 'talk:' Researchers probe ancient wood for clues about massive solar storms

High nurse and doctor turnover linked to increased patient deaths in NHS hospitals

History of endometriosis and fibroids linked to heightened risk of early death

High nurse and doctor turnover rates linked to increased patient deaths in NHS hospitals

Research highlights the pressures human activities place on tropical marine ecosystems

New research sets out how to make free internet access a human right

Argonne plays critical role in assessing small modular reactor applications to rebuild a clean economy in post-war Ukraine

In the ‘Wild West’ of AI chatbots, subtle biases related to race and caste often go unchecked

Visual experience in a Pompeian domestic space: analysis using virtual reality-based eye tracking and GIS

RCMAR Center Director calls on House to advance a global brain health agenda

NEJM study: For chronic subdural hematomas, blocking the artery supplying the brain covering reduced re-operations threefold

New treatment combination for subdural hematoma reduces risk of recurrence

[Press-News.org] Bluetooth technology unlocks urban animal secrets