Elephants are no pushovers when it comes to walking great distances every day, and they even seem to have a knack for planning their demanding journeys. A new study puts the ingenuity of these mammals on full display, showing how they strategically choose certain routes to make their trips as efficient as possible.The study, published in the Journal of Animal Ecology, shares several key findings that demonstrate how African savanna elephants move through challenging landscapes. Being the largest megaherbivores on Earth, these animals need to eat heaps of low-calorie vegetation to stay energized, yet their prodigious size makes moving around a physical ordeal. To save energy, the elephants deliberately travel through certain landscapes based on the terrain, vegetation, and water sources.Tracking Elephant MigrationIn the new study, researchers used GPS tracking data from 157 African elephants in Northern Kenya. Researchers analyzed the data collected over 22 years (from 1998 to 2020) with a modeling method called ENERSCAPE, which estimates the cost of movement in legged terrestrial animals based on body mass and the incline of terrain.The researchers paired the estimates with satellite data on vegetation productivity and water availability, and with this information, they were able to devise energy landscapes that would inform them on the ways elephants tended to move.They then followed a process known as step-selection functions to determine how environmental factors influenced elephant movement, comparing the locations elephants visited with other nearby areas that they didnt choose.What Do Elephants Plan For?Elevation is considered an important factor in elephants habitat preferences, but movement costs are more often associated with the slope of terrain. The new study found that 94 percent of the elephants represented by the data avoided areas with steep slopes and rough terrain, showing that they purposefully picked routes that would save them energy.While more detailed research is needed to fully understand how an elephant uses its habitat, this study identifies a central decision-making factor for travelling elephants: save energy whenever possible, said co-author Fritz Vollrath of the University of Oxford in a statement.Whether or not an area has easy access to food also plays a role in elephants movement; 93 percent of the elephants preferred areas with high vegetation productivity.The researchers encountered a different outcome with water availability, finding that only 41 percent of the elephants preferred areas in close proximity to water. The researchers note that elephants preference for water availability may change based on additional considerations like elevation and the presence of humans near water sources. The fact that elephants dont always travel to the nearest river or pond adds a layer of complexity to their decision-making abilities.The speed of the elephants movement also impacts the likelihood of avoiding areas that would be difficult to navigate and waste too much energy. When moving slowly, 74 percent of individualsavoided energetically costly areas, and this increased to 86 percent at intermediate speeds and then to 93 percent at fast speeds.Support for Elephant ConservationThe information gathered from the study will serve as a guide to create more effective conservation measures for elephants, the researchers say. Knowing how elephants choose to move could help conservationists as they design protected areas and migration corridors for the animals. The study could also be used to model how elephants movements may be modified by climate change, which will affect ecological conditions like food and water availability.The next step for researchers is to assess other factors that havent been extensively covered, including seasonal changes, human disturbances, and climate change effects.Article SourcesOur writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:Journal of Animal Ecology. Energy landscapes direct the movement preferences of elephantsJack Knudson is an assistant editor at Discover with a strong interest in environmental science and history. Before joining Discover in 2023, he studied journalism at the Scripps College of Communication at Ohio University and previously interned at Recycling Today magazine

Within glacial ice sheets, there are streams of ice, sometimes called ice rivers, that move much faster than the surrounding ice. If youre having trouble imagining how ice moves inside ice, Elizabeth Thomas, a paleoclimatologist at the University at Buffalo, suggests an analogy to help visualize these icebound rivers.Since the Gulf Stream carries warm water from the tropical Atlantic Ocean up the coast of the Carolinas and then across to Europe, she explains, the Gulf Stream is essentially a river of water that's flowing faster than the ocean around it.The same thing happens in ice sheets. Most of the ice moves very slowly, but in some places, the ice moves much more swiftly than the surrounding ice, and those faster-moving areas are ice streams. And within these streams, researchers have discovered ice quakes.What Causes Ice QuakesRecently, an international team of scientists led by Andreas Fichtner of the ETH Zrich, a public research university in Zrich, Switzerland, discovered many little ice quakes deep within the ice rivers on the Northeast Greenland Ice Sheet.Inside the ice stream are thin layers of sulfates left over from volcanoes, explains Fichtner. These impurities make the ice in these areas a little weaker than the surrounding ice, and the stresses localize near these weak layers, causing them to crack. This is what produces the ice quakes.This discovery shows that ice streams move with what Fichtner calls a stick-slip motion rather than always flowing smoothly like viscous honey.Glacier ice flows by means of many different mechanisms, explains Kristin Poinar, a University at Buffalo scientist who studies the Greenland Ice Sheet. It can ooze slowly and viscously; it can move rapidly and elastically, she says. What we havent appreciated before is that these micro-slip events might add up to be fairly significant to the overall amount of flow.A Better Understanding of Wild IceFichtner hopes this newly discovered mechanism will be included in simulations of ice sheet evolution. These simulations of how ice sheets move over 100-year time scales are essential ingredients of sea-level predictions, he says.The ice sheet models we have today are great, adds Poinar, and theyre about to get better.Thanks to a combination of field and lab studies, scientists have understood the basics of ice flow for almost 100 years, she says, but studies like this one are crucial as scientists hone their understanding of the intricate details of the properties of ice.Ice in the wild has these special properties that lab ice does not. And so, if we aren't studying ice in the wild, we're missing the complexities. We're getting the basics right, but we're missing the complexities that make this particular ice stream flow faster than our models currently predict, says Poinar.And getting those models just right is more important than you may realize, adds Thomas.Most people have never seen a glacier, much less one of the worlds great ice sheets, because theyre so remote, she says. But the water from them ends up in our communities.Having a precise understanding of ice flow dynamics helps scientists better predict sea-level rise.Thats super important because we know that the sea level has already risen by a foot in the past century, Thomas says. This rise impacts coastal communities every time theres a high tide; meanwhile, storm surges are becoming devastating.It Takes a TeamPoinar also notes that this project was a collaboration between multiple international scientists and agencies. This is common in many areas of science, but perhaps especially in glaciology, she says. Thats because it takes a lot of international support to be able to survive in the inhospitable regions where you find glaciers.Living and working in Greenland for long enough to make a measurement like this which is several years takes a lot of international logistical support to keep you fed, warm, and out of the wind.Thanks to this kind of support, Fichtner and his team are planning to continue their research on ice quakes. They are now in the process of determining if Alpine glaciers produce similar quakes.Article SourcesOur writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:Antarctic Glaciers. Ice streamsScience. Hidden cascades of seismic ice stream deformationETH Zrich: Ice streams move due to tiny ice quakesAvery Hurt is a freelance science journalist. In addition to writing for Discover, she writes regularly for a variety of outlets, both print and online, including National Geographic, Science News Explores, Medscape, and WebMD. Shes the author of Bullet With Your Name on It: What You Will Probably Die From and What You Can Do About It, Clerisy Press 2007, as well as several books for young readers. Avery got her start in journalism while attending university, writing for the school newspaper and editing the student non-fiction magazine. Though she writes about all areas of science, she is particularly interested in neuroscience, the science of consciousness, and AIinterests she developed while earning a degree in philosophy.

Nature, Published online: 26 March 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08749-xThe tumour-suppressor protein BRCA2 is discovered to have a previously undescribed role in maintaining genomic integrity and the sensitivity of PARP1 inhibitors.

Nature, Published online: 26 March 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08770-0Physiological temperatures augment activation of glutamate receptors, which enables the structural basis of neuronal excitation to be elucidated.

A modeling study looked at how anticipated cuts to international HIV funding would affect the rate of new cases and HIV-related deaths in low- and middle-income countries.

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Instagram niche novus | Concept Art (@nichenovus)As AI-generated slop becomes increasingly indistinguishable from human-made pieces, even to professional artists and enthusiasts, being accused of using AI when youve spent hours creating your own work is both frustrating and hurtful. Of course, no one denies that AI-powered algorithms are widely used in software and professional production pipelines today, but a little honesty and transparency about their use would be greatly appreciated.3D Artist Niche Novus, specializing in futuristic dystopian visuals that blend reality with surrealism, which could be easily mistaken for AI-generated art, has published a video showcasing clay and wireframe renders, proving that these environments are entirely CGI and created using Blender. Check out his other works below and visit his Instagram page for more: Instagram niche novus | Concept Art (@nichenovus) Instagram niche novus | Concept Art (@nichenovus) Instagram niche novus | Concept Art (@nichenovus) Instagram niche novus | Concept Art (@nichenovus) Instagram niche novus | Concept Art (@nichenovus) Instagram niche novus | Concept Art (@nichenovus) Instagram niche novus | Concept Art (@nichenovus)Unfortunately, were not far from a time when AI could generate realistic in-progress versions of models alongside rendered images, further confusing people. This adds even more reason to stay vigilant and concerned.Dont forget to joinour80 Level Talent platformand ournew Discord server, follow us onInstagram,Twitter,LinkedIn,Telegram,TikTok, andThreads,where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.Source link The post Is It AI? Hell No: 3D Artist Reveals Behind-The-Scenes Of Stunning Sci-Fi Scenes appeared first on CG SHARES.

RTDeemosThanks @anselemnkoro for sharing our Generative Render, togther with Blender MCPA New A.I Render Engine For Blender Is Coming#b3d #MCP #Claude #vibecodinghttps://youtu.be/nLa-FkXxFXg?si=mzwFvk8iGcoHv7Yy