White oval squid (Sepioteuthis lessoniana sp. 2), known locally as shiro-ika, are medium-sized squids naturally distributed in the Indian and western Pacific oceans, flittering in and out of a wide range of different habitats – from shallow seagrass beds, over coral reefs, to depths of 100m along coastal environments. In such biodiverse zones, the squids encounter predators of all sizes and shapes, from seabirds flying overhead to sharks, tuna, and other cephalopods prowling under the sea.

Such a variety of threats calls for a large repertoire of survival strategies. Researchers from the Okinawan Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) have previously discovered how shiro-ika change color when moving between different shades of substrate – and now, the same team has painted a full picture of how the cephalopod employs a sophisticated range of camouflaging strategies to adapt to different environments and threats. “The wide variety of visual strategies used by the squid is surprisingly complex, especially considering that squid have traditionally been regarded as spending most of their lives in the open water column,” explains former OIST Visiting Researcher Dr. Ryuta Nakajima, “This discovery suggests that squid have a deeper behavioral relationship with the ocean floor than previously thought.”

A massive, multi-year scientific expedition determined that land use on tropical islands can shape water quality in lagoons and that rainfall can be an important mediator for connections between land and lagoon waters. The scale of this research is sigificant: the researchers assessed at algal tissue nutrients, water chemistry, and microbial communities at nearly 200 sites around the island of Mo‘orea, French Polynesia, and repeated this sampling over multiple years.

Researchers have developed the world’s first real-world head-to-head testing platform to determine whether commercial artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms are fit for NHS use to detect disease in a fair, equitable, transparent and trustworthy way, using diabetic eye disease as the first example. They say that it removes any biases that can come from companies wanting to deploy their AI software in clinical settings, putting all companies on a level playing field.

The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture recently entered a five-year agreement with the Indian National Horticulture Board and Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare to help fruit farmers in India improve agricultural production by limiting spread of pathogens. Ioannis Tzanetakis, director of the Arkansas Clean Plant Center and professor of plant virology for the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, has been working on the Indian Clean Plant Program for almost three years. The project’s goal is to establish nine clean plant centers in India. The Arkansas Clean Plant Center is a part of the experiment station, the research arm of the Division of Agriculture.

A major international webinar will take place on November 26 to present new scientific breakthroughs that could accelerate the global transition toward clean hydrogen. The event will feature Dr. Muhammad Aziz, Associate Professor and Lab Head at the Institute of Industrial Science at The University of Tokyo, who will unveil recent advances in chemical looping technology that enable efficient hydrogen production, inherent carbon capture, and recovery of useful heat or power in a single integrated system.

A controlled feeding study out of South Dakota State University showed that older adults who ate fewer ultra-processed foods naturally consumed fewer calories, lost weight and abdominal fat, and showed improvements in insulin, nutrient-sensing hormones and inflammation.