Science Breakthroughs: Ant Amputations, Glacial Melting, & Ancient Cave Paintings

Recent science news covers a consortium developing advanced sensors for satellite navigation, ants performing limb amputations to save comrades, rapid melting of Alaska glaciers, Russia's new space station plans, insights into Denisovans from cave findings, and the world's oldest cave painting in Indonesia showing a pig and human figures.

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

EU-backed consortium to develop efficient sensors for satellite navigation

A consortium funded by the European Union said on Thursday it was developing sensors to help satellites navigate with precision and enable drones to fly further for longer. The INPHOMIR project plans to create two new ultra-low-power sensors, an optical gyroscope and a specialized lidar sensor to make space missions more efficient and affordable.

Ants perform limb amputations on injured comrades to save their lives

Limb amputations are performed by surgeons when a traumatic injury such as a wound from war or a vehicle accident causes major tissue destruction or in instances of serious infection or disease. But humans are not alone in doing such procedures. New research shows that some ants perform limb amputations on injured comrades to improve their survival chances. The behavior was documented in Florida carpenter ants - scientific name Camponotus floridanus - a reddish-brown species more than half an inch (1.5 cm) long inhabiting parts of the southeastern United States.

Alaska glaciers may hit irreversible melting point sooner than expected, study finds

Glaciers in the Juneau Icefield in southeastern Alaska are melting at a faster rate than previously thought and may reach an irreversible tipping point sooner than expected, according to a study published on Tuesday. Researchers at Newcastle University in England found that glacier loss in the icefield, located just north of Alaska's capital city of Juneau, has accelerated rapidly since 2010.

Russia plans to create core of new space station by 2030

Russia is aiming to create the four-module core of its planned new orbital space station by 2030, its Roscosmos space agency said on Tuesday. The head of Roscosmos, Yuri Borisov, signed off on the timetable with the directors of 19 enterprises involved in creating the new station.

Study brings lifestyle of enigmatic extinct humans into focus

Thousands of bone fragments discovered in a cave on the Tibetan Plateau in China are offering rare insight into the lives of Denisovans, the mysterious extinct cousins of Neanderthals and our own species, showing they hunted a wide range of animals from sheep to woolly rhinoceros in this high-altitude abode. Researchers studied more than 2,500 bones found inside Baishiya Karst Cave, which is situated 10,760 feet (3,280 meters) above sea level and previously had yielded Denisovan fossil remains.

World's oldest cave painting in Indonesia shows a pig and people

On the ceiling of a limestone cave on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, scientists have discovered artwork depicting three human-like figures interacting with a wild pig in what they have determined is the world's oldest-known confidently dated cave painting - created at least 51,200 years ago. The researchers used a new scientific approach to determine the minimum age of the newly disclosed painting inside the Leang Karampuang cave in the Maros-Pangkep region of South Sulawesi province by using a laser to date a type of crystal called calcium carbonate that formed naturally on top of the painting.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)