@lana's saved articles

Model-free reinforcement learning for motion planning of autonomous agents with complex tasks in partially observable environments

1. Junchao Li
2. Mingyu Cai
3. Zhen Kan
4. Shaoping Xiao

Substrate evaporation drives collective construction in termites

1. Giulio Facchini
2. Alann Rathery
3. Stéphane Douady
4. David Sillam-Dussès
5. Andrea Perna

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This valuable study investigates the environmental drivers behind termite construction, focusing, in particular, on pellet deposition behavior, with the conclusion that termites likely sense curvature indirectly through substrate evaporation. The findings reconcile discrepancies between previous studies through experimental and computational approaches. While the strength of the evidence supporting these claims is compelling, the authors do not discuss how their results affect our understanding of insect nest construction or animal-built structures more broadly.

Reviewed by eLife

How hibernation in frogs drives brain and reproductive evolution in opposite directions

1. Wenbo Liao
2. Ying Jiang
3. Long Jin
4. Stefan Lüpold

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  In this important paper, the authors report a link between brumation (or "hibernation") and tissue size in frogs, summarizing convincing evidence that extended brumation is associated with smaller brain size and increased investment in reproduction-related tissues. The research is of broad interest to ecologists, evolutionary biologists, and those interested in global change biology, as the dataset involves significant field work and advanced statistical analyses for insights into how expensive tissues in these ectothermic animals respond to environmental seasonality.

Reviewed by eLife