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Published by Optica on August 3, 2023 Inspired by the way that the Morpho butterfly creates color, researchers developed colorful cooling films that don’t absorb light and thus don’t heat up. Credit: Wanlin Wang, Shenzhen University  On a hot summer day, white clothing feels cooler than other colors due to reflecting —not absorbing— sunlight. Other colors like blue or black , will undergo a heating effect as they absorb light . To circumvent this heating effect in colored cooling films , researchers drew inspiration from nanostructures in butterfly wings .   The new films, which don't absorb any light, could be used on the outside of buildings , vehicles and equipment to reduce the energy needed for cooling while preserving vivid color properties .  "In buildings, large amounts of energy are used for cooling and ventilation, and running the air conditioner in electric cars can reduce the driving range by more than half," said research team leader Wanlin Wang f

  Originally published on EurekAkert! On July, 11, 2023 The study, led by researchers from the Institute of Evolutionary Biology (IBE, CSIC-UPF) , and the Museum of Natural Sciences in Barcelona , has succeeded in sequencing the complete genome of the Xerces Blue butterfly , the first butterfly to become extinct . Peer-Reviewed Publication: Spanish National Research Council ( CSIC ) Image of a female and a male Xerces Blues on Acmispon glaber or deerweed, the plant they ate. Credit: Credit to Martí Franch. The Xerces Blue butterfly ( Glaucopsyche xerces ) was native to the coastal dunes of San Francisco , in the United States. As the city grew, much of the butterfly’s habitat was destroyed and its population was relegated to Golden Gate National Park . Its wings were a deep iridescent blue, with characteristic white spots on the ventral side. The last surviving specimens of the species were found in 1941 , by entomologist W. Harry Lange. It is considered the first