ScienceDaily: Strange Science News

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• Interplanetary dust particles could deliver water and organics to jump-start life on Earth
• The scent of cancer: Detecting cancer with fruit fly's antenna
• Looking inside food microstructures
• Can walking the dogs show who's the leader of the pack?
• Liars find it more rewarding to tell truth than fib when deceiving others
• One tree likes seabird poop, next prefers fresh air

Interplanetary dust particles could deliver water and organics to jump-start life on Earth Posted: 24 Jan 2014 01:12 PM PST Researchers have discovered that interplanetary dust particles could deliver water and organics to the Earth and other terrestrial planets. "It is a thrilling possibility that this influx of dust has acted as a continuous rainfall of little reaction vessels containing both the water and organics needed for the eventual origin of life on Earth and possibly Mars," said Hope Ishii, study co-author.

The scent of cancer: Detecting cancer with fruit fly's antenna Posted: 24 Jan 2014 05:27 AM PST Researchers have, for the first time, detected cancer cells using the olfactory senses of fruit flies.

Looking inside food microstructures Posted: 24 Jan 2014 05:27 AM PST Applying imaging techniques to food structure is helping scientists devise ways of improving the quality of processed food.

Can walking the dogs show who's the leader of the pack? Posted: 23 Jan 2014 07:20 PM PST Dogs' paths during group walks could be used to determine leadership roles and through that their social ranks and personality traits, say researchers. Using high-resolution GPS harnesses, scientists tracked the movements of six dogs and their owner across 14 30-40 minute walks off the lead. The dogs' movements were measurably influenced by underlying social hierarchies and personality differences.

Liars find it more rewarding to tell truth than fib when deceiving others Posted: 23 Jan 2014 12:47 PM PST A report based on two neural imaging studies that monitored brain activity has found individuals are more satisfied to get a reward from telling the truth rather than getting the same reward through deceit.

One tree likes seabird poop, next prefers fresh air Posted: 22 Jan 2014 05:20 PM PST Off the west coast of Peru, seabirds deposit thick layers of guano that accumulates on the ground because of the lack of rain. Guano has historically played a key role in agriculture worldwide because it is rich in plant nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorous. Now, researchers revealed the effects of guano on the native trees of the arid coasts of South America. Researchers found that non-nitrogen fixing trees become more abundant closer to sea replacing the usually more abundant nitrogen fixing trees in these deserts.

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