ScienceDaily: Strange Science News

---

• To hear without being heard: First nonreciprocal acoustic circulator created
• Mysterious ocean circles off the Baltic coast explained
• Thyroid cancer cells become less aggressive in outer space
• Wallaby's perception of color is more similar to a dog than a quokka
• Raining cats and dogs: The challenges of running for political office in the past
• Robot with a taste for beer? Electronic tongue can identify brands of beer
• Infants know plants provide food, but need to see they're safe to eat
• Zebrafish use sunscreen also for camouflage
• From rivers to landslides: Charting the slopes of sediment transport
• Two stressed people equals less stress: Sharing nervous feelings helps reduce stress
• The better to bite fruit with: Natural selection shapes mechanical advantage in bats
• Decibels and democracy: Voice voting can be skewed by single loud voice

To hear without being heard: First nonreciprocal acoustic circulator created Posted: 30 Jan 2014 11:13 AM PST Scientists have built the first-ever nonreciprocal circulator for sound that is able to break sound wave reciprocity. The device is a 'one-way road for sound' that transmits acoustic waves in one direction but blocks them in the other. With this device, you can listen without being heard.

Mysterious ocean circles off the Baltic coast explained Posted: 30 Jan 2014 07:20 AM PST Are they bomb craters from World War II? Are they landing marks for aliens? Since the first images of the mysterious ocean circles off the Baltic coast of Denmark were taken in 2008, people have tried to find an explanation. Now researchers finally present a scientific explanation.

Thyroid cancer cells become less aggressive in outer space Posted: 30 Jan 2014 07:20 AM PST For those who think that space exploration offers no tangible benefits, new research involving thyroid cancer may prove otherwise. Researchers show that some tumors which are aggressive on earth are considerably less aggressive in microgravity. By understanding the genetic and cellular processes that occur in space, scientists may be able to develop treatments that accomplish the same thing on Earth.

Wallaby's perception of color is more similar to a dog than a quokka Posted: 30 Jan 2014 07:20 AM PST Biologists have recently discovered that a wallaby's perception of color is more similar to a dog than a quokka, sparking questions as to why marsupial color vision has evolved so selectively. By developing a pokies-like game for the wallabies, the research was able to determine exactly what the animals saw and how their color perception differed from other species.

Raining cats and dogs: The challenges of running for political office in the past Posted: 30 Jan 2014 06:29 AM PST Modern politicians may feel they have it tough -- but they should thank their lucky stars they weren't standing for election in the Westminster constituency in 1741. On that occasion, angry voters pelted the candidates and the tellers with dead cats and dogs, dirt, stones and sticks.

Robot with a taste for beer? Electronic tongue can identify brands of beer Posted: 30 Jan 2014 06:28 AM PST Researchers have managed to distinguish between different varieties of beer using an electronic tongue. The discovery is accurate in almost 82% of cases. Beer is the oldest and most widely consumed alcoholic drink in the world.

Infants know plants provide food, but need to see they're safe to eat Posted: 30 Jan 2014 01:08 AM PST Infants as young as six months old tend to expect that plants are food sources, but only after an adult shows them that the food is safe to eat, according to new research.

Zebrafish use sunscreen also for camouflage Posted: 29 Jan 2014 03:46 PM PST For diurnal animals like zebrafish embryos, which grow up in shallow pools and are practically see-through, exposure to the sun constitutes a major problem since ultraviolet (UV) radiation damages DNA. Neurobiologists set about investigating which mechanisms zebrafish embryos use to protect themselves against the aggressive UV radiation. Interestingly, scientists have found that the UV-protection mechanism also doubles as camouflage.

From rivers to landslides: Charting the slopes of sediment transport Posted: 29 Jan 2014 01:54 PM PST The slope of streambeds has dramatic and unexpected effects on sediment transport. Experimental data from the flume lab show that gravity does not facilitate sediment transport in the expected manner. In very steep streambeds with a 22-degree or higher slope, sediment motion begins not with grains skipping and bouncing along the bottom of the streambed, but rather with a complete bed failure in which all the sediment is abruptly sent hurtling downstream as a debris flow.

Two stressed people equals less stress: Sharing nervous feelings helps reduce stress Posted: 29 Jan 2014 12:10 PM PST Does giving a speech in public stress you out? Or writing a big presentation for your boss? What about skydiving? One way to cope, according to a new study, is to share your feelings with someone who is having a similar emotional reaction to the same scenario.

The better to bite fruit with: Natural selection shapes mechanical advantage in bats Posted: 29 Jan 2014 10:48 AM PST A recently published paper lays out a team's findings relating mechanical advantage to natural selection. The researchers also unveiled an engineering model of a skull that can be computationally manipulated to morph into the shape of any New World Leaf-nosed bat species, to help uncover evidence for selection in long-extinct organisms.

Decibels and democracy: Voice voting can be skewed by single loud voice Posted: 29 Jan 2014 08:45 AM PST Voice votes, common in civic and political decision making at all levels, can be skewed by a single, loud voice, according to a study. The researchers propose locating everyone within equal distance from the vote recorder or controlling for sound on voters' microphones.

You are subscribed to email updates from Strange & Offbeat News -- ScienceDaily To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610