ScienceDaily: Strange Science News

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• Probing strong gravity in a binary neutron star system
• DNA 'smart glue' could someday be used to build tissues, organs
• People conform to the norm -- even if the norm is a computer
• Cone snail venom holds promise for medical treatments for cancer, addiction
• Pitcher plants 'switch off' traps to capture more ants
• Bacteria as individual as people? Study of rhizobium from plant roots suggests yes

Probing strong gravity in a binary neutron star system Posted: 14 Jan 2015 12:29 PM PST Astronomers have successfully measuring the precession of a young neutron star, just before it disappeared from visibility.

DNA 'smart glue' could someday be used to build tissues, organs Posted: 14 Jan 2015 08:55 AM PST DNA molecules provide the 'source code' for life in humans, plants, animals and some microbes. But now researchers report an initial study showing that the strands can also act as a glue to hold together 3-D-printed materials that could someday be used to grow tissues and organs in the lab.

People conform to the norm -- even if the norm is a computer Posted: 14 Jan 2015 06:08 AM PST Often enough, it is human nature to conform. This tendency makes us follow the lead of computers, even if the machines give us the wrong advice. This is the finding of a study that investigates how people make judgment calls after playing role-playing video games. Real-life encounters and face-to-face contact with other people are on the decline in a world that is becoming increasingly computerized. Many routine tasks are delegated to virtual characters. People spend hours role-playing through virtual-reality video games by taking on the persona of a virtual character or avatar.

Cone snail venom holds promise for medical treatments for cancer, addiction Posted: 14 Jan 2015 06:08 AM PST While considered a delicacy in some parts of the world, snails have found a more intriguing use to scientists and the medical profession offering a plethora of research possibilities. Cone snails are marine mollusks, just as conch, octopi and squid, but they capture their prey using venom. The venom of these marine critters provides leads for detection and possible treatment of some cancers and addictions.

Pitcher plants 'switch off' traps to capture more ants Posted: 13 Jan 2015 05:43 PM PST Insect-eating pitcher plants temporarily 'switch off' their traps in order to lure more prey into danger, new research has found. "The plant's key trapping surface is extremely slippery when wet but not when dry. For up to eight hours during dry days, these traps are 'switched off' and do not capture any of their insect visitors," a scientist explained. The researchers conducted experiments in which they artificially kept the trapping surfaces wet all the time. They found that wetted plants no longer captured large 'batches' of ants.

Bacteria as individual as people? Study of rhizobium from plant roots suggests yes Posted: 13 Jan 2015 05:41 PM PST Bacteria are as individual as people, new research suggests. Bacteria are essential to health, agriculture and the environment, and new research tools are starting to shed more light on them. The team extracted the bacteria from plant roots and established 72 separate strains. They determined the DNA sequence of the genome of each strain. Their research shows that each of those 72 strains is unique -- each has different genes and is capable of growing on different food sources.

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