ScienceDaily: Strange Science News

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• Vibration energy the secret to self-powered electronics
• Extreme weather caused by climate change decides distribution of insects, study shows
• Powerful artificial muscles made from fishing line and sewing thread
• Sound-sensing cells regenerated in ears of mice with hearing damage
• Human and dog brains both have dedicated 'voice areas'
• Rise of the compliant machines: Sociable humanoids could help advance human-robot interaction
• Closing the 'free will' loophole: Using distant quasars to test Bell's theorem
• Cavities are contagious, research shows
• Astronomers find solar storms behave like supernovae
• Rocks around the clock: Asteroids pound tiny star
• Dishonesty and creativity: Two sides of the same coin?
• Nothing so sweet as a voice like your own, study finds
• 'Beautiful but sad' music can help people feel better
• Police officers move very little on the job; consequences potentially dangerous
• Garlic counteracts virulent bacteria
• Common medicines should mimic timing of body's natural systems to prevent side-effects
• 'Legal highs,' PMMA and zombie panic: Real dangers of the lacing of ecstasy pills

Vibration energy the secret to self-powered electronics Posted: 20 Feb 2014 04:33 PM PST Engineers have developed what could be a promising solution for charging smartphone batteries on the go -- without the need for an electrical cord. Incorporated directly into a cell phone housing, the team's nanogenerator could harvest and convert vibration energy from a surface, such as the passenger seat of a moving vehicle, into power for the phone.

Extreme weather caused by climate change decides distribution of insects, study shows Posted: 20 Feb 2014 01:13 PM PST Extreme weather caused by climate change in the coming decades is likely to have profound implications for distributions of insects and other invertebrates. This is suggested by a new study of insects in tropical and temperate regions of Australia. "Our predictions are that some species would disappear entirely in the next few decades, even when they have a fairly wide distribution that currently covers hundreds of kilometers", the researchers conclude.

Powerful artificial muscles made from fishing line and sewing thread Posted: 20 Feb 2014 11:17 AM PST Scientists have discovered that ordinary fishing line and sewing thread can be cheaply converted to powerful artificial muscles. The new muscles can lift a hundred times more weight and generate a hundred times higher mechanical power than the same length and weight of human muscle. Per weight, they can generate 7.1 horsepower per kilogram, about the same mechanical power as a jet engine.

Sound-sensing cells regenerated in ears of mice with hearing damage Posted: 20 Feb 2014 10:21 AM PST For years, scientists have thought that sound-sensing hair cells in the inner ear are not replaced once they're lost, but new research reveals that supporting cells in the ear can turn into hair cells in newborn mice. If the findings can be applied to older animals, they may lead to ways to help stimulate cell replacement in adults and to the design of treatment strategies for people suffering from deafness due to hair cell loss.

Human and dog brains both have dedicated 'voice areas' Posted: 20 Feb 2014 10:21 AM PST The first study to compare brain function between humans and any non-primate animal shows that dogs have dedicated voice areas in their brains, just as people do. Dog brains, like those of people, are also sensitive to acoustic cues of emotion, according to a new study.

Rise of the compliant machines: Sociable humanoids could help advance human-robot interaction Posted: 20 Feb 2014 08:35 AM PST Are we on the brink of a robotics revolution? That's what numerous media outlets asked last December when Google acquired eight robotics companies that specialize in such innovations as manipulation, vision, and humanoid robots.

Closing the 'free will' loophole: Using distant quasars to test Bell's theorem Posted: 20 Feb 2014 08:25 AM PST Astronomers propose an experiment that may close the last major loophole of Bell's inequality -- a 50-year-old theorem that, if violated by experiments, would mean that our universe is based not on the textbook laws of classical physics, but on the less-tangible probabilities of quantum mechanics. Such a quantum view would allow for seemingly counterintuitive phenomena such as entanglement, in which the measurement of one particle instantly affects another, even if those entangled particles are at opposite ends of the universe. Among other things, entanglement -- a quantum feature Albert Einstein skeptically referred to as "spooky action at a distance" -- seems to suggest that entangled particles can affect each other instantly, faster than the speed of light.

Cavities are contagious, research shows Posted: 20 Feb 2014 08:24 AM PST Dental caries, commonly known as tooth decay, is the single most common chronic childhood disease. In fact, it is an infectious disease, new research demonstrates. Mothers with cavities can transmit caries-producing oral bacteria to their babies when they clean pacifiers by sticking them in their own mouths or by sharing spoons. Parents should make their own oral health care a priority in order to help their children stay healthy.

Astronomers find solar storms behave like supernovae Posted: 20 Feb 2014 07:29 AM PST Researchers have studied the behavior of the Sun's coronal mass ejections, explaining for the first time the details of how these huge eruptions behave as they fall back onto the Sun's surface. In the process, they have discovered that coronal mass ejections have a surprising twin in the depths of space: the tendrils of gas in the Crab Nebula, which lie 6500 light-years away and are millions of times larger.

Rocks around the clock: Asteroids pound tiny star Posted: 20 Feb 2014 06:50 AM PST Scientists have found evidence that a tiny star called PSR J0738-4042 is being pounded by asteroids -- large lumps of rock from space. The environment around this star is especially harsh, full of radiation and violent winds of particles.

Dishonesty and creativity: Two sides of the same coin? Posted: 20 Feb 2014 05:33 AM PST Lying about performance on one task may increase creativity on a subsequent task by making people feel less bound by conventional rules, according to new research.

Nothing so sweet as a voice like your own, study finds Posted: 19 Feb 2014 02:48 PM PST Have you ever noticed that your best friends speak the same way? A new study finds we prefer voices that are similar to our own because they convey a soothing sense of community and social belongingness.

'Beautiful but sad' music can help people feel better Posted: 19 Feb 2014 06:55 AM PST Music that is felt to be 'beautiful but sad' can help people feel better when they're feeling blue, new research concludes. The research investigated the effects of what the researchers described as Self-Identified Sad Music (SISM) on people's moods, paying particular attention to their reasons for choosing a particular piece of music when they were experiencing sadness -- and the effect it had on them. The results showed that if an individual has intended to achieve mood enhancement through listening to 'sad' music, this was in fact often achieved by first thinking about their situation or being distracted, rather than directly through listening to the music chosen.

Police officers move very little on the job; consequences potentially dangerous Posted: 18 Feb 2014 11:23 AM PST Police officers move as much on the job as someone holding a baby or washing dishes. The finding comes from police wearing armbands that monitored their physical activity. Police work mimics many other present-day jobs, and, like other occupations, the workers need encouragement to move during the workday. Some low-cost aids would be to have standing computer workstations and to introduce regular computer prompts to alert workers to leave their desks and move around, the authors suggest.

Garlic counteracts virulent bacteria Posted: 18 Feb 2014 09:45 AM PST Aggressive multi-resistant infections constitute an increasing health problem all over the world. Bacteria are developing resistance at an alarming pace, so new pharmaceuticals that can combat this threat are in great demand. Garlic contains a substance that is particularly effective in encounters with even the hardiest bacterial strains. New research looks at the positive properties of the malodorous plant.

Common medicines should mimic timing of body's natural systems to prevent side-effects Posted: 18 Feb 2014 08:09 AM PST Debilitating side effects associated with prescription medication for some of today's most common conditions could be eradicated if they mimicked the body's natural hormone secretion cycles, a new report has said. Researchers focused on the dynamics of natural hormone secretion and subsequent effects on the brain and other organs. Combining mathematical modelling with the latest clinical and experimental data, they found that the body regulates the release of crucial steroid hormones (such as cortisol) in pulses approximately every hour.

'Legal highs,' PMMA and zombie panic: Real dangers of the lacing of ecstasy pills Posted: 18 Feb 2014 08:07 AM PST Recent deaths in both Canada and the UK linked to PMA/PMMA in ecstasy pills has brought public scrutiny to this little known drug. With Canada producing most of the ecstasy in the North American market, this timely paper looks at trends in ecstasy adulteration, the facts around PMA/PMMA-linked deaths and explores alternatives to the endless banning of new drugs. Among its findings, the paper states that in 2007, only 3% of seized ecstasy tablets contained pure MDMA compared to 69% in 2001, suggesting that there has been a major increase in the lacing of ecstasy pills available.

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