ScienceDaily: Strange Science News

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• Search for extraterrestrial life more difficult than thought
• Don't like the food? Try paying more
• 'Feel good' factor higher when you own, not just use, luxury items
• People rely on what they hear themselves say to know what they're saying
• Fridges cooled by magnetism? Newly identified 'universal' property of metamagnets may lead to everyday uses
• Submarine: 'Virtual periscope' sees above-surface/airborne objects from underwater view
• Snobby staff can boost luxury retail sales
• Using a foreign language changes moral decisions
• Who are the aggressive stars of closed circuit television?

Search for extraterrestrial life more difficult than thought Posted: 29 Apr 2014 03:50 PM PDT A new study suggests the search for life on planets outside our solar system may be more difficult than previously thought. The study finds the method used to detect biosignatures on such planets, known as exoplanets, can produce a false positive result.

Don't like the food? Try paying more Posted: 29 Apr 2014 01:16 PM PDT Customers paying more at a restaurant buffet perceive the food as tastier than the same food offered at a lower price, suggesting taste perception can be manipulated by price alone. Researchers in nutrition, economics and consumer behavior often assume that taste is a given -- a person naturally either likes or dislikes a food. But a new study suggests taste perception, as well as feelings of overeating and guilt, can be manipulated by price alone.

'Feel good' factor higher when you own, not just use, luxury items Posted: 29 Apr 2014 10:38 AM PDT It means more to people to own a luxury product or brand than to have the privilege of simply using one. Just using an affordable luxury item you don't own can, in fact, dampen the feel good factor that normally surrounds such products, suggests new research.

People rely on what they hear themselves say to know what they're saying Posted: 29 Apr 2014 09:57 AM PDT You know what you're going to say before you say it, right? Not necessarily, research suggests. A new study shows that auditory feedback plays an important role in helping us determine what we're saying as we speak. Theories about how we produce speech often assume that we start with a clear, preverbal idea of what to say that goes through different levels of encoding to finally become an utterance. But the findings from this study support an alternative model.

Fridges cooled by magnetism? Newly identified 'universal' property of metamagnets may lead to everyday uses Posted: 29 Apr 2014 09:55 AM PDT A new physics discovery may lead to more efficient refrigerators, heat pumps and airport scanners, among many possible uses –- perhaps within a decade.The refrigerator of 2024 may be cooled not by chemical refrigerants, but by magnetism, thanks to the work of a team of physicists and materials scientists.

Submarine: 'Virtual periscope' sees above-surface/airborne objects from underwater view Posted: 29 Apr 2014 06:25 AM PDT Researchers have developed an underwater imaging system that allows submariners to view objects above the water's surface - without a periscope. The unique technology gets around the inevitable distortion caused by the water-surface waves when using a submerged camera because of the sharp refractive differences between water and air, random waves at the interface present distortions that are worse than the distortion atmospheric turbulence creates for astronomers peering into space.

Snobby staff can boost luxury retail sales Posted: 29 Apr 2014 05:56 AM PDT When it comes to luxury brands, the ruder the sales staff the better the sales, according to new research. The study reveals that consumers who get the brush-off at a high-end retailer can become more willing to purchase and wear pricey togs. "It appears that snobbiness might actually be a qualification worth considering for luxury brands like Louis Vuitton or Gucci," says one marketing professor. "Our research indicates they can end up having a similar effect to an 'in-group' in high school that others aspire to join."

Using a foreign language changes moral decisions Posted: 28 Apr 2014 09:06 AM PDT Would you sacrifice one person to save five? Such moral choices could depend on whether you are using a foreign language or your native tongue. A new study from psychologists finds that people using a foreign language take a relatively utilitarian approach to moral dilemmas, making decisions based on assessments of what's best for the common good.

Who are the aggressive stars of closed circuit television? Posted: 28 Apr 2014 04:46 AM PDT A computer program can analyze closed circuit television (CCTV) images and spot aggressive human behavior nine times out of ten, according to new research. The research is an important step forward in intelligent security systems that could raise an alarm without requiring constant human vigilance.

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• Scientists create circuit board modeled on the human brain
• 3-D printing technique for making cuddly stuff: Printer uses needle to turn layers of wool yarn into loose felt
• Egyptologists identify tomb of royal children
• The scent of a man: Gender of experimenter has big impact on rats' stress levels, explains lack of replication of some findings
• Paper-thin tablets and TV screens? How to create nanowires only three atoms wide with an electron beam
• Weekly emails to hospital C-suite halt two decades of superbug outbreak
• System detects global trends in social networks two months in advance
• Whitefly confused by cacophony of smells
• The Moroccan flic-flac spider: A gymnast among the arachnids
• Sexual conflict affects females more than males, says new research on beetles
• Mite sets new record as world's fastest land animal
• Cartilage, made to order: Living human cartilage grown on lab chip
• Oops! Researchers find neural signature for mistake correction

Scientists create circuit board modeled on the human brain Posted: 28 Apr 2014 10:40 AM PDT Scientists have developed faster, more energy-efficient microchips based on the human brain -- 9,000 times faster and using significantly less power than a typical PC. This offers greater possibilities for advances in robotics and a new way of understanding the brain. For instance, a chip as fast and efficient as the human brain could drive prosthetic limbs with the speed and complexity of our own actions.

3-D printing technique for making cuddly stuff: Printer uses needle to turn layers of wool yarn into loose felt Posted: 28 Apr 2014 09:13 AM PDT A new type of 3D printer can turn wool and wool blend yarns into fabric objects that people enjoy touching. The device looks something like a cross between a 3D printer and a sewing machine and produces 3D objects made of a form of loose felt.

Egyptologists identify tomb of royal children Posted: 28 Apr 2014 09:08 AM PDT Who had the privilege to spend eternal life next to the pharaoh?  Close to the royal tombs in the Egyptian Valley of the Kings, excavations by Egyptologists have identified the burial place of several children as well as other family members of two pharaohs.

The scent of a man: Gender of experimenter has big impact on rats' stress levels, explains lack of replication of some findings Posted: 28 Apr 2014 09:06 AM PDT Scientists' inability to replicate research findings using mice and rats has contributed to mounting concern over the reliability of such studies. Pain researchers have now found that the gender of experimenters has a big impact on the stress levels of rodents used in research. The presence of male experimenters produced a stress response in mice and rats equivalent to that caused by restraining the rodents for 15 minutes in a tube or forcing them to swim for three minutes. This stress-induced reaction made mice and rats of both sexes less sensitive to pain.

Paper-thin tablets and TV screens? How to create nanowires only three atoms wide with an electron beam Posted: 28 Apr 2014 09:06 AM PDT Scientists have used a focused beam of electrons to create some of the smallest nanowires ever made. The discovery gives a boost to efforts aimed at creating electrical circuits on mono-layered materials, raising the possibility of flexible, paper-thin tablets and television displays.

Weekly emails to hospital C-suite halt two decades of superbug outbreak Posted: 28 Apr 2014 06:42 AM PDT Efforts to reduce and stop the spread of infections caused by a highly resistant organism, carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii, at a large hospital proved ineffective until they added another weapon: weekly emails from the medical director of Infection Control to hospital leadership, according to a study. Prior to this, endemic rates of A. baumannii had been present at the institution for nearly two decades.

System detects global trends in social networks two months in advance Posted: 28 Apr 2014 06:42 AM PDT A new method of monitoring identifies what information will be relevant on social networks up to two months in advance. This may help predict social movements, consumer reactions or possible outbreaks of epidemics, according to a study. The system works using just 50,000 Twitter accounts, predicting what will "go viral" across the entire Internet. It can be used in real time, about different topics, in different languages and geographical areas, thus allowing for different contexts to be covered.

Whitefly confused by cacophony of smells Posted: 28 Apr 2014 04:46 AM PDT Bombarding pests with smells from many different plants temporarily confuses them and hinders their ability to feed, new research has shown. Exposing the whitefly to a heady aroma of cucumber, courgette, watercress, watermelon, cabbage and bean, the team found the insects became temporarily disorientated. Weaving their way between the plant cells to reach the sap is technically challenging and the team found the whiteflies failed to feed while they were being bombarded with the different plant chemicals.

The Moroccan flic-flac spider: A gymnast among the arachnids Posted: 28 Apr 2014 04:44 AM PDT A spider expert has described a new species: Cebrennus rechenbergi. It is the only spider that is able to move by means of flic-flac jumps. The flic-flac spider uses its legs to create a rolling motion. Like a gymnast, it propels itself off the ground, followed by a series of rapid flic-flac movements of its legs.

Sexual conflict affects females more than males, says new research on beetles Posted: 27 Apr 2014 04:13 PM PDT Sexual conflict over mating impacts the parental care behavior and reproductive productivity of burying beetles, new research shows. These beetles have surprisingly complex parental care, similar in form to that provided by birds such as robins or blackbirds, with offspring begging to be fed by touching parents, who respond by regurgitating partially digested food. Both males and females provide parental care, but females are the primary care givers, as in humans. So anything that affects the ability of females to provide parental care, such as costly mating, is likely to reduce overall reproductive productivity.

Mite sets new record as world's fastest land animal Posted: 27 Apr 2014 04:11 PM PDT A Southern California mite far outpaces the Australian tiger beetle, the current record-holder for running speed as measured in body lengths per second. By this measure, the mite runs 20 times faster than a cheetah and the equivalent of a person running 1300 miles per hour. The discovery is exciting not only because it sets a new world record, but also for what it reveals about the physiology of movement and the physical limitations of living structures, the researcher says.

Cartilage, made to order: Living human cartilage grown on lab chip Posted: 27 Apr 2014 03:51 PM PDT The first example of living human cartilage grown on a laboratory chip has been created by scientists. The researchers ultimately aim to use their innovative 3-D printing approach to create replacement cartilage for patients with osteoarthritis or soldiers with battlefield injuries. Osteoarthritis is marked by a gradual disintegration of cartilage, a flexible tissue that provides padding where bones come together in a joint. Causing severe pain and loss of mobility in joints such as knees and fingers, osteoarthritis is one of the leading causes of physical disability in the United States.

Oops! Researchers find neural signature for mistake correction Posted: 24 Apr 2014 09:50 AM PDT Researchers have captured an elusive brain signal underlying memory transfer and, in doing so, pinpointed the first neural circuit for "oops" -- the precise moment when one becomes consciously aware of a self-made mistake and takes corrective action. The findings verified a 20-year-old hypothesis on how brain areas communicate.

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• Specialized yoga program could help women with urinary incontinence
• Use of frozen material for fecal transplant successfully treats C. difficile infection
• Protecting olive oil from counterfeiters
• Breast cancer replicates brain development process

Specialized yoga program could help women with urinary incontinence Posted: 26 Apr 2014 06:13 AM PDT An ancient form of meditation and exercise could help women who suffer from urinary incontinence, according to a new study. researchers discovered that a yoga training program, designed to improve pelvic health, can help women gain more control over their urination and avoid accidental urine leakage. Men were not included in this study because urinary incontinence in men is often related to problems related to the prostate, which may be less likely to improve with yoga.

Use of frozen material for fecal transplant successfully treats C. difficile infection Posted: 24 Apr 2014 07:24 AM PDT A pilot study by Massachusetts General Hospital investigators may lead to greater availability and acceptability of an unusual treatment for a serious medical problem -- use of fecal material from healthy donors to treat recurrent diarrhea caused by the Clostridium difficile bacteria. The researchers report that use of prescreened frozen material from donors unrelated to patients was as successful in curing recurrent C. difficile as was the use of fresh fecal material reported in previous studies.

Protecting olive oil from counterfeiters Posted: 24 Apr 2014 07:23 AM PDT Who guarantees that expensive olive oil isn't counterfeit or adulterated? An invisible label could perform this task. The tag consists of tiny magnetic DNA particles encapsulated in a silica casing and mixed with the oil. The worldwide need for anti-counterfeiting labels for food is substantial. In December 2013 and January 2014, Interpol and Europol confiscated more than 1,200 tonnes of counterfeit or substandard food and beverages. The confiscated goods also included more than 131,000 litres of oil and vinegar.

Breast cancer replicates brain development process Posted: 24 Apr 2014 07:23 AM PDT A process that forms a key element in the development of the nervous system may also play a pivotal role in the spread of breast cancer, new research reveals. Understanding these processes is important in understanding cancer metastasis. Although the number of deaths from breast cancer is decreasing, it is still the leading cause of cancer-related death in women because of metastasis.

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Too many chefs: Smaller groups exhibit more accurate decision-making Posted: 23 Apr 2014 10:26 AM PDT The trope that the likelihood of an accurate group decision increases with the abundance of brains involved might not hold up when a group faces a variety of factors, researchers report. Instead, smaller groups actually tend to make more accurate decisions while larger assemblies may become excessively focused on only certain pieces of information.

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• Traces of recent water on Mars: Liquid water on Mars as recently as 200,000 years ago
• Chernobyl's birds adapting to ionizing radiation
• 'Horsing around' reduces stress hormones in youth
• Controlling brain waves to improve vision
• Ancient Maya and virtual worlds: Different perspectives on material meanings
• Three-banded panther worm debuts as new model in study of regeneration
• Key to enjoying massive online photo files may be giving up some control
• Physicist demonstrates dictionary definition of siphon was dodgy
• Psychological study of spite: 'Virtually ignored' by researchers

Traces of recent water on Mars: Liquid water on Mars as recently as 200,000 years ago Posted: 25 Apr 2014 04:50 AM PDT New research has shown that there was liquid water on Mars as recently as 200,000 years ago. The southern hemisphere of Mars is home to a crater that contains very well-preserved gullies and debris flow deposits. The geomorphological attributes of these landforms provide evidence that they were formed by the action of liquid water in geologically recent time.

Chernobyl's birds adapting to ionizing radiation Posted: 24 Apr 2014 07:30 PM PDT Birds in the exclusion zone around Chernobyl are adapting to -- and may even be benefiting from -- long-term exposure to radiation, ecologists have found. The study is the first evidence that wild animals adapt to ionizing radiation, and the first to show that birds which produce most pheomelanin, a pigment in feathers, have greatest problems coping with radiation exposure.

'Horsing around' reduces stress hormones in youth Posted: 24 Apr 2014 02:05 PM PDT New research reveals how youth who work with horses experience a substantial reduction in stress -- and the evidence lies in kids' saliva. "We were coming at this from a prevention perspective," said a developmental psychologist working on this study. "We are especially interested in optimizing healthy stress hormone production in young adolescents, because we know from other research that healthy stress hormone patterns may protect against the development of physical and mental health problems."

Controlling brain waves to improve vision Posted: 24 Apr 2014 02:05 PM PDT A novel technique to test brain waves is being used to see how the brain processes external stimuli that do and don't reach our awareness. "When we have different things competing for our attention, we can only be aware of so much of what we see," said a researcher on the study. "For example, when you're driving, you might really be concentrating on obeying traffic signals." But say there's an unexpected event: an emergency vehicle, a pedestrian -- will you actually see the unexpected, or will you be so focused on your initial task that you don't notice?

Ancient Maya and virtual worlds: Different perspectives on material meanings Posted: 24 Apr 2014 12:18 PM PDT The Mayan perspective on the material world has been explored in science, and begins to uncover parallels with today's online culture. The Maya believed that part of your identity could inhabit material objects. Maya might even name these objects, talk to them or take them to special events. They considered these items to be alive. The practice of sharing your identity with material possessions might seem unusual in a modern context. But is it that different from today's selfie-snapping, candy-crushing online culture, where social media profiles can be as important to a person's identity as his or her real-world interactions?

Three-banded panther worm debuts as new model in study of regeneration Posted: 24 Apr 2014 09:47 AM PDT The three-banded panther worm (Hofstenia miamia), a small organism with the ability to regenerate any missing body part, is being introduced to the scientific community. As a model, Hofstenia could help further our understanding of regeneration, how its mechanisms have evolved over millennia, and what limits regeneration in other animals, including humans.

Key to enjoying massive online photo files may be giving up some control Posted: 23 Apr 2014 08:15 AM PDT People who have massive online photo collections might actually enjoy their archives more by giving up a bit of control, research suggests. The 14-month study showed that people reflected more on past events and developed a renewed interest in their online photos when a device called Photobox would randomly print four or five of those photos at varying intervals each month.

Physicist demonstrates dictionary definition of siphon was dodgy Posted: 23 Apr 2014 07:22 AM PDT A physicist sparked controversy over how a humble siphon worked when he noticed an incorrect definition in the prestigious Oxford English Dictionary. In 2010, the eagle-eyed researcher spotted the mistake, which went unnoticed for 99 years, which incorrectly described atmospheric pressure, rather than gravity, as the operating force in a siphon.

Psychological study of spite: 'Virtually ignored' by researchers Posted: 23 Apr 2014 07:18 AM PDT In spite of spite's large and small impacts, and the obvious power it can hold on the human psyche, it has been 'virtually ignored' by social, personality and clinical psychologists, researchers have said in a recent paper. They have attempted to remedy that oversight by measuring spitefulness with a test similar to those used for other personality traits.

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• Scientists build new 'off switch' to shut down neural activity
• Skin layer grown from human stem cells could replace animals in drug, cosmetics testing
• The blood preserved in the preserved relic pumpkin did not belong to Louis XVI
• A step up for NASA’s robonaut: Ready for climbing legs
• Your T-shirt's ringing: Printable tiny flexible cell phones for clothes?
• Take notes by hand for better long-term comprehension
• Bake your own droplet lens: Cheap, high-quality lenses made from droplets of transparent silicone
• Hydrothermal vents: How productive are the ore factories in the deep sea?
• Asteroids made easy: 'Patch of asteroid' being built inside a satellite
• How a plant beckons bacteria that will do it harm
• It's a bubble, but not as we know it
• Microbes provide insights into evolution of human language
• Luck affects how we judge reckless actions
• New shape discovered using rubber bands
• Wind turbine movement can generate lightning
• Pain curbs sex drive in female mice, but not in males

Scientists build new 'off switch' to shut down neural activity Posted: 24 Apr 2014 11:09 AM PDT Nearly a decade ago, the era of optogenetics was ushered in with the development of channelrhodopsins, light-activated ion channels that can, with the flick of a switch, instantaneously turn on neurons in which they are genetically expressed. What has lagged behind, however, is the ability to use light to inactivate neurons with an equal level of reliability and efficiency. Now, scientists have used an analysis of channelrhodopsin's molecular structure to guide a series of genetic mutations to the ion channel that grant the power to silence neurons with an unprecedented level of control.

Skin layer grown from human stem cells could replace animals in drug, cosmetics testing Posted: 24 Apr 2014 09:52 AM PDT The first lab-grown epidermis -- the outermost skin layer -- with a functional permeability barrier akin to real skin has been developed by scientists. The new epidermis, grown from human pluripotent stem cells, offers a cost-effective alternative lab model for testing drugs and cosmetics, and could also help to develop new therapies for rare and common skin disorders.

The blood preserved in the preserved relic pumpkin did not belong to Louis XVI Posted: 24 Apr 2014 08:33 AM PDT The results of an international study indicate that the DNA recovered from the inside of a pumpkin, attributed so far to the French King Louis XVI, does not actually belong to the monarch, guillotined in 1793. Complete genome sequencing suggests that blood remains correspond to a male with brown eyes, instead of blue as Louis XVI had, and shorter.

A step up for NASA’s robonaut: Ready for climbing legs Posted: 24 Apr 2014 08:20 AM PDT Getting your "space legs" in Earth orbit has taken on new meaning for NASA's pioneering Robonaut program. Thanks to a successful launch of the SpaceX-3 flight of the Falcon 9/Dragon capsule on Friday, April 18, the lower limbs for Robonaut 2 (R2) are aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Safely tucked inside the Dragon resupply vehicle, R2's legs are to be attached by a station crew member to Robonaut's torso already on the orbiting outpost.

Your T-shirt's ringing: Printable tiny flexible cell phones for clothes? Posted: 24 Apr 2014 07:28 AM PDT A new version of 'spaser' technology being investigated could mean that mobile phones become so small, efficient, and flexible they could be printed on clothing. A spaser is effectively a nanoscale laser or nanolaser. It emits a beam of light through the vibration of free electrons, rather than the space-consuming electromagnetic wave emission process of a traditional laser.

Take notes by hand for better long-term comprehension Posted: 24 Apr 2014 07:28 AM PDT Dust off those Bic ballpoints and college-ruled notebooks: research shows that taking notes by hand is better than taking notes on a laptop for remembering conceptual information over the long term. "Our new findings suggest that even when laptops are used as intended -- and not for buying things on Amazon during class -- they may still be harming academic performance," says a psychological scientist involved in the study.

Bake your own droplet lens: Cheap, high-quality lenses made from droplets of transparent silicone Posted: 24 Apr 2014 07:28 AM PDT Researchers have created a new type of lens that costs less than a penny to make, and can be used in a 3-D printed attachment that turns a Smartphone into a dermascope, a tool to diagnose skin diseases like melanoma. Normal dermascopes can cost $500 or more, but this version costs a mere $2 and is slated to be commercially available in just a few months.

Hydrothermal vents: How productive are the ore factories in the deep sea? Posted: 24 Apr 2014 07:26 AM PDT Hydrothermal vents in the deep sea, the so-called 'black smokers,' are fascinating geological formations. They are home to unique ecosystems, but are also potential suppliers of raw materials for the future. They are driven by volcanic 'power plants' in the seafloor. But how exactly do they extract their energy from the volcanic rock?

Asteroids made easy: 'Patch of asteroid' being built inside a satellite Posted: 24 Apr 2014 07:21 AM PDT A dozen astronauts have walked on the moon, and several rovers have been piloted on Mars, giving us a good understanding of these off-world environments. But when it comes to asteroids, scientists enter uncharted territory. Landing on an asteroid is notoriously difficult. Scientists are now looking to mitigate risk involved in landing on an asteroid by building a "patch of asteroid" inside of a small, spinning satellite.

How a plant beckons bacteria that will do it harm Posted: 24 Apr 2014 07:20 AM PDT A common plant puts out a welcome mat to bacteria seeking to invade, and scientists have discovered the mat's molecular mix. The team showed that the humble and oft-studied plant Arabidopsis puts out a molecular signal that invites an attack from a pathogen. The study reveals new targets during the battle between microbe and host.

It's a bubble, but not as we know it Posted: 23 Apr 2014 07:16 PM PDT Multi-sensory technology that creates soap bubbles, which can have images projected onto them or when the bubbles are burst release a scent, is being unveiled at an international conference. The research could be used in areas such as gaming or education and encourage a new way of thinking about multi-sensory technologies.

Microbes provide insights into evolution of human language Posted: 23 Apr 2014 07:14 PM PDT Research into Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a type of bacteria common in water and soil, shows that they can communicate in a way that was previously thought to be unique to humans and perhaps some other primates. The bacteria used combinatorial communication, in which two signals are used together to achieve an effect that is different to the sum of the effects of the component parts.

Luck affects how we judge reckless actions Posted: 23 Apr 2014 07:12 PM PDT A person, who acts immorally or recklessly but is "lucky" by escaping dire consequences, is judged less harshly than an "unlucky" person, even when both have committed the same act. "Moral luck" is a term used in philosophy that describes situations in which a person is subjected to moral judgments by others despite the fact that the assessment is based on factors beyond his or her control, i.e. "luck."

New shape discovered using rubber bands Posted: 23 Apr 2014 07:12 PM PDT While setting out to fabricate new springs to support a cephalopod-inspired imaging project, a group of researchers stumbled upon a surprising discovery: the hemihelix, a shape rarely seen in nature. This made the researchers wonder: Were the three-dimensional structures they observed randomly occurring, or are there specific factors that control their formation? The scientists answered that question by performing experiments in which they stretched, joined, and then released rubber strips.

Wind turbine movement can generate lightning Posted: 23 Apr 2014 06:47 AM PDT Under favorable atmospheric conditions any elevated structure can generate upward lightning flashes. Even aircraft can do so —- in fact, height and movement are two of the factors that contribute to this phenomenon. The tips of wind turbine blades move at speeds of several tens of meters per second. However, no one had previously demonstrated the relationship between this movement and the triggering of electrical discharges.

Pain curbs sex drive in female mice, but not in males Posted: 22 Apr 2014 05:20 PM PDT Pain from inflammation greatly reduced sexual motivation in female mice in heat -- but had no such effect on male mice, a study concludes. "We know from other studies that women's sexual desire is far more dependent on context than men's -- but whether this is due to biological or social/cultural factors, such as upbringing and media influence, isn't known," says a corresponding author of the study. "Our finding that female mice, too, show pain-inhibited sexual desire suggests there may be an evolutionary biology explanation for these effects in humans -- and not simply a sociocultural one."

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