ScienceDaily: Strange Science News

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• Gauging local illicit drug use in real time could help police fight abuse
• Humans climb like geckos using bio-inspired climbing technology
• It's the last bite that keeps you coming back for more
• Human language's deep origins appear to have come directly from birds, primates
• Making new species without sex: Plants can transfer their entire genetic material to a partner in an asexual manner
• Map of universe questioned: Dwarf galaxies don't fit standard model
• A fuel cell for home: Tested in private households
• Infection prevention implanted directly into bones
• Colonial-era dams trigger parallel evolution of Connecticut fish
• Herpes infected humans before they were human
• Real or fake? Research shows brain uses multiple clues for facial recognition
• 'All systems go' for a paralyzed person to kick off the World Cup
• Coho salmon: Pinks' and chums' eating cousin
• 'Tomato pill' improves function of blood vessels in patients with cardiovascular disease

Gauging local illicit drug use in real time could help police fight abuse Posted: 11 Jun 2014 08:28 AM PDT The war on drugs could get a boost with a new method that analyzes sewage to track levels of illicit drug use in local communities in real time. The new study could help law enforcement identify new drug hot spots and monitor whether anti-drug measures are working.

Humans climb like geckos using bio-inspired climbing technology Posted: 11 Jun 2014 08:21 AM PDT DARPA's Z-Man program has demonstrated the first known human climbing of a glass wall using climbing devices inspired by geckos. The historic ascent involved a 218-pound climber ascending and descending 25 feet of glass, while also carrying an additional 50-pound load in one trial, with no climbing equipment other than a pair of hand-held, gecko-inspired paddles. A novel polymer microstructure technology was used in those paddles.

It's the last bite that keeps you coming back for more Posted: 11 Jun 2014 07:22 AM PDT Your memory for that last bite of a steak or chocolate cake may be more influential than memory for the first bite in determining when you want to eat it again, according to research. The fact that memory for the last few bites seems to drive our decisions about when to eat a food again may be particularly relevant in places like the United States, where portion sizes tend to be larger and are likely to result in lower end enjoyment:

Human language's deep origins appear to have come directly from birds, primates Posted: 11 Jun 2014 07:22 AM PDT Human language builds on birdsong and speech forms of other primates, researchers hypothesize in new research. From birds, the researchers say, we derived the melodic part of our language, and from other primates, the pragmatic, content-carrying parts of speech. Sometime within the last 100,000 years, those capacities fused into roughly the form of human language that we know today.

Making new species without sex: Plants can transfer their entire genetic material to a partner in an asexual manner Posted: 11 Jun 2014 07:22 AM PDT Plants can transfer their entire genetic material to a partner in an asexual manner, researchers report. Occasionally, two different plant species interbreed with each other in nature. This usually causes problems since the genetic information of both parents does not match. But sometimes, instead of passing on only half of each parent's genetic material, both plants transmit the complete information to the next generation. This means that the chromosome sets are totted up. The chromosomes are then able to find their suitable partner during meiosis, allowing the plants to stay fertile and a new species is generated.

Map of universe questioned: Dwarf galaxies don't fit standard model Posted: 11 Jun 2014 06:36 AM PDT Dwarf galaxies that orbit the Milky Way and the Andromeda galaxies defy the accepted model of galaxy formation, and recent attempts to wedge them into the model are flawed, reports an international team of astrophysicists. A new study pokes holes in the current understanding of galaxy formation and questions the accepted model of the origin and evolution of the universe.

A fuel cell for home: Tested in private households Posted: 11 Jun 2014 06:33 AM PDT It converts chemical energy directly into electrical energy. Still, there hadn't been a market breakthrough for the fuel cell. The systems were too complex. Now scientists have developed a simple device for home use.

Infection prevention implanted directly into bones Posted: 11 Jun 2014 06:33 AM PDT Hospital germs can be fatal, since they are resistant to antibiotics. As a result, alternative methods of defense against bacteria are in demand. A research team has been able to develop bone implants that keep the germs at bay. At first glance, the fine-grained implant looks like flour. Only under the microscope can one see what is inside: The individual grains of the granules consist of apatite crystals.

Colonial-era dams trigger parallel evolution of Connecticut fish Posted: 10 Jun 2014 05:53 PM PDT Decisions made by Colonial era settlers to dam Connecticut waterways triggered sudden and parallel evolutionary changes in two species of fish competing for food, a new study shows. Earlier studies documented the decrease in size and changes in gill structure of members of the alewife species cut off from access to the sea in newly dammed lakes. The new study found similar changes in feeding habits of the bluegill, which also showed greater ability to feed on smaller zooplankton found in landlocked lakes the species shared with the alewife.

Herpes infected humans before they were human Posted: 10 Jun 2014 05:49 PM PDT Researchers have identified the evolutionary origins of human herpes simplex virus (HSV) -1 and -2, reporting that the former infected hominids before their evolutionary split from chimpanzees 6 million years ago while the latter jumped from ancient chimpanzees to ancestors of modern humans -- Homo erectus -- approximately 1.6 million years ago.

Real or fake? Research shows brain uses multiple clues for facial recognition Posted: 10 Jun 2014 12:27 PM PDT Faces fascinate. We look for familiar or friendly ones in a crowd. And video game developers and movie animators strive to create faces that look real rather than fake. Determining how our brains decide what makes a face "human" and not artificial is a question researchers have been studying. New research shows that it takes more than eyes to make a face look human.

'All systems go' for a paralyzed person to kick off the World Cup Posted: 10 Jun 2014 11:47 AM PDT All systems are go for a bold demonstration of neuroscience and cognitive technology in action: on June 12, during the opening of the FIFA 2014 World Cup in Brazil, a paralyzed person wearing a brain-controlled robotic exoskeleton is expected to make the first kick. The system records electrical activity in the patient's brain and translates that to action. It also gives the patient tactile feedback using sensitive artificial skin.

Coho salmon: Pinks' and chums' eating cousin Posted: 10 Jun 2014 11:47 AM PDT Juvenile coho salmon benefit from dining on the distant remains of their spawning pink and chum cousins. While juvenile coho salmon feed directly on spawning pink and chum salmon carcasses and eggs, even coho with no direct contact with spawning pink and chum benefit from their nutrient contributions to stream ecosystems.

'Tomato pill' improves function of blood vessels in patients with cardiovascular disease Posted: 09 Jun 2014 05:56 PM PDT A daily supplement of an extract found in tomatoes may improve the function of blood vessels in patients with cardiovascular disease, according to new research. The incidence of cardiovascular is notably where a 'Mediterranean diet' consisting of a larger consumption of fruit, vegetables and olive oil predominates. Recent dietary studies suggest that this diet reduces the incidence of events related to the disease, including heart attack and stroke, in patients at high cardiovascular risk, or those who have previously had the disease.

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