ScienceDaily: Strange Science News |
- Hurricanes with female names more deadly than male-named storms
- Sperm-inspired robots controlled by magnetic fields may be useful for drug delivery, IVF, cell sorting and other applications
- Nano world: Where towers construct themselves
- Fishing vessels have big ecological footprint: Powerful seabird magnets
- Astronomers find a new type of planet: The 'mega-Earth'
- Because you can't eat just one: Star will swallow two planets
- Harsh space weather may doom potential life on red-dwarf planets
- Breakthrough in energy storage: Electrical cables that can store energy
- Stronger than steel: Scientists spin ultra-strong cellulose fibers
- Electromobility as privacy hazard: Leaving information with every electric fill-up
- Hypnosis extends restorative slow-wave sleep, research shows
- World's best thermometer made from light
- Nano-platform ready: Scientists use DNA origami to create 2-D structures
- New method of wormlike motion lets gels wiggle through water
- Rush a light wave and you'll break its data, say scientists
| Hurricanes with female names more deadly than male-named storms Posted: 02 Jun 2014 12:58 PM PDT In the coming Atlantic hurricane season, watch out for hurricanes with benign-sounding names like Dolly, Fay or Hanna. According to a new article, hurricanes with feminine names are likely to cause significantly more deaths than hurricanes with masculine names, apparently because storms with feminine names are perceived as less threatening.  |
| Posted: 02 Jun 2014 11:16 AM PDT A team of researchers has developed sperm-inspired microrobots, which consist of a head coated in a thick cobalt-nickel layer and an uncoated tail. When the robot is subjected to an oscillating field of less than five millitesla, it experiences a magnetic torque on its head, which causes its flagellum to oscillate and propel it forward. The researchers are then able to steer the robot by directing the magnetic field lines towards a reference point.  |
| Nano world: Where towers construct themselves Posted: 02 Jun 2014 10:22 AM PDT A tower which builds itself is absurd -- and however, in the nano world self-assembly is reality. Physicists have investigated how to control the ordering of such self-assembling structures at the nano-scale. Physicists investigated how they can control the ordering of such self-assembling structures and found out how to switch the assembly process on and off.  |
| Fishing vessels have big ecological footprint: Powerful seabird magnets Posted: 02 Jun 2014 10:22 AM PDT Fishing vessels have a far bigger ecological footprint than previously thought, according to research which tracked the movement and behavior of seabirds using GPS devices. Scientists discovered that northern gannets change their behaviour in response to the presence of large vessels such as trawlers, suggesting each boat can significantly influence the distribution and foraging patterns of these and other marine predators.  |
| Astronomers find a new type of planet: The 'mega-Earth' Posted: 02 Jun 2014 08:58 AM PDT Astronomers have discovered a new type of planet -- a rocky world weighing 17 times as much as Earth. Theorists believed such a world couldn't form because anything so hefty would grab hydrogen gas as it grew and become a Jupiter-like gas giant. This planet, though, is all solids and much bigger than previously discovered 'super-Earths,' making it a 'mega-Earth.'  |
| Because you can't eat just one: Star will swallow two planets Posted: 02 Jun 2014 08:58 AM PDT Two worlds orbiting a distant star are about to become a snack of cosmic proportions. Astronomers announced that the planets Kepler-56b and Kepler-56c will be swallowed by their star in a short time by astronomical standards. Their ends will come in 130 million and 155 million years, respectively.  |
| Harsh space weather may doom potential life on red-dwarf planets Posted: 02 Jun 2014 08:58 AM PDT Life in the universe might be even rarer than we thought. Recently, astronomers looking for potentially habitable worlds have targeted red dwarf stars because they are the most common type of star, composing 80 percent of the stars in the universe. But a new study shows that harsh space weather might strip the atmosphere of any rocky planet orbiting in a red dwarf's habitable zone.  |
| Breakthrough in energy storage: Electrical cables that can store energy Posted: 02 Jun 2014 07:17 AM PDT Nanotechnology scientists have developed a way to both transmit and store electricity in a single lightweight copper wire. Sounds like science fiction, but it may become a reality thanks to breakthrough technology. So far electrical cables are used only to transmit electricity. However, nanotechnology scientists have developed a way to both transmit and store electricity in a single lightweight copper wire.  |
| Stronger than steel: Scientists spin ultra-strong cellulose fibers Posted: 02 Jun 2014 07:16 AM PDT Scientists have successfully tested a new method for the production of ultra-strong cellulose fibers. The novel procedure spins extremely tough filaments from tiny cellulose fibrils by aligning them all in parallel during the production process.  |
| Electromobility as privacy hazard: Leaving information with every electric fill-up Posted: 02 Jun 2014 07:14 AM PDT Consumers who charge an electric vehicle on a regular basis may leave a data trail. With each charging process, the system saves when and where it took place and which customer paid for it – a privacy risk, says one expert, who presents a solution designed to ensure the privacy of users' data during the charging process.  |
| Hypnosis extends restorative slow-wave sleep, research shows Posted: 02 Jun 2014 07:12 AM PDT Sleeping well is a crucial factor contributing to our physical and mental restoration. Slow-Wave sleep (SWS) in particular has a positive impact for instance on memory and the functioning of the immune system. During periods of SWS, growth hormones are secreted, cell repair is promoted and the defense system is stimulated. If you feel sick or have had a hard working day, you often simply want to get some good, deep sleep, a wish that you may not be able to influence through your own will.  |
| World's best thermometer made from light Posted: 02 Jun 2014 07:01 AM PDT Physics researchers have produced the world's most sensitive thermometer – three times more precise than the best thermometers in existence. They report they have been able to measure temperature with a precision of 30 billionths of a degree.  |
| Nano-platform ready: Scientists use DNA origami to create 2-D structures Posted: 02 Jun 2014 07:01 AM PDT Scientists have developed a method using DNA origami to turn one-dimensional nano materials into two dimensions. Their breakthrough offers the potential to enhance fiber optics and electronic devices by reducing their size and increasing their speed. DNA origami employs approximately two hundred short DNA strands to direct longer strands in forming specific shapes.  |
| New method of wormlike motion lets gels wiggle through water Posted: 30 May 2014 01:03 PM PDT A special hydrogel substance has been developed that can be equipped to detect bacteria, carry cargo and deliver medicine. A researcher used a worm's contracting and expanding motion to provide a way for gels to swim in water. He explains, "Using a hand-held laser, we were able to selectively and quickly shrink the hydrogel (a hydrophilic polymer gel comprised mostly of water) in desired areas. By inducing a shrinking/swelling cycle down the length of a hydrogel, we were able to successfully mimic peristaltic, or earthworm-inspired, locomotion in water."  |
| Rush a light wave and you'll break its data, say scientists Posted: 30 May 2014 09:44 AM PDT Quantum information can't break the cosmic speed limit, according to researchers. The scientists have shown how attempts to 'push' part of a light beam past the speed of light results in the loss of the quantum data the light carries. The results could clarify how noise might limit the transfer of information in quantum computers.  |
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