ScienceDaily: Strange Science News

---

• Are ants the answer to carbon dioxide sequestration?
• Humans walking on all fours is not backward evolution
• Tooth plaque provides unique insights into our prehistoric ancestors' diet
• Bubble wrap serves as sheet of tiny test tubes in resource-limited regions
• Hungry, invasive 'crazy worm' makes first appearance in Wisconsin, threatens forests
• What do Google searches tell us about our climate change fears?
• Self-assembling nanoparticle could improve MRI scanning for cancer diagnosis
• Glowing red in the big blue: Red fluorescence at great depths
• Using male mosquitoes to effectively sterilize females through a naturally occurring bacterium
• New mite species from a Caribbean mesophotic coral ecosystem named after J-Lo
• Beneath the surface: What zebrafish can tell us about anxiety

Are ants the answer to carbon dioxide sequestration? Posted: 16 Jul 2014 03:31 PM PDT A 25-year-long study provides the first quantitative measurement of in situ calcium-magnesium silicate mineral dissolution by ants, termites, tree roots, and bare ground. This study reveals that ants are one of the most powerful biological agents of mineral decay yet observed. It may be that an understanding of the geobiology of ant-mineral interactions might offer a line of research on how to "geoengineer" accelerated carbon dioxide consumption by Ca-Mg silicates.

Humans walking on all fours is not backward evolution Posted: 16 Jul 2014 12:11 PM PDT Five siblings in the family, who live in a remote corner of Turkey, walk exclusively on their hands and feet. Since they were discovered in 2005, scientists have debated the nature of their disability, with speculation they represent a backward stage of evolution. An anthropologist finds quadrupedal humans with Uner Tan Syndrome do not walk in the diagonal pattern characteristic of nonhuman primates such as apes and monkeys.

Tooth plaque provides unique insights into our prehistoric ancestors' diet Posted: 16 Jul 2014 11:10 AM PDT An international team of researchers has found new evidence that our prehistoric ancestors had a detailed understanding of plants long before the development of agriculture. By extracting chemical compounds and microfossils from dental calculus (calcified dental plaque) from ancient teeth, the researchers were able to provide an entirely new perspective on our ancestors' diets. Their research suggests that purple nut sedge (Cyperus rotundus) -- today regarded as a nuisance weed -- formed an important part of the prehistoric diet.

Bubble wrap serves as sheet of tiny test tubes in resource-limited regions Posted: 16 Jul 2014 08:27 AM PDT Popping the blisters on the bubble wrap might be the most enjoyable thing about moving. But now, scientists propose a more productive way to reuse the popular packing material -- as a sheet of small, test tube-like containers for medical and environmental samples. Their report shows that analyses can take place right in the bubbles.

Hungry, invasive 'crazy worm' makes first appearance in Wisconsin, threatens forests Posted: 16 Jul 2014 06:57 AM PDT Wisconsin's newest invasive species has done its best to stay underground, but the voracious, numerous and mysterious Asian crazy worm has emerged for the first time in the state on the campus of the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

What do Google searches tell us about our climate change fears? Posted: 16 Jul 2014 06:07 AM PDT Political ideology and education levels affect when people search for climate information, research indicates. Republicans search the net for information about the weather, climate change and global warming during extremely hot or cold spells. Democrats Google these terms when they experience changes in the average temperatures. These are some of the surprising findings from a study that tracked how the temperature fluctuations and rainfall that Americans experience daily in their own cities make them scour the Internet in search of information about climate change and global warming.

Self-assembling nanoparticle could improve MRI scanning for cancer diagnosis Posted: 16 Jul 2014 06:07 AM PDT A new self-assembling nanoparticle has been developed that targets tumors, to help doctors diagnose cancer earlier. The new nanoparticle boosts the effectiveness of MRI scanning by specifically seeking out receptors that are found in cancerous cells. The nanoparticle is coated with a special protein that looks for specific signals given off by tumors. When it finds one, it begins to interact with the cancerous cells; this interaction strips off the protein coating, causing the nanoparticle to self-assemble into a much larger particle so that it is more visible on the scan.

Glowing red in the big blue: Red fluorescence at great depths Posted: 15 Jul 2014 06:42 PM PDT Many fish species glow red and can see red light, even at depths where the red part of the sunlight spectrum has been absorbed by the water above. It was long assumed that red light did not play a role at depths of 10m or more. However, researchers have not only discovered and investigated the phenomenon of red fluorescence; they have now described a new detail which offers important clues to the function of glowing red.

Using male mosquitoes to effectively sterilize females through a naturally occurring bacterium Posted: 15 Jul 2014 11:19 AM PDT A new company, created by scientists, uses a very unique approach to control a common pest that can carry dangerous diseases: using male mosquitoes to effectively sterilize females through a naturally occurring bacterium. "Most mosquito control companies use chemical pesticides which are sprayed out of trucks and planes, or maybe out of a backpack sprayer," one of the scientists said. "By using a natural bacterium called Wolbachia and the mosquitoes' innate ability to find mates, we are applying an approach which does not require chemicals."

New mite species from a Caribbean mesophotic coral ecosystem named after J-Lo Posted: 15 Jul 2014 07:45 AM PDT During a recent survey of organisms collected from Bajo de Sico, a mesophotic coral reef ecosystem in Mona Passage off Puerto Rico, one pontarachnid mite species new to science was discovered. The new species was named after the famous Puerto Rican singer Jennifer Lopez.

Beneath the surface: What zebrafish can tell us about anxiety Posted: 14 Jul 2014 12:23 PM PDT One researcher has focused how genetics influence responses to stimuli that can trigger anxiety, and he's using zebrafish -- a tropical member of the minnow family named for the black stripes on their bodies -- to do so. His research team examines how fish with tweaked genes respond to different triggers compared to unmodified fish. The work could someday lead to better, more nuanced medications for anxiety disorders.

You are subscribed to email updates from Strange & Offbeat News -- ScienceDaily To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610