ScienceDaily: Strange Science News

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• Lunar pits could shelter astronauts, reveal details of how 'man in the moon' formed
• Scientists experimentally re-create conditions deep inside giant planets, such as Jupiter and many exo-planets
• When is a molecule a molecule? Scientists watch fast electron jumps in exploding molecules
• Study led by indigenous people uncovers grizzly bear 'highway' in coastal British Columbia
• Earth-like soils on Mars? Ancient fossilized soils potentially found deep inside impact crater suggest microbial life
• Scientists track gene activity when honey bees do and don't eat honey: Significant differences depending on diet
• Is the universe a bubble? Let's check: Making the multiverse hypothesis testable
• Eye movements reveal difference between love and lust
• Anti-tank missile detector joins fight against malaria
• Danish DNA could be key to happiness
• Squid skin protein could improve biomedical technologies, study shows

Lunar pits could shelter astronauts, reveal details of how 'man in the moon' formed Posted: 17 Jul 2014 03:04 PM PDT While the moon's surface is battered by millions of craters, it also has over 200 holes -- steep-walled pits that in some cases might lead to caves that future astronauts could explore and use for shelter, according to new observations.

Scientists experimentally re-create conditions deep inside giant planets, such as Jupiter and many exo-planets Posted: 17 Jul 2014 11:20 AM PDT Using the largest laser in the world, scientists for the first time have experimentally re-created the conditions that exist deep inside giant planets, such as Jupiter, Uranus and many of the planets recently discovered outside our solar system.

When is a molecule a molecule? Scientists watch fast electron jumps in exploding molecules Posted: 17 Jul 2014 11:20 AM PDT Using ultra-short X-ray flashes, an international team of researchers watched electrons jumping between the fragments of exploding molecules. The study reveals up to what distance charge transfer between the molecular fragments can occur, marking the limit of the molecular regime. Such mechanisms play a role in numerous chemical processes, including photosynthesis.

Study led by indigenous people uncovers grizzly bear 'highway' in coastal British Columbia Posted: 17 Jul 2014 09:50 AM PDT A novel, First Nations-led research collaboration has revealed a previously undocumented grizzly bear aggregation in coastal British Columbia, one of the most southerly aggregations of salmon-feeding grizzlies in North America. Using non-invasive DNA analysis, the authors describe a grizzly bear 'highway,' identifying nearly 60 individual bears, many who travelled hundreds of miles from surrounding areas to feed on autumn-spawning salmon in the Koeye River.

Earth-like soils on Mars? Ancient fossilized soils potentially found deep inside impact crater suggest microbial life Posted: 17 Jul 2014 09:50 AM PDT Soil deep in a crater dating to some 3.7 billion years ago contains evidence that Mars was once much warmer and wetter, says a geologist based on images and data captured by the rover Curiosity.

Scientists track gene activity when honey bees do and don't eat honey: Significant differences depending on diet Posted: 17 Jul 2014 09:48 AM PDT Many beekeepers feed their honey bees sucrose or high-fructose corn syrup when times are lean inside the hive. This practice has come under scrutiny, however, in response to colony collapse disorder, the massive -- and as yet not fully explained -- annual die-off of honey bees in the U.S. and Europe. Some suspect that inadequate nutrition plays a role in honey bee declines. Scientists took a broad look at changes in gene activity in response to diet in the Western honey bee, and found significant differences occur depending on what the bees eat.

Is the universe a bubble? Let's check: Making the multiverse hypothesis testable Posted: 17 Jul 2014 09:48 AM PDT Scientists are working to bring the multiverse hypothesis, which to some sounds like a fanciful tale, firmly into the realm of testable science. Never mind the Big Bang; in the beginning was the vacuum. The vacuum simmered with energy (variously called dark energy, vacuum energy, the inflation field, or the Higgs field). Like water in a pot, this high energy began to evaporate -- bubbles formed.

Eye movements reveal difference between love and lust Posted: 17 Jul 2014 09:45 AM PDT A new study suggests the difference between love and lust might be in the eyes. Specifically, where your date looks at you could indicate whether love or lust is in the cards. The new study found that eye patterns concentrate on a stranger's face if the viewer sees that person as a potential partner in romantic love, but the viewer gazes more at the other person's body if he or she is feeling sexual desire.

Anti-tank missile detector joins fight against malaria Posted: 17 Jul 2014 06:51 AM PDT State-of-the-art military hardware could soon fight malaria, one of the most deadly diseases on the planet. Researchers have used an anti-tank Javelin missile detector, more commonly used in warfare to detect the enemy, in a new test to rapidly identify malaria parasites in blood. The technique is based on Fourier Transform Infrared (FITR) spectroscopy, which provides information on how molecules vibrate.

Danish DNA could be key to happiness Posted: 17 Jul 2014 06:48 AM PDT Genetics could be the key to explaining nation's levels of happiness, according to new research. Economists have found the closer a nation is to the genetic makeup of Denmark, the happier that country is. The research could help to solve the puzzle of why a country like Denmark so regularly tops the world happiness rankings.

Squid skin protein could improve biomedical technologies, study shows Posted: 16 Jul 2014 11:13 AM PDT The common pencil squid may hold the key to a new generation of medical technologies that could communicate more directly with the human body. Materials science researchers have discovered that reflectin, a protein in the tentacled creature's skin, can conduct positive electrical charges, or protons, making it a promising material for building biologically inspired devices.

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