ScienceDaily: Strange Science News

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• Therapeutic bacteria prevent obesity in mice, study finds
• African elephant genome suggests they are superior smellers
• Ultrasonically propelled nanorods spin dizzyingly fast
• NASA's Fermi finds a 'transformer' pulsar
• Bats use polarized light to navigate: First mammal known to use polarization patterns in the sky to navigate
• Law of physics governs airplane 'evolution': Constructal law explains progression of passenger jets, sets guidelines for future aircraft
• Asian genes in European pigs result in more piglets
• Fly-inspired sound detector: New device based on a fly's freakishly acute hearing for futuristic hearing aids
• Meerkats' sinister side is secret to their success, study shows
• Creating optical cables out of thin air
• Boosting the force of empty space: Theorists propose way to amplify force of vacuum fluctuations
• Innovative system anticipates driver fatigue in the vehicle to prevent accidents
• 'Moral victories' might spare you from losing again
• Mammoth and mastodon behavior was less roam, more stay at home
• Increased levels of the body's own cannabinoids impair embryonic brain development

Therapeutic bacteria prevent obesity in mice, study finds Posted: 22 Jul 2014 11:25 AM PDT A probiotic that prevents obesity could be on the horizon. Bacteria that produce a therapeutic compound in the gut inhibit weight gain, insulin resistance and other adverse effects of a high-fat diet in mice, investigators have discovered. Regulatory issues must be addressed before moving to human studies, but the findings suggest that it may be possible to manipulate the bacterial residents of the gut -- the gut microbiota -- to treat obesity and other chronic diseases.

African elephant genome suggests they are superior smellers Posted: 22 Jul 2014 11:25 AM PDT Sense of smell is critical for survival in many mammals. In a new study, researchers examined the olfactory receptor repertoire encoded in 13 mammalian species and found that African elephants have the largest number of OR genes ever characterized; more than twice that found in dogs, and five times more than in humans.

Ultrasonically propelled nanorods spin dizzyingly fast Posted: 22 Jul 2014 10:07 AM PDT Vibrate a solution of rod-shaped metal nanoparticles in water with ultrasound and they'll spin around their long axes like tiny drill bits. Why? No one yet knows exactly. But researchers have clocked their speed -- and it's fast. At up to 150,000 revolutions per minute, ten times faster than any nanorotor ever reported.

NASA's Fermi finds a 'transformer' pulsar Posted: 22 Jul 2014 09:04 AM PDT In late June 2013, an exceptional binary containing a rapidly spinning neutron star underwent a dramatic change in behavior never before observed. The pulsar's radio beacon vanished, while at the same time the system brightened fivefold in gamma rays, the most powerful form of light, according to measurements by NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope.

Bats use polarized light to navigate: First mammal known to use polarization patterns in the sky to navigate Posted: 22 Jul 2014 08:18 AM PDT The bats use the way the sun's light is scattered in the atmosphere at sunset to calibrate their internal magnetic compass, which helps them to fly in the right direction, a new study has shown.

Law of physics governs airplane 'evolution': Constructal law explains progression of passenger jets, sets guidelines for future aircraft Posted: 22 Jul 2014 08:18 AM PDT Scientists have found that a law of physics predicts the evolution of commercial airliners and also provides guidelines for future designs.

Asian genes in European pigs result in more piglets Posted: 22 Jul 2014 08:17 AM PDT Pigs that are bred commercially in Europe are found to have a highly varied mosaic of different European and Asian gene variants. The Asian genes in particular result in a large number of piglets in European pig breeds. Researchers now explain that a number of important characteristics of European pigs have Asian origins. They previously demonstrated that the genetic diversity among commercial pigs is greater than within the existing populations of wild boar.

Fly-inspired sound detector: New device based on a fly's freakishly acute hearing for futuristic hearing aids Posted: 22 Jul 2014 08:14 AM PDT The fly can pinpoint the location of a chirping cricket with remarkable accuracy because of its freakishly acute hearing, which relies upon a sophisticated sound processing mechanism that really sets it apart from all other known insects. Researchers have now developed a tiny prototype device that mimics the parasitic fly's hearing mechanism, which may be useful for a new generation of hypersensitive hearing aids.

Meerkats' sinister side is secret to their success, study shows Posted: 22 Jul 2014 07:23 AM PDT The darker side of meerkats -- which sees them prevent their daughters from breeding, and kill their grandchildren -- is explained in a new study. Research into the desert creatures -- which live in groups with a dominant breeding pair and many adult helpers -- shows that the alpha female can flourish when it maintains the sole right to breed. The study shows how this way of life, also found in many animals such as ants and bees, can prove effective despite its sinister side.

Creating optical cables out of thin air Posted: 22 Jul 2014 07:22 AM PDT Imagine being able to instantaneously run an optical cable or fiber to any point on Earth, or even into space. Researchers now report using an 'air waveguide' to enhance light signals collected from distant sources. These air waveguides could have many applications, including long-range laser communications, detecting pollution in the atmosphere, making high-resolution topographic maps and laser weapons.

Boosting the force of empty space: Theorists propose way to amplify force of vacuum fluctuations Posted: 22 Jul 2014 06:14 AM PDT Vacuum fluctuations may be among the most counter-intuitive phenomena of quantum physics. Theorists have now proposed a way to amplify their force. The researchers believe that their proposed enhancement of the power of vacuum fluctuations can have profound implications for understanding Casimir and Van der Waals forces and it may even be used for applications in quantum information processing and other emerging quantum technologies.

Innovative system anticipates driver fatigue in the vehicle to prevent accidents Posted: 22 Jul 2014 06:13 AM PDT Scientists have created a devise integrated in smart materials capable of monitoring cardiac and respiratory rhythms in order to prevent drivers from falling asleep.

'Moral victories' might spare you from losing again Posted: 21 Jul 2014 03:20 PM PDT Coaches tend to overreact to close losses, and their hasty personnel adjustments tend to backfire in the long run, research shows. Researchers focused on whether coaches adjusted their personnel following games where the margin of victory or defeat was small. After narrow wins, coaches changed their starting lineup one-fourth of the time. But after narrow losses, they changed their starting lineup one-third of the time.

Mammoth and mastodon behavior was less roam, more stay at home Posted: 21 Jul 2014 03:19 PM PDT Their scruffy beards weren't ironic, but there are reasons mammoths and mastodons could have been the hipsters of the Ice Age. According to new research, the famously fuzzy relatives of elephants liked living in Greater Cincinnati long before it was trendy -- at the end of the last ice age. A new study shows the ancient proboscideans enjoyed the area so much they likely were year-round residents and not nomadic migrants as previously thought.

Increased levels of the body's own cannabinoids impair embryonic brain development Posted: 17 Jul 2014 06:48 AM PDT The human body produces substances, called endocannabinoids, that work in a similar way to cannabis. These endocannabinoids may not produce a "high", but are of tremendous importance for the functioning of the neural network in the brain -- especially during the embryonic stage. If this network is interfered with as a result of too many circulating endocannabinoids, the development of the embryonic brain can be impaired. Researchers have now discovered what mechanism underlies the development of this impairment.

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