ScienceDaily: Strange Science News

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• Why some liquids are 'fragile' and others are 'strong'
• Wolves susceptible to yawn contagion: Social bonds may increase yawning contagion between wolves
• Neuroscientists reverse memories' emotional associations: Brain circuit that links feelings to memories manipulated
• Red Planet's Climate History uncovered in Unique Meteorite
• Early growth of giant galaxy, just 3 billion years after the Big Bang, revealed
• Walking fish reveal how our ancestors evolved onto land
• Group identity emphasized more by those who just make the cut
• Paleontologists describe a possible dinosaur nest and young 'babysitter'
• Marching in unison may increase risk of use of excessive force in policing protests
• Measurement at Big Bang conditions confirms lithium problem
• Gamblers are greedy bird-brains, new research finds
• Eat your fruits, vegetables for skin with sun-kissed glow
• Sweet dreams? Client and therapist dreams of each other during psychodynamic psychotherapy
• Sorting cells with sound waves
• Sheepdogs use simple rules to herd sheep
• Animals first flex their muscles: Earliest fossil evidence for animals with muscles

Why some liquids are 'fragile' and others are 'strong' Posted: 27 Aug 2014 01:34 PM PDT Only recently has it become possible to accurately 'see' the structure of a liquid. Using X-rays and a high-tech apparatus that holds liquids without a container, a physicist has compared the behavior of glass-forming liquids as they approach the glass transition. The results are the strongest demonstration yet that bulk properties like viscosity are linked to microscopic ones like structure.

Wolves susceptible to yawn contagion: Social bonds may increase yawning contagion between wolves Posted: 27 Aug 2014 11:15 AM PDT Wolves may be susceptible to yawn contagion, according to a new study. Researchers suggest that contagious yawning may be linked to human capacity for empathy, but little evidence apart from studies on primates, exists that links contagious yawning to empathy in other animals. Recently, researchers have documented domestic dogs demonstrating contagious yawning when exposed to human yawns in a scientific setting, but it is unclear whether this phenomenon is rooted in the evolutionary history of mammals, or has evolved in dogs as a result of domestication.

Neuroscientists reverse memories' emotional associations: Brain circuit that links feelings to memories manipulated Posted: 27 Aug 2014 10:16 AM PDT Most memories have some kind of emotion associated with them: Recalling the week you just spent at the beach probably makes you feel happy, while reflecting on being bullied provokes more negative feelings. A new study from neuroscientists reveals the brain circuit that controls how memories become linked with positive or negative emotions.

Red Planet's Climate History uncovered in Unique Meteorite Posted: 27 Aug 2014 10:15 AM PDT Was Mars — now a cold, dry place — once a warm, wet planet that sustained life? Research underway may one day answer those questions — and perhaps even help pave the way for future colonization of the Red Planet. By analyzing the chemical clues locked inside an ancient Martian meteorite known as Black Beauty, scientists are revealing the story of Mars' ancient, and sometimes startling, climate history.

Early growth of giant galaxy, just 3 billion years after the Big Bang, revealed Posted: 27 Aug 2014 10:15 AM PDT The birth of massive galaxies, according to galaxy formation theories, begins with the buildup of a dense, compact core that is ablaze with the glow of millions of newly formed stars. Evidence of this early construction phase, however, has eluded astronomers — until now. Astronomers identified a dense galactic core, dubbed "Sparky," using a combination of data from several space telescopes. Hubble photographed the emerging galaxy as it looked 11 billion years ago, just 3 billion years after the birth of our universe in the big bang.

Walking fish reveal how our ancestors evolved onto land Posted: 27 Aug 2014 10:15 AM PDT About 400 million years ago a group of fish began exploring land and evolved into tetrapods – today's amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. But just how these ancient fish used their fishy bodies and fins in a terrestrial environment and what evolutionary processes were at play remain scientific mysteries.

Group identity emphasized more by those who just make the cut Posted: 27 Aug 2014 08:21 AM PDT People and institutions who are marginal members of a high-status or well-esteemed group tend to emphasize their group membership more than those who are squarely entrenched members of the group, according to new research.

Paleontologists describe a possible dinosaur nest and young 'babysitter' Posted: 27 Aug 2014 08:19 AM PDT A new examination of a rock slab containing fossils of 24 very young dinosaurs and one older individual is suggestive of a group of hatchlings overseen by a caretaker, according to a new study.

Marching in unison may increase risk of use of excessive force in policing protests Posted: 27 Aug 2014 07:14 AM PDT What if the simple act of marching in unison -- as riot police commonly do -- increases the likelihood that law enforcement will use excessive force in policing protests? That's the suggestion of a new study that examined the judgments of men who were asked to walk in step with other men.

Measurement at Big Bang conditions confirms lithium problem Posted: 27 Aug 2014 07:02 AM PDT The field of astrophysics has a stubborn problem and it's called lithium. The quantities of lithium predicted to have resulted from the Big Bang are not actually present in stars. But the calculations are correct -- a fact which has now been confirmed for the first time.

Gamblers are greedy bird-brains, new research finds Posted: 27 Aug 2014 06:21 AM PDT Gamblers show the same tendencies as pigeons when they make risky decisions, new research has shown. Researchers conducted tests that found that both human gamblers and pigeons were 35% more likely to gamble for high-value than low-value rewards.

Eat your fruits, vegetables for skin with sun-kissed glow Posted: 27 Aug 2014 06:19 AM PDT Forget sun beds, sunbathing and fake tanning lotions. The secret to a healthy glow lies in eating your five-a-day servings of fruit and vegetables, reveals new breakthrough research. This research is the first to show strong evidence for the importance of skin coloration in attractiveness judgements.

Sweet dreams? Client and therapist dreams of each other during psychodynamic psychotherapy Posted: 27 Aug 2014 06:19 AM PDT Researchers set out to interpret the content and consequences of client's dreams about their therapists and vice versa, in a new study. The analysis reveals some fascinating insights into client and therapist personalities, therapeutic relationships, and the psychotherapy process.

Sorting cells with sound waves Posted: 26 Aug 2014 05:57 PM PDT Researchers have devised a new way to separate cells by exposing them to sound waves as they flow through a tiny channel. Their device, about the size of a dime, could be used to detect the extremely rare tumor cells that circulate in cancer patients' blood, helping doctors predict whether a tumor is going to spread.

Sheepdogs use simple rules to herd sheep Posted: 26 Aug 2014 05:55 PM PDT Sheepdogs use just two simple rules to round up large herds of sheep, scientists have discovered. The findings could lead to the development of robots that can gather and herd livestock, crowd control techniques, or new methods to clean up the environment.

Animals first flex their muscles: Earliest fossil evidence for animals with muscles Posted: 26 Aug 2014 05:54 PM PDT A new fossil discovery identifies the earliest evidence for animals with muscles. An unusual new fossil discovery of one of the earliest animals on earth may also provide the oldest evidence of muscle tissue -- the bundles of cells that make movement in animals possible. The fossil, dating from 560 million years ago, was discovered in Newfoundland, Canada.

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