ScienceDaily: Strange Science News

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• Martian glass: Window into possible past life
• Exoplanets: Atmospheric signs of volcanic activity could aid search for life
• Chimpanzees may know when they are right and move to prove it
• Crows count on 'number neurons'
• Most detailed view ever of star formation in distant universe
• Using Minecraft to unboggle the robot mind
• Lean despite many calories
• What rabbits can tell us about Neanderthal extinction
• 'No-ink’ color printing with nanomaterials
• The shape of a perfect fire
• Giant deer were still present in Southern Germany after Ice Age
• A frog in the throat, literally

Martian glass: Window into possible past life Posted: 08 Jun 2015 06:32 PM PDT Researchers have found large deposits of glass formed by impactors on the surface of Mars. On Earth, impact glasses have been shown to sometimes preserve signatures of ancient life. That makes these deposits potentially interesting places to look for signs of past life on the Red Planet.

Exoplanets: Atmospheric signs of volcanic activity could aid search for life Posted: 08 Jun 2015 06:30 PM PDT Planets with volcanic activity are considered better candidates for life than worlds without such heated internal goings-on. Researchers have found a way to detect volcanic activity in the atmospheres of exoplanets when they transit, or pass in front of their host stars.

Chimpanzees may know when they are right and move to prove it Posted: 08 Jun 2015 06:27 PM PDT Chimpanzees are capable of metacognition, or thinking about one's own thinking, and can adjust their behavior accordingly, researchers have discovered.

Crows count on 'number neurons' Posted: 08 Jun 2015 12:20 PM PDT Neurobiologists have discovered cells in the crow brain that respond to a specific number of items. The study provides valuable insights into the biological roots of counting capabilities. What makes this finding even more interesting is that a long evolutionary history separates us from birds; as a consequence, the brains of crows and humans are designed very differently.

Most detailed view ever of star formation in distant universe Posted: 08 Jun 2015 11:40 AM PDT ALMA's Long Baseline Campaign has produced a spectacularly detailed image of a distant galaxy being gravitationally lensed. The image shows a magnified view of the galaxy's star-forming regions, the likes of which have never been seen before at this level of detail in a galaxy so remote. The new observations are far more detailed than those made using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, and reveal star-forming clumps in the galaxy equivalent to giant versions of the Orion Nebula.

Using Minecraft to unboggle the robot mind Posted: 08 Jun 2015 09:02 AM PDT Researchers are developing a new algorithm to help robots better plan their actions in complex environments. It's designed to help robots be more useful in the real world, but it's being developed with the help of a virtual world -- that of the video game Minecraft.

Lean despite many calories Posted: 08 Jun 2015 08:22 AM PDT Scientists have identified an enzyme in mice that is involved in obesity and metabolic disruptions associated with it, such as type 2 diabetes. When the investigators turned off the enzyme in experiments, the animals did not gain any weight despite being fed a diet that was rich in fat and caloric content. Furthermore, they did not develop diabetes. So far, however, there is still not much evidence that this mechanism also plays a role in humans.

What rabbits can tell us about Neanderthal extinction Posted: 08 Jun 2015 07:26 AM PDT When thinking about the extinction of Neanderthals some 30,000 years ago, rabbits may not be the first thing that spring to mind. But the way rabbits were hunted and eaten by Neanderthals and modern humans -- or not, as the case may be -- may offer vital clues as to why one species died out while the other flourished.

'No-ink’ color printing with nanomaterials Posted: 08 Jun 2015 07:26 AM PDT Researchers are giving new meaning to the term "read the fine print" with their demonstration of a color printing process using nanomaterials. In this case, the print features are very fine -- visible only with the aid of a high-powered electron microscope.

The shape of a perfect fire Posted: 08 Jun 2015 05:30 AM PDT The best fires are roughly as tall as they are wide. This is why, he argues, everyone has built fires that basically look the same since the dawn of time, allowing humanity to master fire and migrate across the globe.

Giant deer were still present in Southern Germany after Ice Age Posted: 08 Jun 2015 05:29 AM PDT Scientists reconstruct the DNA of the Megaloceros from findings in caves in the Swabian Alb and discover possible causes for its later extinction.

A frog in the throat, literally Posted: 08 Jun 2015 05:29 AM PDT A researcher who generates three-dimensional computer models of animals using a micro-CT scanner found that in analyzing a frog specimen, another animal was present inside the frog -- another frog.

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