ScienceDaily: Strange Science News

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• Organic molecules on comets: Philae's first results from Churi prove surprising
• When surgeons listen to their preferred music, their stitches are better and faster
• Robotic insect mimics Nature's extreme moves
• Stars in Milky Way have moved
• The bold and the shy one: Could woodlice have personalities?
• Ants in the lead: How ants cooperate in steering food to their nest

Organic molecules on comets: Philae's first results from Churi prove surprising Posted: 30 Jul 2015 02:25 PM PDT Organic molecules never previously observed in comets, a relatively varied structure on the surface but a fairly homogeneous interior, organic compounds forming agglomerates rather than being dispersed in the ice: these are just some of first results provided by Philae on the surface of comet Churi. These in situ findings, which contain a wealth of completely new information, reveal several differences in comparison with previous observations of comets and current models.

When surgeons listen to their preferred music, their stitches are better and faster Posted: 30 Jul 2015 01:28 PM PDT From classical to rock, music can be heard in operating rooms across the world. When plastic surgeons listen to music they prefer, their surgical technique and efficiency when closing incisions is improved, a new study shows.

Robotic insect mimics Nature's extreme moves Posted: 30 Jul 2015 01:24 PM PDT By analyzing the natural mechanics of the water strider that enable it to launch off water's surface scientists have emulated this extreme form of locomotion in novel robotic insects.

Stars in Milky Way have moved Posted: 30 Jul 2015 10:11 AM PDT Researchers are part of a team of scientists with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) that created a new map of the Milky Way that shows nearly a third of the stars have dramatically changed their obits.

The bold and the shy one: Could woodlice have personalities? Posted: 30 Jul 2015 07:46 AM PDT Put before a predator, one of the defensive behavior terrestrial crustaceans like the Common rough woodlouse can exercise is feigning death. Personality is argued to influence the duration and repetitiveness of the reaction. This is why a team of researchers observed three types of external impact and the variables in the individual woodlouses' responses. Their findings showed there is in fact a significant individual pattern.

Ants in the lead: How ants cooperate in steering food to their nest Posted: 30 Jul 2015 07:45 AM PDT A physics-based model can explain how ants cooperate in steering food to their nest. To lug a large object, a number of ants surround it -- the back ones lift, those on the leading edge pull. How do they stay on track, instead of simply pulling all around in a sort of tug-of-war? Scientists used video analysis to track the individual movements of ants in a group that was carrying a large food item toward their nest.

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• 'Failed stars' host powerful auroral displays
• Dense star clusters shown to be binary black hole factories
• Yarn from slaughterhouse waste
• Brain surgery saved Russian general who helped defeat Napoleon: Scientists 'rewrite' history books
• Patient 2.0, heal thyself

'Failed stars' host powerful auroral displays Posted: 29 Jul 2015 11:21 AM PDT By observing a brown dwarf 20 light-years away using both radio and optical telescopes, astronomers have found that such so-called failed stars host powerful auroras near their magnetic poles -- additional evidence that brown dwarfs are more like giant planets than small stars.

Dense star clusters shown to be binary black hole factories Posted: 29 Jul 2015 11:20 AM PDT The merger of two black holes is one of the most sought-after observations of modern astronomy. The first observatories capable of directly detecting gravitational waves -- ripples in the fabric of spacetime predicted by Albert Einstein -- will begin observing the universe later this year. When these waves rolling in from space are detected on Earth for the first time, astrophysicists predict astronomers will 'hear,' through these waves, five times more colliding black holes than previously expected.

Yarn from slaughterhouse waste Posted: 29 Jul 2015 08:07 AM PDT Researchers have developed a yarn from ordinary gelatine that has good qualities similar to those of merino wool fibers. Now they are working on making the yarn even more water resistant.

Brain surgery saved Russian general who helped defeat Napoleon: Scientists 'rewrite' history books Posted: 29 Jul 2015 07:21 AM PDT After more than two-years of international investigation, scientists have concluded that Napoleon likely would have conquered Russia in 1812 if not for the life-saving brain surgery performed on Russian general Mikhail Kutuzov by the French surgeon Jean Massot, who operated on Kutuzov after bullets twice passed through his head.

Patient 2.0, heal thyself Posted: 28 Jul 2015 06:19 AM PDT Researchers explain how the new paradigm of a digital healthcare system, as it matures, is putting the picture of the doctor-patient relationship in an entirely new frame and not always in a positive way.

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• Chimpanzees binge on clay to detox and boost the minerals in their diet
• Hormones influence unethical behavior, experts say
• A new litmus test for chaos?
• Identifying ever-growing disturbances leading to freak waves
• Arrow of time: New understanding of causality, free choice, and why we remember the past but not the future
• Dinos with bite: Unique tooth structure allowed predatory dinosaurs to efficiently crunch flesh and bone

Chimpanzees binge on clay to detox and boost the minerals in their diet Posted: 28 Jul 2015 01:24 PM PDT Wild chimpanzees in the forests of Uganda are increasingly eating clay to supplement the minerals in their diet, according to a long-term international study . The article describes how the researchers observed wild chimpanzees in the Budongo forest eating and drinking from clay pits and termite mounds.

Hormones influence unethical behavior, experts say Posted: 28 Jul 2015 08:08 AM PDT Hormones play a two-part role in encouraging and reinforcing cheating and other unethical behavior, according to new research. With cheating scandals a persistent threat on college campuses and financial fraud costing businesses more than $3.7 trillion annually, researchers looked to hormones for more answers, specifically the reproductive hormone testosterone and the stress hormone cortisol.

A new litmus test for chaos? Posted: 28 Jul 2015 08:07 AM PDT Researchers have come up with a new definition of chaos that applies more broadly than Lyapunov exponents and other previous definitions of chaos. The new definition fits on a few lines, can be easily approximated by numerical methods, and works for a wide variety of chaotic systems.

Identifying ever-growing disturbances leading to freak waves Posted: 28 Jul 2015 06:19 AM PDT Physicists now better understand wave systems exhibiting unusual disturbances by identifying growing localized patterns as early indicators of such disturbances.

Arrow of time: New understanding of causality, free choice, and why we remember the past but not the future Posted: 28 Jul 2015 06:19 AM PDT Theoretical physicists have developed a fully-symmetric formulation of quantum theory which establishes an exact link between asymmetry and the fact that we can remember the past but not the future.

Dinos with bite: Unique tooth structure allowed predatory dinosaurs to efficiently crunch flesh and bone Posted: 28 Jul 2015 06:17 AM PDT The Tyrannosaurus rex and its fellow theropod dinosaurs that rampage across the screen in movies like Jurassic World were successful predators partly due to a unique, deeply serrated tooth structure that allowed them to easily tear through the flesh and bone of other dinosaurs, says new research.

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• In CRISPR advance, scientists successfully edit human T cells
• At what age does hard work add a shine to lousy prizes?
• Quantum networks: Back and forth are not equal distances
• Ethics of tomorrow? Should androids have the right to have children?
• Researchers identify neural signature of tunnel vision

In CRISPR advance, scientists successfully edit human T cells Posted: 27 Jul 2015 12:37 PM PDT Scientists have devised a new strategy to precisely modify human T cells using the genome-editing system known as CRISPR/Cas9. Because these immune-system cells play important roles in a wide range of diseases, from diabetes to AIDS to cancer, the achievement provides a versatile new tool for research on T cell function, as well as a path toward CRISPR/Cas9-based therapies for many serious health problems.

At what age does hard work add a shine to lousy prizes? Posted: 27 Jul 2015 09:03 AM PDT Putting in a lot of effort to earn a reward can make unappealing prizes more attractive to kindergartners, but not to preschoolers, according to new research. The findings revealed that when six-year-olds worked hard to earn stickers that they ultimately didn't like, they were loath to give them up, whereas four-year-olds were comparatively eager to give the unappealing stickers away.

Quantum networks: Back and forth are not equal distances Posted: 27 Jul 2015 09:02 AM PDT Quantum technology based on light (photons) has great potential for radically new information technology based on photonic circuits. Now researchers have discovered a new type of photonic channels, where back and forth are not equal distances. Such a system has been a missing component for building quantum photonic circuits on a large scale.

Ethics of tomorrow? Should androids have the right to have children? Posted: 27 Jul 2015 06:29 AM PDT Science fiction culture has prospered and gone from being for nerds only in the 1970s and 1980s to becoming part of popular culture in the last two decades. This particularly applies to the TV series genre, which has become mainstream with Battlestar Galactica (2004), Heroes (2006) and Fringe (2009). The science fiction of today is often about humanoid androids that are trying to become "one of us".

Researchers identify neural signature of tunnel vision Posted: 27 Jul 2015 06:25 AM PDT A new study measured brain activity while people watched clips from Alfred Hitchcock and other suspenseful films. During high suspense moments, the brain narrows what people see and focuses their attention on the story. During less suspenseful moments of the film clips, viewers devote more attention to their surroundings.

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Know it's a placebo? Study shows the 'medicine' could still work Posted: 24 Jul 2015 10:56 AM PDT A new study shoes that under certain conditions, research participants who know a treatment they are receiving to ease pain is a placebo with no medical value, it still works.

Bossy rooster takes lead vocal of cock-a-doodle-do Posted: 24 Jul 2015 05:19 AM PDT From ancient times, people have been aware of the rooster's "cock-a-doodle-do" that marks the break of dawn, but has anyone wondered who crows first? In a new study, biologists have revealed that there is actually a systematic rule based on social ranking that determines the order of crowing in roosters.

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• Are fish getting high on cocaine?
• Female stink bugs 'select' color of their eggs
• Musical tastes offer a window into how you think

Are fish getting high on cocaine? Posted: 23 Jul 2015 09:56 AM PDT Both prescription and illegal drugs such as morphine, cocaine and oxycodone have been found in surface waters in Canadian rivers. New research shows that wastewater discharged from wastewater treatment plants in the Grand River watershed of southern Ontario has the potential to contaminate sources of drinking water with these drugs.

Female stink bugs 'select' color of their eggs Posted: 23 Jul 2015 09:52 AM PDT Stink bug mothers will lay darker or lighter eggs depending on how much light is reflecting off of a surface. The newly discovered adaptation is likely related to how some species of stink bugs are able to deposit their eggs on top of leaves, as the darker-colored eggs are better protected from UV radiation. Surprisingly, the eggs are not darkened by melanin, but by a previously unknown pigment.

Musical tastes offer a window into how you think Posted: 22 Jul 2015 11:46 AM PDT Do you like your jazz to be Norah Jones or Ornette Coleman, your classical music to be Bach or Stravinsky, or your rock to be Coldplay or Slayer? The answer could give an insight into the way you think, say researchers.

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• Resolving social conflict is key to survival of bacterial communities
• Hair ice mystery solved
• Déjà-vu: New theory says dark matter acts like well-known particle
• New evidence of cultural diversification between neighboring chimpanzee communities
• Assembly of galaxies in the early universe witnessed for the first time

Resolving social conflict is key to survival of bacterial communities Posted: 22 Jul 2015 11:14 AM PDT Far from being selfish organisms whose sole purpose is to maximize their own reproduction, bacteria in large communities work for the greater good by resolving a social conflict among individuals to enhance the survival of their entire community.

Hair ice mystery solved Posted: 22 Jul 2015 06:15 AM PDT Hair ice -- a type of ice shaped like fine, silky hairs that resembles white cotton candy -- grows on the rotten branches of certain trees when the weather conditions are just right, usually during humid winter nights when the air temperature drops slightly below the freezing point. Now scientists have identified the missing ingredient, a fungus, that gives hair ice its peculiar shape.

Déjà-vu: New theory says dark matter acts like well-known particle Posted: 22 Jul 2015 05:11 AM PDT A new theory says dark matter acts remarkably similar to subatomic particles known to science since the 1930s.

New evidence of cultural diversification between neighboring chimpanzee communities Posted: 22 Jul 2015 05:06 AM PDT Newly discovered tool-length 'subcultures' in our closest living relatives provide striking parallel with cultural differences observed between adjacent groups in human societies.

Assembly of galaxies in the early universe witnessed for the first time Posted: 22 Jul 2015 05:06 AM PDT The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) has been used to detect the most distant clouds of star-forming gas yet found in normal galaxies in the early universe. The new observations allow astronomers to start to see how the first galaxies were built up and how they cleared the cosmic fog during the era of reionization. This is the first time that such galaxies are seen as more than just faint blobs.

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• Simulations lead to design of near-frictionless material
• Scientists track monster waves below the ocean surface
• Drawing a line between quantum, classical world
• Chaos is an inherent part of city traffic
• New computer program first to recognize sketches more accurately than a human
• Altering RNA helicases in roundworms doubles their lifespan: similar technique could be used on human cells, experts say
• Gut worms protect babies' brains from inflammation

Simulations lead to design of near-frictionless material Posted: 21 Jul 2015 04:40 PM PDT Scientists used the Mira supercomputer to identify and improve a new mechanism for eliminating friction, which fed into the development of a hybrid material that exhibited superlubricity at the macroscale for the first time. Researchers helped enable the groundbreaking simulations by overcoming a performance bottleneck that doubled the speed of the team's code.

Scientists track monster waves below the ocean surface Posted: 21 Jul 2015 04:39 PM PDT A scientific research team spent seven years tracking the movements of skyscraper-high waves in the South China Sea. Scientists are trying to understand how these waves, which rarely break the ocean surface, develop, move and dissipate underwater.

Drawing a line between quantum, classical world Posted: 21 Jul 2015 01:24 PM PDT A classical beam of light that would be expected to obey Bell's Inequality can fail this test in the lab, if the beam is properly prepared to have a particular feature: entanglement.

Chaos is an inherent part of city traffic Posted: 21 Jul 2015 08:12 AM PDT It's not unusual for two drivers to depart from the same location, head out to the same destination, drive more or less the same speed and nevertheless arrive at dramatically different times, with one driver taking significantly longer to arrive. While this can simply be bad luck, sometimes the reason isn't an obvious external event.

New computer program first to recognize sketches more accurately than a human Posted: 21 Jul 2015 05:16 AM PDT Researchers have built the first computer program that can recognize hand-drawn sketches better than humans.

Altering RNA helicases in roundworms doubles their lifespan: similar technique could be used on human cells, experts say Posted: 21 Jul 2015 05:16 AM PDT The things we do to extend our lives -- quitting smoking, cutting back on carbs, taking up jogging -- all have some impact on our longevity, if only just a little. But no matter how hard we work towards chasing the dream of forever staying fit and youthful, our efforts all end the same way and we must come to terms with the fact that we are mortal beings living on a finite timeline. There is nothing we can do to stop the aging process, and most things people do only serve to delay the inevitable: we can't stop death.

Gut worms protect babies' brains from inflammation Posted: 20 Jul 2015 11:52 AM PDT Gut worms can protect babies' brains from inflammation and long-term learning and memory problems caused by newborn infections, a new study on rats has shown. Expectant mother rats with tapeworms even passed the protective benefits on to their worm-free pups, the researchers found. The findings could point to new ways to prevent or treat the chronic brain inflammation linked to cognitive disorders like Alzheimer's disease, autism and depression.

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• The New York Times can predict your future weight
• Rare form: Novel structures built from DNA emerge
• Finding the origins of life in a drying puddle
• Dead galaxies in Coma Cluster may be packed with dark matter
• Self-proclaimed experts more vulnerable to the illusion of knowledge

The New York Times can predict your future weight Posted: 20 Jul 2015 11:13 AM PDT What you're reading now secretly tells you whether your country will be skinnier or fatter in three years. After analyzing 50 years of all the food words mentioned in major newspapers like the New York Times and London Times, a new study shows that the food words trending today in 2015 will predict a country's obesity level in three years -- in 2018.

Rare form: Novel structures built from DNA emerge Posted: 20 Jul 2015 08:49 AM PDT Scientists have worked for many years to refine the technique of DNA origami. His aim is to compose new sets of design rules, vastly expanding the range of nanoscale architectures generated by the method. In new research, a variety of innovative nanoforms are described, each displaying unprecedented design control.

Finding the origins of life in a drying puddle Posted: 20 Jul 2015 06:45 AM PDT Anyone who's ever noticed a water puddle drying in the sun has seen an environment that may have driven the type of chemical reactions that scientists believe were critical to the formation of life on the early Earth.

Dead galaxies in Coma Cluster may be packed with dark matter Posted: 20 Jul 2015 06:26 AM PDT Galaxies in a cluster roughly 300 million light years from Earth could contain as much as 100 times more dark matter than visible matter, according to an Australian study.

Self-proclaimed experts more vulnerable to the illusion of knowledge Posted: 20 Jul 2015 06:23 AM PDT The more people think they know about a topic in general, the more likely they are to allege knowledge of completely made-up information and false facts, a phenomenon known as 'overclaiming,' research shows.

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Centuries-old shipwreck discovered off North Carolina coast Posted: 17 Jul 2015 10:10 AM PDT Researchers have discovered a centuries-old shipwreck off the coast of North Carolina. Artifacts around the wreck, including bricks, bottles and navigation gear, appear to date it to the late 18th or early 19th century. Scientists were on an expedition using sonar scanning technology and the submersible vessel Alvin when they spotted the wreckage.

Scientists reveal 'woodquakes' Posted: 17 Jul 2015 06:21 AM PDT The structural properties of brittle materials like rock or ceramic, such as cracking under stress, have long been studied in detail, providing insight into avalanches, earthquakes and landslides. Wood and its response to stress or strain has been less known at a fundamental  level – until now.

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• Amateur astronomers spot one in a billion star
• ‘Eco-towers’ will fight climate change
• After 85-year search, massless particle with promise for next-generation electronics found
• Futuristic brain probe allows for wireless control of neurons
• No bones about it: Cannabis may be used to treat fractures
• How birds learn foreign languages
• The emerging science of human screams
• Despite new information, Pluto will remain a dwarf planet, cosmologist says
• Feathered cousin of famous movie star dino unearthed in China
• Does salt cause thirst? It's really not all that certain
• Agriculture's next frontier? Growing plants in space
• Model for robots with bacteria-controlled brains

Amateur astronomers spot one in a billion star Posted: 16 Jul 2015 05:54 PM PDT The Gaia satellite has discovered a unique binary system where one star is 'eating' the other, but neither star has any hydrogen, the most common element in the Universe. The system could be an important tool for understanding how binary stars might explode at the end of their lives.

‘Eco-towers’ will fight climate change Posted: 16 Jul 2015 01:08 PM PDT A new generation of green skyscrapers could help alleviate worldwide climate change, writes an urban planner.

After 85-year search, massless particle with promise for next-generation electronics found Posted: 16 Jul 2015 01:03 PM PDT Scientists have discovered Weyl fermions, elusive massless particles theorized 85 years ago that could give rise to faster and more efficient electronics because of their unusual ability to behave as matter and antimatter inside a crystal.

Futuristic brain probe allows for wireless control of neurons Posted: 16 Jul 2015 10:50 AM PDT A study showed that scientists can wirelessly determine the path a mouse walks with a press of a button. Researchers created a remote controlled, next-generation tissue implant that allows neuroscientists to inject drugs and shine lights on neurons deep inside the brains of mice.

No bones about it: Cannabis may be used to treat fractures Posted: 16 Jul 2015 09:43 AM PDT A new study explores another promising new medical application for marijuana. According to the research, the administration of the non-psychotropic component significantly helps heal bone fractures.

How birds learn foreign languages Posted: 16 Jul 2015 09:41 AM PDT Biologists have succeeded in teaching wild birds to understand a new language. After only two days of training, fairy wrens learned to flee when they heard an alarm call that was foreign to them, showing that birds can learn to eavesdrop on the calls of other species.

The emerging science of human screams Posted: 16 Jul 2015 09:38 AM PDT Our noisy world is no match for a screaming infant. An airplane could be flying by as a house party rages on downstairs while a literal cat fight takes place outside, and still a wailing baby will win your attention. One possible explanation is that human screams possess a unique acoustic property found to activate not just the auditory brain but also the brain's fear circuitry.

Despite new information, Pluto will remain a dwarf planet, cosmologist says Posted: 16 Jul 2015 08:22 AM PDT Back in 1930, it was an easy answer -- Pluto was a planet because we couldn't see anything else brighter at a similar distance away from us, says a cosmologist. Then, in the 1990s, astronomers began detecting more and more planet-like objects around Pluto and the questions started -- was Pluto a planet or not?

Feathered cousin of famous movie star dino unearthed in China Posted: 16 Jul 2015 07:15 AM PDT A newly identified species of feathered dinosaur is the largest ever discovered to have a well-preserved set of bird-like wings, research suggests. Palaeontologists working in China unearthed the fossil remains of the winged dinosaur -- a close cousin of Velociraptor, which was made famous by the Jurassic Park films.

Does salt cause thirst? It's really not all that certain Posted: 16 Jul 2015 06:20 AM PDT Conventional wisdom contends that the consumption of salt makes us thirsty and therefore leads to increased drinking to restore the balance of minerals in the body. However, no correlation was found between salt intake and an increased sense of thirst or more drinking of water, researchers report at the conclusion of their study.

Agriculture's next frontier? Growing plants in space Posted: 16 Jul 2015 06:20 AM PDT Space may not be the final frontier for researchers who want to grow plants there. Because, who knows, we may one day try to live on Mars, and to survive, we'll have to grow our own food. Thus far, experiments by the two pioneering scientists have proven so successful that, earlier this month, NASA recognized their research with one of its three awards in the category of the Most Compelling Results.

Model for robots with bacteria-controlled brains Posted: 16 Jul 2015 06:15 AM PDT A scientist used a mathematical model to demonstrate that bacteria can control the behavior of an inanimate device like a robot.

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