ScienceDaily: Strange Science News

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• Mental math helps monk parakeets find their place in pecking order
• Physicists show 'molecules' made of light may be possible
• Rare cosmic find: Astronomers find galaxy cluster with bursting heart
• Moon's crust as fractured as can be
• When it comes to touch, to give is to receive
• Sticklebacks urinate differently when nestbuilding
• Oxygen is not definitive evidence of life on habitable extrasolar planets
• Ancient ancestor of humans with tiny brain discovered

Mental math helps monk parakeets find their place in pecking order Posted: 10 Sep 2015 11:40 AM PDT A study of aggression in monk parakeets suggests that where they standing, the pecking order is a function of the bird's carefully calibrated perceptions of the rank of their fellow-feathered friends.

Physicists show 'molecules' made of light may be possible Posted: 10 Sep 2015 11:12 AM PDT It's not lightsaber time, not yet. But a team of theoretical physicists has taken another step toward building objects out of photons, and the findings hint that weightless particles of light can be joined into a sort of 'molecule' with its own peculiar force.

Rare cosmic find: Astronomers find galaxy cluster with bursting heart Posted: 10 Sep 2015 11:12 AM PDT Astronomers have discovered a gargantuan galaxy cluster with a core bursting with new stars -- an incredibly rare find. The discovery is the first to show that gigantic galaxies at the centers of massive clusters can grow significantly by feeding off gas stolen from other galaxies.

Moon's crust as fractured as can be Posted: 10 Sep 2015 10:20 AM PDT Scientists at MIT and elsewhere have identified regions on the far side of the moon, called the lunar highlands, that may have been so heavily bombarded -- particularly by small asteroids -- that the impacts completely shattered the upper crust, leaving these regions essentially as fractured and porous as they could be.

When it comes to touch, to give is to receive Posted: 10 Sep 2015 10:14 AM PDT Have you ever touched someone else and wondered why his or her skin felt so incredibly soft? Well, now researchers present evidence that this experience may often be an illusion.

Sticklebacks urinate differently when nestbuilding Posted: 10 Sep 2015 08:08 AM PDT Fish also build nests. Among sticklebacks this is done by the male, requiring so many of his resources that he cannot function normally while at work: he loses his ability to produce urine normally. Now scientists reveal how the hard-working males manage to get rid of surplus fluid from their body.

Oxygen is not definitive evidence of life on habitable extrasolar planets Posted: 10 Sep 2015 06:14 AM PDT The Earth's atmosphere contains oxygen because plants continuously produce it through photosynthesis. This abundant supply of oxygen allows life forms like animals to flourish. Therefore, oxygen had been thought to be an essential biomarker for life on extrasolar planets. But now scientists have presented a novel hypothesis that it could be possible for planets to have large quantities of abiotic (non-biologically produced) oxygen.

Ancient ancestor of humans with tiny brain discovered Posted: 10 Sep 2015 05:46 AM PDT Scientists have discovered a new species of hominin, a small creature with a tiny brain that opens the door to a new way of thinking about our ancient ancestors.

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