ScienceDaily: Strange Science News

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• The springy mechanics of large and small gecko toe pad adhesion
• Animal without synapses feeds by external digestion using global, local cellular control
• Feeling blue and seeing blue: Sadness may impair color perception
• Silk bio-ink could help advance tissue engineering with 3-D printers
• The symmetry of the universe
• Explaining crocodiles in Wyoming
• Parasitized bees are self-medicating in the wild
• Could tiny jellyfish propulsion drive design of new underwater craft?

The springy mechanics of large and small gecko toe pad adhesion Posted: 02 Sep 2015 12:55 PM PDT Functional morphologists and polymer scientists show that geckos have a spring-like mechanism in their bodies to enhance adhesion as they become larger. A few years ago the same authors invented the flexible adhesive Geckskin. It mimics a gecko's ability to strongly yet easily attach and detach their feet to walk on walls and ceilings.

Animal without synapses feeds by external digestion using global, local cellular control Posted: 02 Sep 2015 12:55 PM PDT A multicellular marine animal without organs, Trichoplax's feeding behavior may include cellular coordination, resulting in external food digestion.

Feeling blue and seeing blue: Sadness may impair color perception Posted: 02 Sep 2015 08:20 AM PDT The world might seem a little grayer than usual when we're down in the dumps and we often talk about 'feeling blue' -- new research suggests that the associations we make between emotion and color go beyond mere metaphor. The results of two studies indicate that feeling sadness may actually change how we perceive color.

Silk bio-ink could help advance tissue engineering with 3-D printers Posted: 02 Sep 2015 08:18 AM PDT Advances in 3-D printing have led to new ways to make bone and some other relatively simple body parts that can be implanted in patients. But finding an ideal bio-ink has stalled progress toward printing more complex tissues with versatile functions -- tissues that can be loaded with pharmaceuticals, for example. Now scientists have developed a silk-based ink that could open up new possibilities toward that goal.

The symmetry of the universe Posted: 02 Sep 2015 07:23 AM PDT Why did anti-matter disappear almost completely from our universe, whereas matter did not? Scientists are attempting to solve this mystery at the European research institute at CERN. Now they published the most precise measurement of the properties of light atomic nuclei and anti-nuclei ever made.

Explaining crocodiles in Wyoming Posted: 02 Sep 2015 06:10 AM PDT Fifty million years ago, the Cowboy State was crawling with crocodiles. Fossil records show that crocs lounged in the shade of palm trees from southwestern Wyoming to southern Canada during the Cretaceous and Eocene.  Exactly how the middle of the North American continent -- far from the warming effects of the ocean -- stayed so temperate even in winter months has long eluded scientists.

Parasitized bees are self-medicating in the wild Posted: 01 Sep 2015 05:48 PM PDT Bumblebees infected with a common intestinal parasite are drawn to flowers whose nectar and pollen have a medicinal effect, a study shows. The findings suggest that plant chemistry could help combat the decline of bee species.

Could tiny jellyfish propulsion drive design of new underwater craft? Posted: 01 Sep 2015 10:51 AM PDT Scientists have seen the future of under-sea exploration by studying the swimming prowess of tiny jellyfish gathered from Puget Sound off Washington's San Juan Island.

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