ScienceDaily: Strange Science News

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• Genetic cause of rare allergy to vibration discovered
• Penguin chicks huddle up for heat, protection
• Parasitic ants alter how captive ants recognize nest mates
• Discovery of 'Jurassic butterflies'
• Winning a competition predicts future dishonest behavior, say researchers
• Researchers try to determine the cause of female red flour beetle promiscuity
• New Zealand's little penguins are recent Australian invaders

Genetic cause of rare allergy to vibration discovered Posted: 03 Feb 2016 03:41 PM PST Scientists have identified a genetic mutation responsible for a rare form of inherited hives induced by vibration, also known as vibratory urticaria. Running, hand clapping, towel drying or even taking a bumpy bus ride can cause temporary skin rashes in people with this rare disorder. By studying affected families, researchers discovered how vibration promotes the release of inflammatory chemicals from the immune system's mast cells, causing hives and other allergic symptoms.

Penguin chicks huddle up for heat, protection Posted: 03 Feb 2016 11:57 AM PST Location and environmental conditions may influence when gentoo chicks huddle in cold, wet Antarctic conditions, according to new study.

Parasitic ants alter how captive ants recognize nest mates Posted: 03 Feb 2016 11:57 AM PST Enslaved Formica worker ants are more genetically and chemically diverse and less aggressive towards non-nest mates than free-living Formica ant colonies, according to a new study.

Discovery of 'Jurassic butterflies' Posted: 03 Feb 2016 10:49 AM PST A new study identifies a Jurassic age insect whose behavior and appearance closely mimic a butterfly -- but whose emergence on Earth predates the butterfly by about 40 million years.

Winning a competition predicts future dishonest behavior, say researchers Posted: 03 Feb 2016 10:48 AM PST 'These findings suggest that the way in which people measure success affects their honesty. When success is measured by social comparison, as is the case when winning a competition, dishonesty increases,' Schurr explains. 'When success does not involve social comparison, as is the case when meeting a set goal, defined standard or recalling a personal achievement, dishonesty decreases.'

Researchers try to determine the cause of female red flour beetle promiscuity Posted: 03 Feb 2016 10:48 AM PST New research focused on four possibilities that may explain why beetles are so promiscuous: that mating benefits the female beetles by providing them with moisture; with nutrients in the ejaculate; with proteins that support egg laying; or with additional sperm. The findings led scientists to conclude that it was the need for additional moisture that fed the beetles' drive to mate so frequently -- even to the point where they would sometimes coerce a reluctant male.

New Zealand's little penguins are recent Australian invaders Posted: 02 Feb 2016 02:40 PM PST The little penguin species (popularly known as little blue penguins) found in southern New Zealand is a surprisingly recent invader from Australia, according to a new study. Following the recent discovery that little penguins in the southern province of Otago belong to an Australian species, a team of researchers from New Zealand and the United States set out to determine when the Aussies first arrived.

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