ScienceDaily: Strange Science News

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• Can one cosmic enigma help solve another?
• Bio-inspired tire design: Where the rubber meets the road
• Mutually helpful species become competitors in benign environments
• Scientists use ultrasound to jump-start a man's brain after coma
• The first autonomous, entirely soft robot
• Endangered Cuban solenodon evolved after the extinction of dinosaurs
• Brief rapamycin therapy in middle-aged mice extends lives
• New tiny species of extinct Australian marsupial lion named after Sir David Attenborough

Can one cosmic enigma help solve another? Posted: 24 Aug 2016 01:02 PM PDT Astrophysicists have proposed a clever new way to shed light on the mystery of dark matter, believed to make up most of the universe. The irony is they want to try to pin down the nature of this unexplained phenomenon by using another, an obscure cosmic emanation known as 'fast radio bursts.'

Bio-inspired tire design: Where the rubber meets the road Posted: 24 Aug 2016 11:40 AM PDT Scientists have recently created new bio-inspired film-terminated structures with unique friction characteristics that could have positive industrial implications for, among other things, tires.

Mutually helpful species become competitors in benign environments Posted: 24 Aug 2016 11:39 AM PDT Nature abounds with examples of mutualistic relationships. Think of bees pollinating flowers whose nectar nourishes the bees. Each species benefits the other, and together their chances of survival are better than if they lived apart. Now scientists have found that such mutualistic relationships aren't always set in stone. Depending on environmental conditions, once-simpatico species can become competitors, and in extreme cases, one species can even drive the other to complete extinction.

Scientists use ultrasound to jump-start a man's brain after coma Posted: 24 Aug 2016 10:50 AM PDT A 25-year-old man recovering from a coma has made remarkable progress following a treatment to jump-start his brain using ultrasounds, scientists report. This is the first time such an approach to severe brain injury has been tried.

The first autonomous, entirely soft robot Posted: 24 Aug 2016 10:50 AM PDT A team of researchers with expertise in 3-D printing, mechanical engineering, and microfluidics has demonstrated the first autonomous, untethered, entirely soft robot. This small, 3-D-printed robot -- nicknamed the octobot -- could pave the way for a new generation of completely soft, autonomous machines.

Endangered Cuban solenodon evolved after the extinction of dinosaurs Posted: 24 Aug 2016 06:36 AM PDT The Caribbean islands form a natural laboratory for the study of evolution due to their unique biological and geological features. There has been heated discussion since the early 20th century on how species appeared on the islands. The Cuban solenodon is a small, rare, endangered animal, belonging to the mammalian order Eulipotyphla. It is a mole-like nocturnal animal with a long snout that feeds on insects and is found in only a few fragmented locations in Cuba. Its evolutionary origins have been widely contested and have remained relatively elusive because they have been so difficult to capture and examine.

Brief rapamycin therapy in middle-aged mice extends lives Posted: 23 Aug 2016 12:59 PM PDT In mice, the drug rapamycin is known to extend lives and delay some age-related problems. Questions remain about about how it promotes healthy aging, when, how much and how long to administer rapamycin, and how to avoid serious side effects. A new study showed brief therapy during middle age with rapamycin dramatically extended mouse lives. Findings revealed the need to further examine how gender and dose influence side effects and the drug's impact on susceptibility to and protection from different types of cancer.

New tiny species of extinct Australian marsupial lion named after Sir David Attenborough Posted: 23 Aug 2016 07:31 AM PDT The fossil remains of a new tiny species of marsupial lion which prowled the lush rainforests of northern Australia about 18 million years ago have been unearthed in the Riversleigh World Heritage Area of remote north-western Queensland. The discovery team has named the new species Microleo attenboroughi for its small size and to honor the famous broadcaster and naturalist Sir David Attenborough.

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