ScienceDaily: Strange Science News

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• Bizarre new species of extinct reptile shows dinosaurs copied body, skull shapes of distant relatives
• 'Sixth sense' may be more than just a feeling
• Cosmology safe as universe has no sense of direction
• Swarms of magnetic bacteria could be used to deliver drugs to tumors
• Edible crickets can be reared on weeds and cassava plant tops
• The scroll from En-Gedi: A high-tech recovery mission
• Popeye was right: There’s energy in that spinach
• Shaping sound waves in 3D: Tech and medical applications
• Reef fish see colors that humans cannot
• The microdoctors in our bodies
• Brain to robot: 'Move, please'
• We're not in Kansas anymore: Fluorescent ruby red roofs stay as cool as white

Bizarre new species of extinct reptile shows dinosaurs copied body, skull shapes of distant relatives Posted: 22 Sep 2016 09:43 AM PDT Iconic dinosaur shapes were present for at least a hundred million years on our planet in animals before those dinosaurs themselves actually appeared.

'Sixth sense' may be more than just a feeling Posted: 22 Sep 2016 07:12 AM PDT With the help of two young patients with a unique neurological disorder, scientists have discovered that a gene called PIEZO2 controls specific aspects of human touch and proprioception, a "sixth sense" describing awareness of one's body in space. Mutations in the gene caused the two to have movement and balance problems and the loss of some forms of touch. Despite their difficulties, they both appeared to cope with these challenges by relying heavily on vision and other senses.

Cosmology safe as universe has no sense of direction Posted: 22 Sep 2016 06:38 AM PDT The universe is expanding uniformly. Space isn't stretching in a preferred direction or spinning.

Swarms of magnetic bacteria could be used to deliver drugs to tumors Posted: 22 Sep 2016 06:33 AM PDT One of the biggest challenges in cancer therapy is being able to sufficiently deliver chemotherapy drugs to tumors without exposing healthy tissues to their toxic effects. Magnetic bacteria are a promising vehicle for more efficiently delivering tumor-fighting drugs, researchers have demonstrated.

Edible crickets can be reared on weeds and cassava plant tops Posted: 22 Sep 2016 06:31 AM PDT To become a sustainable alternative to meat, reared crickets must be fed feeds other than the chicken feed that is most commonly used today. Researchers now present a study that shows that there are weeds and agricultural by-products that actually work as single ingredients in feeds for crickets. The study was conducted in Cambodia, where many children suffer from malnutrition and where the need for cheap protein is large.

The scroll from En-Gedi: A high-tech recovery mission Posted: 22 Sep 2016 06:21 AM PDT Archeologists have further unlocked writings in the ancient En-Gedi scroll -- the first severely damaged, ink-based scroll to be unrolled and identified noninvasively. Through virtual unwrapping, they have revealed it to be the earliest copy of a Pentateuchal book -- Leviticus -- ever found in a Holy Ark.

Popeye was right: There’s energy in that spinach Posted: 22 Sep 2016 05:57 AM PDT Using a simple membrane extract from spinach leaves, researchers have developed a cell that produces electricity and hydrogen from water using sunlight. Based on photosynthesis, and technology paves the way for clean fuels from renewable sources.

Shaping sound waves in 3D: Tech and medical applications Posted: 21 Sep 2016 01:41 PM PDT Sound can now be structured in three dimensions. Researchers have found a way of generating acoustic holograms, which could improve ultrasound diagnostics and material testing. The holograms can also be used to move and manipulate particles.

Reef fish see colors that humans cannot Posted: 21 Sep 2016 01:03 PM PDT Researchers have established that reef fish see colors that humans cannot.

The microdoctors in our bodies Posted: 21 Sep 2016 11:30 AM PDT Researchers are developing tiny, sophisticated technological and biological machines enabling non-invasive, selective therapies. Their creations include genetically modified cells that can be activated via brain waves, and swarms of microrobots that facilitate highly precise application of drugs.

Brain to robot: 'Move, please' Posted: 21 Sep 2016 11:22 AM PDT Using the power of thought to control a robot that helps to move a paralysed hand: new research could fundamentally change the therapy and daily lives of stroke patients.

We're not in Kansas anymore: Fluorescent ruby red roofs stay as cool as white Posted: 21 Sep 2016 11:04 AM PDT Elementary school science teaches us that in the sun, dark colors get hot while white stays cool. Now new research has found an exception: scientists have determined that certain dark pigments can stay just as cool as white by using fluorescence, the re-emission of absorbed light.

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