ScienceDaily: Strange Science News

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• String pulling bees provide insight into spread of culture
• Electron beam microscope directly writes nanoscale features in liquid with metal ink
• Are planets setting the sun's pace?
• Astronomy: Discovery of an extragalactic hot molecular core
• Omnidirectional mobile robot has just two moving parts
• Microswimmers can be propelled and steered by light
• Brain waves can be used to detect potentially harmful personal information

String pulling bees provide insight into spread of culture Posted: 04 Oct 2016 11:14 AM PDT Bumblebees can learn to pull strings for food and pass on the ability to a colony, according to new research.

Electron beam microscope directly writes nanoscale features in liquid with metal ink Posted: 04 Oct 2016 10:59 AM PDT Scientists have now harnessed a scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) to directly write tiny patterns in metallic "ink," forming features in liquid that are finer than half the width of a human hair.

Are planets setting the sun's pace? Posted: 04 Oct 2016 08:37 AM PDT The Sun's activity is determined by the Sun's magnetic field. Two combined effects are responsible for the latter: The omega and the alpha effect. Exactly where and how the alpha effect originates is currently unknown. Researchers are now putting forward a new theory. Their calculations suggest that tidal forces from Venus, the Earth and Jupiter can directly influence the Sun's activity.

Astronomy: Discovery of an extragalactic hot molecular core Posted: 04 Oct 2016 08:25 AM PDT Astronomers have discovered a 'hot molecular core,' a cocoon of molecules surrounding a newborn massive star, for the first time outside our Galaxy. The discovery marks the first important step for observational studies of extragalactic hot molecular cores and challenges the hidden chemical diversity of our universe.

Omnidirectional mobile robot has just two moving parts Posted: 04 Oct 2016 08:07 AM PDT More than a decade ago, Ralph Hollis invented the ballbot, an elegantly simple robot whose tall, thin body glides atop a sphere slightly smaller than a bowling ball. The latest version, called SIMbot, has an equally elegant motor with just one moving part: the ball.

Microswimmers can be propelled and steered by light Posted: 04 Oct 2016 07:50 AM PDT Phototactic behavior directs some bacteria towards light and others into darkness: This enables them to utilize solar energy as efficiently as possible for their metabolism, or, otherwise, protects them from excessive light intensity. A team of researchers have now found a surprisingly simple way to direct synthetic microswimmers towards light or darkness. Their findings could eventually lead to minuscule robots that seek out and treat lesions in the human body.

Brain waves can be used to detect potentially harmful personal information Posted: 03 Oct 2016 10:09 AM PDT A researcher is working to advance research to develop secure user authentication methods, by looking at using brain waves as individual identifiers. However, those brain waves can tell more about a person than just his or her identity, warns this expert.

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