ScienceDaily: Strange Science News |
- Ants communicate by mouth-to-mouth fluid exchange
- Ancient rocks hold evidence for life before oxygen
- Platypus venom could hold key to diabetes treatment
- Inside tiny tubes, water turns solid when it should be boiling
| Ants communicate by mouth-to-mouth fluid exchange Posted: 29 Nov 2016 12:12 PM PST Liquids shared mouth-to-mouth by social insects contain proteins and small molecules that can influence the development and organization of their colonies, according to new research. |
| Ancient rocks hold evidence for life before oxygen Posted: 29 Nov 2016 11:48 AM PST Somewhere between Earth's creation and where we are today, scientists have demonstrated that some early life forms existed just fine without any oxygen. The 2.52 billion-year-old sulfur-oxidizing bacteria are exceptionally large, spherical-shaped, smooth-walled microscopic structures much larger than most modern bacteria, but similar to some modern single-celled organisms that live in deepwater sulfur-rich ocean settings today, where even now there are almost no traces of oxygen. |
| Platypus venom could hold key to diabetes treatment Posted: 29 Nov 2016 08:44 AM PST Australian researchers have discovered remarkable evolutionary changes to insulin regulation in two of the nation's most iconic native animal species -- the platypus and the echidna -- which could pave the way for new treatments for type 2 diabetes in humans. The findings reveal that the same hormone produced in the gut of the platypus to regulate blood glucose is also surprisingly produced in their venom. |
| Inside tiny tubes, water turns solid when it should be boiling Posted: 28 Nov 2016 12:21 PM PST It's a well-known fact that water, at sea level, starts to boil at a temperature of 212 degrees Fahrenheit, or 100 degrees Celsius. And scientists have long observed that when water is confined in very small spaces, its boiling and freezing points can change a bit, usually dropping by around 10 C or so. But now, a team has found a completely unexpected set of changes: Inside the tiniest of spaces -- in carbon nanotubes whose inner dimensions are not much bigger than a few water molecules -- water can freeze solid even at high temperatures that would normally set it boiling. |
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