ScienceDaily: Strange Science News

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• Classic video game system used to improve understanding of the brain
• Scientists tie the tightest knot ever achieved
• Bacteria recruit other species with long-range electrical signals
• Wearable biosensors can flag illness, Lyme disease, risk for diabetes; low airplane oxygen
• Searching for planets in the Alpha Centauri system
• Scientists switch on predatory kill instinct in mice
• Viruses in genome important for our brain

Classic video game system used to improve understanding of the brain Posted: 12 Jan 2017 11:12 AM PST The complexity of neural networks makes them difficult to analyze, but humanmade computing systems should be simpler to understand. Researchers have now applied widely used neuroscience approaches to analyze the classic games console Atari 2600 -- which runs the video game 'Donkey Kong' -- and found that such approaches do not meaningfully describe how the console's microprocessor really works.

Scientists tie the tightest knot ever achieved Posted: 12 Jan 2017 11:12 AM PST Scientists have produced the most tightly knotted physical structure ever known -- a scientific achievement which has the potential to create a new generation of advanced materials.

Bacteria recruit other species with long-range electrical signals Posted: 12 Jan 2017 11:12 AM PST The same biologists who recently found that bacteria resolve social conflicts within their communities and communicate with one another like neurons in the brain have discovered another human-like trait in these apparently not-so-simple, single-celled creatures.

Wearable biosensors can flag illness, Lyme disease, risk for diabetes; low airplane oxygen Posted: 12 Jan 2017 11:11 AM PST Can your smart watch detect when you are becoming sick? A new study indicates that this is possible. By following 60 people through their everyday lives, researchers found that smart watches and other personal biosensor devices can help flag when people have colds and even signal the onset of complex conditions like Lyme disease and diabetes.

Searching for planets in the Alpha Centauri system Posted: 12 Jan 2017 10:07 AM PST Astronomers are conducting a search for planets in the nearby star system Alpha Centauri. Such planets could be the targets for an eventual launch of miniature space probes by the Breakthrough Starshot initiative.

Scientists switch on predatory kill instinct in mice Posted: 12 Jan 2017 10:01 AM PST Researchers have isolated the brain circuitry that coordinates predatory hunting, according to a new study. One set of neurons in the amygdala, the brain's center of emotion and motivation, cues the animal to pursue prey. Another set signals the animal to use its jaw and neck muscles to bite and kill.

Viruses in genome important for our brain Posted: 12 Jan 2017 08:08 AM PST Over millions of years retroviruses have been incorporated into our human DNA, where they today make up almost 10 per cent of the total genome. A research group has now discovered a mechanism through which these retroviruses may have an impact on gene expression. This means that they may have played a significant role in the development of the human brain as well as in various neurological diseases.

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