ScienceDaily: Strange Science News

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• 48-million-year-old horse-like fetus discovered in Germany
• Mysterious ripples found racing through planet-forming disc
• 'Psychic robot' will know what you really meant to do
• Manipulating the brain controls maternal behavior in females and reduces aggression in males, mouse study shows
• Candle soot can power the lithium batteries in electric cars
• Chew on that: Can your chewing predict when you'll die?

48-million-year-old horse-like fetus discovered in Germany Posted: 07 Oct 2015 11:48 AM PDT A 48-million-year-old horse-like equoid fetus has been discovered at the Messel pit near Frankfurt, Germany according to a new study.

Mysterious ripples found racing through planet-forming disc Posted: 07 Oct 2015 10:56 AM PDT Astronomers have discovered never-before-seen structures within a dusty disc surrounding a nearby star. The fast-moving wave-like features in the disc of the star AU Microscopii are unlike anything ever observed, or even predicted, before now. The origin and nature of these features present a new mystery for astronomers to explore.

'Psychic robot' will know what you really meant to do Posted: 07 Oct 2015 09:57 AM PDT Bioengineers have developed a mathematical algorithm that can "see" your intention while performing an ordinary action like reaching for a cup or driving straight up a road -- even if the action is interrupted.

Manipulating the brain controls maternal behavior in females and reduces aggression in males, mouse study shows Posted: 07 Oct 2015 08:07 AM PDT Most female mammals give birth and care for their offspring, while the males often breed with multiple partners and play little role in parenting once the mating is over. Yet researchers have had a hard time pinpointing where, exactly, in the brain these differences between the sexes are located and how they translate into behavior. The extent of 'hardwired parental behavior' is hotly disputed.

Candle soot can power the lithium batteries in electric cars Posted: 07 Oct 2015 05:43 AM PDT Burning a candle could be all it takes to make an inexpensive but powerful electric car battery, according to new research. The research reveals that candle soot could be used to power the kind of lithium ion battery used in plug-in hybrid electric cars. The authors of the study say their discovery opens up the possibilities to use carbon in more powerful batteries, driving down the costs of portable power. Lithium ion batteries power many devices, from smartphones and digital cameras all the way up to cars and even aircraft.

Chew on that: Can your chewing predict when you'll die? Posted: 05 Oct 2015 09:15 AM PDT Could scientists use the Second Law of Thermodynamics on your chewing muscles to work out when you are going to die? According to research, the level of entropy, or thermodynamic disorder, in the chewing muscles in your jaw increases with each mouthful. This entropy begins to accumulate from the moment you're "on solids" until your last meal, but measuring it at any given point in your life could be used to estimate life expectancy.

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• Extremely active rats become lazy when they artificially receive 'runners' high'
• Understanding others' thoughts enables young kids to lie
• Hog-nose rat discovered
• Back to the future: Science fiction turns science fact
• New fossils intensify mystery of short-lived, toothy mammal found in ancient North Pacific
• Laser-wielding physicists seize control of atoms' behavior
• Magnetic contraption tricks migrating songbirds into changing direction

Extremely active rats become lazy when they artificially receive 'runners' high' Posted: 06 Oct 2015 04:20 PM PDT Researchers have found that activating the pleasure and reward receptors in the brain could provide the 'reward' of dangerous drugs without having to consume those drugs.

Understanding others' thoughts enables young kids to lie Posted: 06 Oct 2015 12:03 PM PDT Kids who are taught to reason about the mental states of others are more likely to use deception to win a reward, according to new research.

Hog-nose rat discovered Posted: 06 Oct 2015 09:38 AM PDT A new genus and species has been discovered on a remote, mountainous island in Indonesia. This new discovery is the third new genus described by this group of scientists since 2012, and identifies a rodent with features never seen by the scientific community before.

Back to the future: Science fiction turns science fact Posted: 06 Oct 2015 09:37 AM PDT Do you remember the 3-D-display from 'Back to the Future 2'? On back to the future day (Oct. 21) these displays may not yet be seen in our streets as the movie predicted, but the basic science is there. Researchers are now presenting a prototype for 3-D displays that work without 3-D glasses.

New fossils intensify mystery of short-lived, toothy mammal found in ancient North Pacific Posted: 06 Oct 2015 07:27 AM PDT New fossils from the Aleutian Islands intensify the mystery surrounding a toothy, hippopotamus-sized mammal unique to the North Pacific. The oddball creature suction-fed shoreline vegetation, say paleontologists. The Unalaska Island animal is a new genus and species of Desmostylia. The only major order of marine mammals to go wholly extinct, Desmostylia survived a geologic blink -- only 23 million years, from 33 million to 10 million years ago.

Laser-wielding physicists seize control of atoms' behavior Posted: 05 Oct 2015 01:30 PM PDT Physicists have wondered in recent years if they could control how atoms interact using light. Now they know that they can, by demonstrating games of quantum billiards with unusual new rules.

Magnetic contraption tricks migrating songbirds into changing direction Posted: 05 Oct 2015 10:25 AM PDT When researchers captured Eurasian reed warblers along the Russian coast during their spring migrations and flew them 1,000 kilometers east to Zvenigorod, the birds weren't fazed; they simply re-oriented themselves toward their original destination. Now, the researchers who first demonstrated the birds' navigational skill are back with new evidence that reed warblers rely on a geomagnetic map to point them in the right direction.

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Where to look for life? Astronomers devise 'habitability index' to guide future search Posted: 05 Oct 2015 03:46 PM PDT Astronomers have created a way to compare and rank exoplanets to help prioritize which of the thousands discovered warrant close inspection in the search for life beyond Earth.

Wild plants call to carnivores to get rid of pests; could crops do the same? Posted: 05 Oct 2015 05:01 AM PDT Rose gardeners have a lot to say about aphids. Some may advise insecticides as a way to manage an infestation, but others will swear by live ladybugs. The latter is more environmental friendly, and once the ladybugs run out of food, they move on. While this strategy may work in someone's backyard, it's not an option on a large farm and a new paper argues how to scale up.

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• Colorful caterpillar chemists
• Signs of ancient mega-tsunami could portend modern hazard
• An accessible approach to making a mini-brain

Colorful caterpillar chemists Posted: 02 Oct 2015 11:49 AM PDT Scientists have compared the diets of two caterpillar species, expecting the one that exclusively consumed plants containing toxic chemicals would more easily incorporate toxins into its body than the one with a broad diet. They found the opposite. The new finding flies in the face of a long-held theory that specialist insects are better adapted to use toxic plant chemicals than non-specialists.

Signs of ancient mega-tsunami could portend modern hazard Posted: 02 Oct 2015 11:49 AM PDT Scientists working off west Africa in the Cape Verde Islands have found evidence that the sudden collapse of a volcano there tens of thousands of years ago generated an ocean tsunami that dwarfed anything ever seen by humans. The researchers say an 800-foot wave engulfed an island more than 30 miles away. The study could revive a simmering controversy over whether sudden giant collapses present a realistic hazard today around volcanic islands, or even along more distant continental coasts.

An accessible approach to making a mini-brain Posted: 01 Oct 2015 06:38 AM PDT In a new paper, researchers describe a relatively accessible method for making a working -- though not thinking -- sphere of central nervous system tissue. The advance could provide an inexpensive and easy-to-make 3-D testbed for biomedical research.

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• First-aid for defective mucus
• Researchers design 'biological flashlight' using light-producing ability of shrimp
• Chore or stress reliever: Study suggests that washing dishes decreases stress
• Are the blueprints for limbs encoded in the snake genome?
• 3-D printing techniques help surgeons carve new ears
• Nectar thieves are damaging rare orchids in North Dakota
• Tweets from mobile devices are more likely to be egocentric
• Scientists control rats' senses of familiarity, novelty

First-aid for defective mucus Posted: 02 Oct 2015 08:35 AM PDT Proper lubrication is crucial to keep not only machines but also humans functioning smoothly. The mucus membranes in our mouths, eyes, stomachs and genital area help keep friction to a minimum and also protect us against environmental hazards such as chemicals and pathogens. Researchers are investigating exactly how these mechanisms work.

Researchers design 'biological flashlight' using light-producing ability of shrimp Posted: 02 Oct 2015 07:35 AM PDT Researchers describe the design and engineering of the new bioluminescent imaging tool called the "LumiFluor" in a new report. Using the natural light-producing ability of deep-sea shrimp, the team of scientists developed the new imaging tool to help cancer researchers better track tumor development and treatment responses.

Chore or stress reliever: Study suggests that washing dishes decreases stress Posted: 01 Oct 2015 01:58 PM PDT Mindfully washing dishes calms the mind and decreases stress, a new study shows. The study looked at whether washing dishes could be used as an informal contemplative practice that promotes a positive state of mindfulness -- a meditative method of focusing attention on the emotions and thoughts of the present moment.

Are the blueprints for limbs encoded in the snake genome? Posted: 01 Oct 2015 09:56 AM PDT The shared patterns of gene expression in the limbs and phallus are generated in part by a common set of noncoding DNA, also called 'elements' or 'enhancers,' which act to control gene expression in both of these structures, argues a new study. These conclusions stemmed from an initial observation that many limb control elements, or limb enhancers, found in limbed animals are still present in snake genomes.

3-D printing techniques help surgeons carve new ears Posted: 01 Oct 2015 06:46 AM PDT A otolaryngology resident and bioengineering student have used 3-D printing techniques to create more lifelike models to help aspiring surgeons -- who currently practice on soap, apples, and vegetables -- learn to perform ear reconstruction surgeries.

Nectar thieves are damaging rare orchids in North Dakota Posted: 01 Oct 2015 06:37 AM PDT Robbers and thieves are flying in the fields of southeastern North Dakota, but these larcenists aren't your typical criminals, prowling around in masks and disguises. They are hawk moths and bumble bees, and they've been stealing nectar from the federally-listed threatened western prairie fringed orchid.

Tweets from mobile devices are more likely to be egocentric Posted: 01 Oct 2015 06:37 AM PDT It's now normal behavior to take selfies or live Tweet an event, but can a mobile device really be an extension of ones self? Tweets from mobile devices are more likely to employ egocentric language as opposed to non-mobile device Tweets, new research shows.

Scientists control rats' senses of familiarity, novelty Posted: 29 Sep 2015 03:12 PM PDT Brain scientists didn't just study how recognition of familiarity and novelty arise in the mammalian brain, they actually took control, inducing rats to behave as if images they'd seen before were new, and images they had never seen were old.

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• Reproductive test tube crocodiles
• Global warming can alter shape of the planet, as melting glaciers erode the land
• More-flexible machine learning
• Known from flower stalls as 'Big Pink', orchid proved to be an undescribed wild species
• Is beauty really in the 'eye of the beholder'? Yes, and here's why
• Cellphones can damage romantic relationships, lead to depression, say researchers

Reproductive test tube crocodiles Posted: 01 Oct 2015 12:10 PM PDT Researchers in Malaysia have succeeded in carrying out a research on developing a reproductive technology for saltwater crocodiles. The study aimed at developing a breeding technology such as artificial insemination for the reptiles.

Global warming can alter shape of the planet, as melting glaciers erode the land Posted: 01 Oct 2015 11:22 AM PDT Climate change is causing more than just warmer oceans and erratic weather. According to scientists, it also has the capacity to alter the shape of the planet.

More-flexible machine learning Posted: 01 Oct 2015 11:21 AM PDT Researchers have presented a new way of doing machine learning that enables semantically related concepts to reinforce each other. So, for instance, an object-recognition algorithm would learn to weigh the co-occurrence of the classifications 'dog' and 'Chihuahua' more heavily than it would the co-occurrence of 'dog' and 'cat.'

Known from flower stalls as 'Big Pink', orchid proved to be an undescribed wild species Posted: 01 Oct 2015 10:01 AM PDT As easy as it might seem, seeking new species among cultivated plants could be actually quite tricky. While looking into the undescribed orchid, known at the market as 'Big Pink', researchers were likely to find yet another human-made hybrid. In reality, they are now describing as 'new' a wild orchid species that has been sitting at the flower stalls since 2013.

Is beauty really in the 'eye of the beholder'? Yes, and here's why Posted: 01 Oct 2015 09:56 AM PDT Many of us have had the experience of disagreeing with friends or family about which celebrity is more attractive. Now, researchers show in a study of twins that those differences of opinion are mostly the result of personal experiences that are unique to each individual. In other words, even identical twins don't agree.

Cellphones can damage romantic relationships, lead to depression, say researchers Posted: 29 Sep 2015 11:20 AM PDT Research confirms that cellphones are damaging romantic relationships and leading to higher levels of depression.

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• Invisibility cloak might enhance efficiency of solar cells
• Sniffing out cancer with improved 'electronic nose' sensors
• New way of retaining quantum memories stored in light
• Measuring X-rays created by lightning strikes on an aircraft in-flight
• Parenting in the animal world: Turning off the infanticide instinct
• Could 'The Martian's' scientist survive on potatoes alone?
• How number of sex partners differ by height, body mass
• Cheaters sometimes prosper on Facebook
• Tiny, record-breaking Chinese land snails fit almost 10 times into the eye of a needle

Invisibility cloak might enhance efficiency of solar cells Posted: 30 Sep 2015 08:04 AM PDT Success of the energy turnaround will depend decisively on the extended use of renewable energy sources. However, their efficiency partly is much smaller than that of conventional energy sources. The efficiency of commercially available photovoltaic cells, for instance, is about 20 percent. Scientists of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology have now published an unconventional approach to increasing the efficiency of the panels. Optical invisibility cloaks guide sunlight around objects that cast shadows on the solar panel.

Sniffing out cancer with improved 'electronic nose' sensors Posted: 30 Sep 2015 06:25 AM PDT Scientists have been exploring new ways to 'smell' signs of cancer by analyzing what's in patients' breath. In a new study, one team now reports new progress toward this goal. The researchers have developed a small array of flexible sensors, which accurately detect compounds in breath samples that are specific to ovarian cancer.

New way of retaining quantum memories stored in light Posted: 30 Sep 2015 04:44 AM PDT Chinese scientists uncover a novel way of stopping light in a state that stores information encoded in photons, opening the door to applications in quantum information processing.

Measuring X-rays created by lightning strikes on an aircraft in-flight Posted: 30 Sep 2015 04:44 AM PDT Scientists have recorded measurements of X-rays of energies up to 10 MeV caused by electrons accelerated in the intense electric fields inside a thundercloud.

Parenting in the animal world: Turning off the infanticide instinct Posted: 30 Sep 2015 04:43 AM PDT Many bachelor mammals, including lions, mountain gorillas, monkeys, and mice, attack and kill the offspring of other males--a form of infanticide--yet display parental behavior once they themselves become fathers. Now, scientists in Japan have discovered two small brain regions that control which of these very opposite behaviors a male mouse will exhibit. The experiments show how activity patterns in two forebrain regions determine whether males have the urge to act paternally towards mouse pups or to attack them.

Could 'The Martian's' scientist survive on potatoes alone? Posted: 29 Sep 2015 03:13 PM PDT In the movie "The Martian," the main character is stranded on Mars and must rely on his own super-science knowledge to survive. Because the crew had packed some potatoes for a Thanksgiving celebration, Watney creates a lab "garden" and is able to survive off the potatoes -- after calculating how many calories he would need to survive until a rescue mission could arrive. However, packing some pinto bean seeds would increase his chances of survival, experts say.

How number of sex partners differ by height, body mass Posted: 29 Sep 2015 11:22 AM PDT New research shows that how many sex partners people have is relative to their height and body mass. The study focused on 60,058 heterosexual men and women asking each to indicate their height, weight, and how many sex partners they have had. The median number of 'sex partners' reported for both men and women ages 30 to 44 was eight partners since they have been sexually active.

Cheaters sometimes prosper on Facebook Posted: 29 Sep 2015 11:20 AM PDT What does it mean to cheat in a Facebook game like FarmVille? Is it any different from breaking the rules in a traditional videogame like World of Warcraft? New research shows that players often dismiss the seriousness of social network games -- meaning cheating isn't so serious when it's done on Facebook.

Tiny, record-breaking Chinese land snails fit almost 10 times into the eye of a needle Posted: 28 Sep 2015 09:25 AM PDT Land snails vary between 1 mm and 20 cm in terms of the largest diameter of their shells. However, they very rarely reach shell diameters smaller than 1 mm. An international team, led by Dr. Barna Pall-Gergely, Shinshu University, Japan, described seven new land snail species from southern China, including two, which are probably the smallest land snails ever reported. Their findings were published in the open-access journal ZooKeys.

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