ScienceDaily: Strange Science News

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• 'Smart doorknobs' and gesture-controlled smartphones: Revolutionary technology enables objects to know your touch
• Life-size 3-D hologram-like telepods may revolutionize videoconferencing in the future
• Flying 3-D eye-bots
• Evolution of sex differences: Battles of sexes shown to spur adaptive sex differences
• Rats recall past to make daily decisions
• Aged hematopoietic stem cells rejuvenated to be functionally younger
• New technique generates predictable complex, wavy shapes: May explain brain folds and be useful for drug delivery
• 'Battle of the sexes' offers evolutionary insights: Role of genital spines in reproductive success of fruit flies
• Mitigating disasters by hunting down Dragon Kings: Forecasting natural or economic disasters by identifying statistical anomalies
• Four white dwarf stars caught in the act of consuming 'Earth-like' exoplanets

'Smart doorknobs' and gesture-controlled smartphones: Revolutionary technology enables objects to know your touch Posted: 03 May 2012 01:20 PM PDT A doorknob that knows whether to lock or unlock based on how it is grasped, a smartphone that silences itself if the user holds a finger to her lips and a chair that adjusts room lighting based on recognizing if a user is reclining or leaning forward are among the many possible applications of Touché, a new sensing technique.

Life-size 3-D hologram-like telepods may revolutionize videoconferencing in the future Posted: 03 May 2012 11:26 AM PDT Imagine a Star Trek-like human-scale 3-D videoconferencing pod that allows people in different locations to video conference as if they are standing in front of each other. "Why Skype when you can talk to a life-size 3-D holographic image of another person?" says one of the inventors.

Flying 3-D eye-bots Posted: 03 May 2012 11:26 AM PDT They can be deployed as additional surveillance resources during major events, or as high-resolution 3-D street imaging systems. Intelligent swarms of aerial drones are a universally useful tool for police, crisis managers and urban planners. Special 3-D sensors ensure flawless aerobatics and prevent collisions.

Evolution of sex differences: Battles of sexes shown to spur adaptive sex differences Posted: 03 May 2012 11:25 AM PDT Male water striders benefit by mating frequently, females by mating infrequently: both have developed traits to give them the upper hand. The researchers modified a gene involved in the development of antennae in male water striders and found that as the antennae became more elaborate, mating success increased. The study is unusual in that it describes a direct linkage between known forces of selection, evolutionary change morphology, and its underlying genetic basis.

Rats recall past to make daily decisions Posted: 03 May 2012 11:24 AM PDT Scientists have identified patterns of brain activity in the rat brain that play a role in the formation and recall of memories and decision-making. The discovery, which builds on the team's previous findings, offers a path for studying learning, decision-making and post-traumatic stress syndrome.

Aged hematopoietic stem cells rejuvenated to be functionally younger Posted: 03 May 2012 09:58 AM PDT Researchers have rejuvenated aged hematopoietic stem cells to be functionally younger, offering intriguing clues into how medicine might one day fend off some of the ailments of old age. The study brings new perspective to what has been a life science controversy -- countering what used to be broad consensus that the aging of hematopoietic stem cells was locked in by nature and not reversible by therapeutic intervention.

New technique generates predictable complex, wavy shapes: May explain brain folds and be useful for drug delivery Posted: 03 May 2012 09:01 AM PDT A new technique predictably generates complex, wavy shapes and may help improve drug delivery and explain natural patterns from brain folds to bell peppers.

'Battle of the sexes' offers evolutionary insights: Role of genital spines in reproductive success of fruit flies Posted: 03 May 2012 09:01 AM PDT The phrase "battle of the sexes" is taking on new meaning in research that has implications for our understanding of evolution. In a new paper, scientists examine the role of genital spines in the reproductive success of a species of fruit fly. Their investigation identifies the specific type of advantage these spines bestow in the competition to reproduce.

Mitigating disasters by hunting down Dragon Kings: Forecasting natural or economic disasters by identifying statistical anomalies Posted: 03 May 2012 07:43 AM PDT Professional Dragon King hunters are exploring the ways in which natural or economic disasters can be predicted by identifying statistical anomalies.

Four white dwarf stars caught in the act of consuming 'Earth-like' exoplanets Posted: 03 May 2012 07:41 AM PDT Astrophysicists have pinpointed four white dwarfs surrounded by dust from shattered planetary bodies which once bore striking similarities to the composition of Earth.

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