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Wednesday, June 13, 2012

ScienceDaily: Strange Science News

ScienceDaily: Strange Science News


Quantum computers could help search engines keep up with the Internet's growth

Posted: 12 Jun 2012 11:46 AM PDT

With the web constantly expanding, researchers have proposed – and demonstrated the feasibility – of using quantum computers to run Google's page ranking algorithm faster.

Voicemail discovered in nature: Insects receive soil messages from the past

Posted: 12 Jun 2012 08:59 AM PDT

Insects can use plants as "green phones" for communication with other bugs. A new study now shows that through those same plants insects are also able to leave "voicemail" messages in the soil. Herbivorous insects store their voicemails via their effects on soil fungi. Researchers discovered this unique messaging service in the ragwort plant.

Early gut bacteria regulate happiness

Posted: 12 Jun 2012 08:58 AM PDT

Scientists have shown that brain levels of serotonin -- the 'happy hormone' -- are regulated by the amount of bacteria in the gut during early life. The research shows that normal adult brain function depends on the presence of gut microbes during development. Serotonin, the major chemical involved in the regulation of mood and emotion, is altered in times of stress, anxiety and depression and most clinically effective antidepressant drugs work by targeting this neurochemical.

A 'dirt cheap' magnetic field sensor from 'plastic paint'

Posted: 12 Jun 2012 08:52 AM PDT

Physicists have developed an inexpensive, highly accurate magnetic field sensor for scientific and possibly consumer uses based on a "spintronic" organic thin-film semiconductor that basically is "plastic paint."

Making music with real stars: Kepler Telescope star data creates musical melody

Posted: 12 Jun 2012 07:16 AM PDT

Using star data from the Kepler Space Telescope, researchers have developed sounds that will be used in a song later this summer for a national recording artist.

Nature or nurture? It may depend on where you live

Posted: 12 Jun 2012 07:13 AM PDT

The extent to which our development is affected by nature or nurture -- our genetic make-up or our environment -- may differ depending on where we live, according to new research.

Epigenomes of newborns and centenarians differ: New clues to increasing life span

Posted: 11 Jun 2012 12:31 PM PDT

An international study sheds important new light on how epigenetic marks degrade over time. Since epigenetic lesions are reversible, it would be possible to develop drugs that increase the life span, the research suggests.

Wing bling: For female butterflies, flashier is better

Posted: 11 Jun 2012 12:31 PM PDT

If female butterflies are programmed to identify males of their species by the patterns of spots on their wings, how can new wing patterns evolve in males? The answer is that while females are predisposed to prefer a specific pattern, they learn to like flashier ones more, according to a new study.

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