ScienceDaily: Strange Science News

---

• 'No-sleep energy bugs' drain smartphone batteries
• Got mass? Scientists observe electrons become both heavy and speedy
• Self-assembling nanocubes for next generation antennas and lenses
• 'Extremely little' telescope discovers pair of odd planets
• Scientists synthesize first genetically evolved semiconductor material
• Ancient effect harnessed to produce electricity from waste heat
• New energy source for future medical implants: Sugar
• Mapping the healthy human microbiome
• Where humans split from sharks: Common ancestor comes into focus
• Nanoparticles found in moon glass bubbles explain weird lunar soil behavior
• Robotic assistants may adapt to humans in the factory
• No evidence for 'knots' in space: Theories of primordial universe predict existence of knots in space
• Little mighty creature of the ocean inspires strong new material for medical implants and armour
• Dissonant music brings out the animal in listeners
• Don't feel like exercise? Scientists find compound that may help you work out harder
• Robbing banks: Crime doesn't always pay, econometrics study shows

'No-sleep energy bugs' drain smartphone batteries Posted: 13 Jun 2012 03:40 PM PDT Researchers have proposed a method to automatically detect a new class of software glitches in smartphones called "no-sleep energy bugs," which can entirely drain batteries while the phones are not in use.

Got mass? Scientists observe electrons become both heavy and speedy Posted: 13 Jun 2012 11:54 AM PDT Scientists have shown how electrons moving in certain solids can behave as though they are a thousand times more massive than free electrons, yet at the same time act as speedy superconductors.

Self-assembling nanocubes for next generation antennas and lenses Posted: 13 Jun 2012 11:54 AM PDT Researchers have developed a technique that enables metallic nanocrystals to self-assemble into larger, complex materials for next-generation antennas and lenses. The metal nanocrystals are cube-shaped and, like bricks or Tetris blocks, spontaneously organize themselves into larger-scale structures with precise orientations relative to one another.

'Extremely little' telescope discovers pair of odd planets Posted: 13 Jun 2012 11:53 AM PDT Though the KELT North telescope in southern Arizona carries a lens no more powerful than a high-end digital camera, it's just revealed the existence of two very unusual faraway planets.

Scientists synthesize first genetically evolved semiconductor material Posted: 13 Jun 2012 10:33 AM PDT In the not-too-distant future, scientists may be able to use DNA to grow their own specialized materials, thanks to the concept of directed evolution. Scientists have, for the first time, used genetic engineering and molecular evolution to develop the enzymatic synthesis of a semiconductor.

Ancient effect harnessed to produce electricity from waste heat Posted: 13 Jun 2012 10:32 AM PDT A phenomenon first observed by an ancient Greek philosopher 2,300 years ago has become the basis for a new device designed to harvest the enormous amounts of energy wasted as heat each year to produce electricity. It is the first-of-its-kind "pyroelectric nanogenerator."

New energy source for future medical implants: Sugar Posted: 13 Jun 2012 10:31 AM PDT An implantable fuel cell could power neural prosthetics that help patients regain control of limbs. Engineers have developed a fuel cell that runs on the same sugar that powers human cells: glucose. This glucose fuel cell could be used to drive highly efficient brain implants of the future, which could help paralyzed patients move their arms and legs again.

Mapping the healthy human microbiome Posted: 13 Jun 2012 10:31 AM PDT Human beings are ecosystems on two legs, each of us carrying enough microbes to outnumber our human cells by 10 to 1 and our genes by even more. The Human Microbiome Project Consortium has for the first time answered two fundamental questions about the microbiota that healthy humans carry: Who's there and what are they doing?

Where humans split from sharks: Common ancestor comes into focus Posted: 13 Jun 2012 10:30 AM PDT The common ancestor of all jawed vertebrates on Earth resembled a shark, according to a new analysis of the braincase of a 290-million-year-old fossil fish that has long puzzled paleontologists. Research on Acanthodes bronni, a Paleozoic fish, sheds light on the evolution of the earliest jawed vertebrates and offers a glimpse of the last common ancestor before the split between the earliest sharks and the first bony fishes -- the lineage that would eventually include human beings.

Nanoparticles found in moon glass bubbles explain weird lunar soil behavior Posted: 13 Jun 2012 07:24 AM PDT Using synchrotron-based nano tomography, scientists have found a highly porous network of alien-looking glassy particles inside unbroken bubbles of glass in a sample of lunar soil.

Robotic assistants may adapt to humans in the factory Posted: 13 Jun 2012 07:24 AM PDT In today's manufacturing plants, the division of labor between humans and robots is quite clear, but according experts, the factory floor of the future may host humans and robots working side by side, each helping the other in common tasks.

No evidence for 'knots' in space: Theories of primordial universe predict existence of knots in space Posted: 13 Jun 2012 07:22 AM PDT Theories of the primordial universe predict the existence of knots in the fabric of space -- known as cosmic textures -- which could be identified by looking at light from the cosmic microwave background, the relic radiation left over from the Big Bang. Astronomers have performed the first search for textures on the full sky, finding no evidence for such knots in space.

Little mighty creature of the ocean inspires strong new material for medical implants and armour Posted: 13 Jun 2012 07:21 AM PDT A scientist may be onto an ocean of discovery because of his research into a little sea creature called the mantis shrimp. The research is likely to lead to making ceramics -- today's preferred material for medical implants and military body armour -- many times stronger. The mantis shrimp's can shatter aquarium glass and crab shells alike.

Dissonant music brings out the animal in listeners Posted: 13 Jun 2012 06:10 AM PDT Researchers have isolated some of the ways in which distorted and jarring music is so evocative, and they believe that the mechanisms are closely related to distress calls in animals.

Don't feel like exercise? Scientists find compound that may help you work out harder Posted: 12 Jun 2012 04:31 PM PDT Could there be a pill to help you exercise harder? A new report suggests this might be possible. Researchers found that elevating a hormone in the brain, erythropoietin, motivated mice to exercise. The form of erythropoietin used in these experiments did not elevate red blood cell counts, offering benefits for a range of health problems from Alzheimer's to obesity, and mental health disorders where increased exercise can improve symptoms.

Robbing banks: Crime doesn't always pay, econometrics study shows Posted: 11 Jun 2012 04:34 PM PDT Contrary to images of unimaginable wealth in the movies, the takings from the average bank robbery are small, according to a new report. Indeed, they often appear to be lower than the cost of installing some security devices designed to deter them.

You are subscribed to email updates from ScienceDaily: Strange Science News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610