ScienceDaily: Strange Science News

---

• Testosterone increases honesty, study suggests
• Singing mice show signs of learning
• Skin hair skims heat off elephants
• Cold cases heat up through new approach to identifying remains
• Applying information theory to linguistics
• Surprising spiral structure spotted by astronomers
• Spanish researchers find the exact spot where Julius Caesar was stabbed
• Tactile glove provides subtle guidance to objects in vicinity

Testosterone increases honesty, study suggests Posted: 10 Oct 2012 02:22 PM PDT Testosterone is considered the most important male hormone, associated with aggression and posturing. Researchers have now been able to demonstrate that this sex hormone surprisingly also fosters social behavior. In play situations, subjects who had received testosterone clearly lied less frequently than individuals who had only received a placebo.

Singing mice show signs of learning Posted: 10 Oct 2012 02:21 PM PDT Guys who imitate Luciano Pavarotti or Justin Bieber to get the girls aren't alone. Male mice may do a similar trick, matching the pitch of other males' ultrasonic serenades. The mice also have certain brain features, somewhat similar to humans and song-learning birds, which they may use to change their sounds, according to a new study.

Skin hair skims heat off elephants Posted: 10 Oct 2012 02:21 PM PDT Body hair in mammals is typically thought to have evolved to keep us warm in colder prehistoric times, but a new study suggests that it may do the opposite, at least in elephants. Epidermal hair may have evolved to help the animals keep cool in the hot regions they live in, according to new research.

Cold cases heat up through new approach to identifying remains Posted: 10 Oct 2012 11:14 AM PDT In an effort to identify the thousands of John/Jane Doe cold cases in the United States, scientists have found a multidisciplinary approach to identifying the remains of missing persons. Using "bomb pulse" radiocarbon analysis, combined with recently developed anthropological analysis and forensic DNA techniques, the researchers were able to identify the remains of a missing child 41 years after the discovery of the body.

Applying information theory to linguistics Posted: 10 Oct 2012 10:15 AM PDT Researchers believe that information theory -- the discipline that gave us digital communication -- can explain differences between human languages.

Surprising spiral structure spotted by astronomers Posted: 10 Oct 2012 10:14 AM PDT Astronomers have discovered a surprising spiral structure in the gas around the red giant star R Sculptoris. This means that there is probably a previously unseen companion star orbiting the star. The astronomers were also surprised to find that far more material than expected had been ejected by the red giant.

Spanish researchers find the exact spot where Julius Caesar was stabbed Posted: 10 Oct 2012 07:21 AM PDT Several ancient Roman texts describe the assassination of Julius Caesar in Rome, at the Curia of Pompey in 44 BC, which was the result of a plot among a group of senators to eliminate the General. This fact led to the formation of the second triumvirate and to the final outbreak of civil wars. Now, 2,056 years later, a team of researchers from the Spanish National Research Council has found the exact plot where the military man was stabbed.

Tactile glove provides subtle guidance to objects in vicinity Posted: 10 Oct 2012 05:45 AM PDT Researchers have shown how computer-vision based hand-tracking and vibration feedback on the user's hand can be used to steer the user's hand toward an object of interest. A study shows an almost three-fold advantage in finding objects from complex visual scenes, such as library or supermarket shelves. With the new glove the user and feels their hand being gently 'pulled' toward the target.

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