ScienceDaily: Strange Science News

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• NHL drafts the wrong players due to birthday bias
• Nut-cracking monkeys use shapes to strategize their use of tools
• Ectopic eyes function without natural connection to brain
• Swine cells could power artificial liver
• Songbirds’ brains coordinate singing with intricate timing
• Viruses can have immune systems: A pirate phage commandeers the immune system of bacteria
• Camera inside spiraling football provides ball's-eye view of field
• Resurrection of 3-billion-year-old antibiotic-resistance proteins
• Cryopreservation: A chance for highly endangered mammals
• Pessimism about the future may lead to longer, healthier life
• Invention opens the way to packaging that monitors food freshness
• Why have white storks stopped migrating?
• Biting back: Snake venom contains toxic clotting factors

NHL drafts the wrong players due to birthday bias Posted: 27 Feb 2013 03:35 PM PST A hockey player's birthday strongly biases how professional teams assess his talent, according to a new study.

Nut-cracking monkeys use shapes to strategize their use of tools Posted: 27 Feb 2013 03:35 PM PST Bearded capuchin monkeys deliberately place palm nuts in a stable position on a surface before trying to crack them open, revealing their capacity to use tactile information to improve tool use.

Ectopic eyes function without natural connection to brain Posted: 27 Feb 2013 03:33 PM PST For the first time, scientists have shown that transplanted eyes located far outside the head in a vertebrate animal model can confer vision without a direct neural connection to the brain. Biologists used a frog model to shed new light – literally – on one of the major questions in regenerative medicine and sensory augmentation research.

Swine cells could power artificial liver Posted: 27 Feb 2013 10:44 AM PST Scientists are examining a line of "immortal" swine cells that can differentiate into liver cells. These cells could be part of an artificial liver device, which could reduce the need for liver transplants.

Songbirds’ brains coordinate singing with intricate timing Posted: 27 Feb 2013 10:43 AM PST As a bird sings, some neurons in its brain prepare to make the next sounds while others are synchronized with the current notes—a coordination of physical actions and brain activity that is needed to produce complex movements. The finding that may lead to new ways of understanding human speech production.

Viruses can have immune systems: A pirate phage commandeers the immune system of bacteria Posted: 27 Feb 2013 10:43 AM PST A new study reports that a viral predator of the cholera bacteria has stolen the functional immune system of bacteria and is using it against its bacterial host. This provides the first evidence that this type of virus, the bacteriophage, can acquire an adaptive immune system. The study has implications for phage therapy, the use of phages to treat bacterial diseases.

Camera inside spiraling football provides ball's-eye view of field Posted: 27 Feb 2013 07:20 AM PST Researchers have shown that a camera embedded in the side of a rubber-sheathed plastic foam football can record video while the ball is in flight that could give spectators a unique, ball's-eye view of the playing field. They developed a computer algorithm that converts the unwatchable, raw video into a stable, wide-angle view.

Resurrection of 3-billion-year-old antibiotic-resistance proteins Posted: 27 Feb 2013 07:20 AM PST Scientists are reporting "laboratory resurrections" of several 2-3-billion-year-old proteins that are ancient ancestors of the enzymes that enable today's antibiotic-resistant bacteria to shrug off huge doses of penicillins, cephalosporins and other modern drugs. The achievement opens the door to a scientific "replay" of the evolution of antibiotic resistance with an eye to finding new ways to cope with the problem.

Cryopreservation: A chance for highly endangered mammals Posted: 27 Feb 2013 07:19 AM PST Oocytes of lions, tigers and other cat species survive the preservation in liquid nitrogen. Scientists have now succeeded in carrying out cryopreservation of felid ovary cortex.

Pessimism about the future may lead to longer, healthier life Posted: 27 Feb 2013 07:19 AM PST Older people who have low expectations for a satisfying future may be more likely to live longer, healthier lives than those who see brighter days ahead, according to new research.

Invention opens the way to packaging that monitors food freshness Posted: 27 Feb 2013 05:59 AM PST Millions of tons of food are thrown away each year because the 'best before' date has passed. But this date is always a cautious estimate, which means a lot of still-edible food is thrown away. Wouldn't it be handy if the packaging could 'test' whether the contents are still safe to eat? Researchers have invented a circuit that makes this possible: a plastic analog-digital converter. This development brings plastic sensor circuits costing less than one euro cent within reach. Beyond food, these ultra-low-cost plastic circuits have numerous potential uses, including, pharmaceuticals.

Why have white storks stopped migrating? Posted: 27 Feb 2013 05:58 AM PST A new project to find out why storks are changing their migratory patterns has been launched. In folklore, storks' strong white wings would carry babies to parents around the world. But since the mid 1980s increasing numbers of storks have stopped their annual migration from Northern Europe to Africa for the winter. Instead, many are living in Spain and Portugal the whole year round – feeding on 'junk food' from rubbish dumps.

Biting back: Snake venom contains toxic clotting factors Posted: 26 Feb 2013 04:38 PM PST The powerful venom of the saw-scaled viper Echis carinatus contains both anticoagulants and coagulants according to a new study. These may be a source of potent drugs to treat human disease. The saw-scaled viper family Echis, responsible for most snake attacks on humans, are recognizable by the 'sizzling' noise they make, produced by rubbing together special serrated scales, when threatened. Echis venom causes coagulopathy, which can result in symptoms ranging from lack of blood clotting, hemorrhage, renal failure and stroke.

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