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Tuesday, May 7, 2013

ScienceDaily: Strange Science News

ScienceDaily: Strange Science News


Bats use blood to reshape tongue for feeding

Posted: 06 May 2013 03:14 PM PDT

Scientists have found that a species of bat uses blood flow to reshape its tongue while feeding. The quick dynamic action makes the tongue an effective "mop" for nectar and could even inspire new industrial designs.

More than a good eye: Robot uses arms, location and more to discover objects

Posted: 06 May 2013 08:40 AM PDT

A robot can struggle to discover objects in its surroundings when it relies on computer vision alone. But by taking advantage of all of the information available to it -- an object's location, size, shape and even whether it can be lifted -- a robot can continually discover and refine its understanding of objects, say researchers.

Do-it-yourself invisibility with 3-D printing

Posted: 06 May 2013 07:33 AM PDT

Seven years ago, Duke University engineers demonstrated the first working invisibility cloak in complex laboratory experiments. Now it appears creating a simple cloak has become a lot simpler.

Engineers manipulate a buckyball by inserting a single water molecule

Posted: 06 May 2013 07:33 AM PDT

Engineering researchers have developed a technique to isolate a single water molecule inside a buckyball and drive motion of the "big" nonpolar ball through the encapsulated "small" polar H2O molecule, a controlling transport mechanism in a nanochannel under an external electric field. This method could lead to new applications including effective ways to control drug delivery and to assemble C60-based functional 3D structures at the nanoscale level.

The nocebo effect: Media reports may trigger symptoms of a disease

Posted: 06 May 2013 06:53 AM PDT

Expectation of negative effects can increase likelihood of experiencing symptoms, new research shows.

Reversal of the Black Widow myth: Some male spiders prefer to eat old females rather than mate with them

Posted: 06 May 2013 06:51 AM PDT

The Black Widow spider gets its name from the popular belief that female spiders eat their male suitors after mating. However, a new study has shown that the tendency to consume a potential mate is also true of some types of male spider. The study finds that male spiders of the Micaria sociabilis species are more likely to eat the females than be eaten.

Invisible pattern can put a stop to counterfeit designer clothing

Posted: 06 May 2013 06:51 AM PDT

There is now a way to differentiate between designer clothing and knockoffs. Researchers have produced a thread with unique optical properties, which can be used to create invisible patterns in fabrics that are only visible under polarized light.

Microwave oven cooks up solar cell material

Posted: 06 May 2013 06:49 AM PDT

Metallurgists used an old microwave oven to produce a nanocrystal semiconductor rapidly using cheap, abundant and less toxic metals than other semiconductors. They hope it will be used for more efficient photovoltaic solar cells and LED lights, biological sensors and systems to convert waste heat to electricity.

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