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Thursday, October 10, 2013

ScienceDaily: Strange Science News

ScienceDaily: Strange Science News


Want ripples on your icicles? Scientists suggest adding salt

Posted: 09 Oct 2013 06:39 PM PDT

Though it's barely the beginning of autumn, scientists are one step closer to explaining why winter's icicles form with Michelin Man-like ripples on their elongated shapes. It has been theorized that the ripples are the result of surface tension effects in the thin water film that flows over the ice as it forms. Their investigation revealed that the actual culprit is salt.

Carbon's new champion: Carbyne, a simple chain of carbon atoms, strongest material of all?

Posted: 09 Oct 2013 01:27 PM PDT

Calculations show carbyne, a simple chain of carbon atoms, may be the strongest material of all. Carbyne will be the strongest of a new class of microscopic materials if and when anyone can make it in bulk. If they do, they'll find carbyne nanorods or nanoropes have a host of remarkable and useful properties.

A strange lonely planet found without a star

Posted: 09 Oct 2013 12:34 PM PDT

An international team of astronomers has discovered an exotic young planet that is not orbiting a star. This free-floating planet, dubbed PSO J318.5-22, is just 80 light-years away from Earth and has a mass only six times that of Jupiter. The planet formed a mere 12 million years ago -- a newborn in planet lifetimes.

New research refutes claim that mummified head belonged to King Henry IV of France

Posted: 09 Oct 2013 10:00 AM PDT

New research exposes erroneous conclusions in forensic studies. They incorrectly ascribed a mummified head to Henry IV and a bloody handkerchief to Louis XVI.

Water and lava, but curiously, no explosion

Posted: 09 Oct 2013 09:57 AM PDT

A study finds that hollow, land-based lava pillars in Iceland likely formed in a surprising reaction where lava met water without an explosion. Such formations are common deep under the ocean, but have not been described on land, the lead researcher says.

Cellular signals between pancreatic cancer tumors, saliva

Posted: 09 Oct 2013 07:06 AM PDT

Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest forms of cancer. Most of those with the disease will die within the first year of diagnosis, and just 6 percent will survive five years. The disease is typically diagnosed through an invasive and complicated biopsy. But a discovery by researchers may be one major step toward creating a noninvasive tool that would enable clinicians and oncologists to detect pancreatic cancer through a simple risk assessment test using saliva.

Chimpanzees of a feather sit together: Friendships are based on similar personalities

Posted: 09 Oct 2013 07:02 AM PDT

Like humans, many animals have close and stable friendships. However, until now, it has been unclear what makes particular individuals bond. Cognitive biologists have now found that chimpanzees choose for friends those who are similar to them in personality.

New urine test could diagnose eye disease

Posted: 08 Oct 2013 12:22 PM PDT

You might not think to look to a urine test to diagnose an eye disease. But a new study says it can link what is in a patient's urine to gene mutations that cause retinitis pigmentosa, an inherited, degenerative disease that results in severe vision impairment and often blindness.

Growing bacteria keep time, know their place

Posted: 08 Oct 2013 12:22 PM PDT

Working with a synthetic gene circuit designed to coax bacteria to grow in a predictable ring pattern, scientists have revealed an under-appreciated contributor to natural pattern formation: Time.

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