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Thursday, October 3, 2013

ScienceDaily: Strange Science News

ScienceDaily: Strange Science News


Tears for fears: Juvenile mice secrete a protective pheromone in their tears, blocking adult mating

Posted: 02 Oct 2013 10:14 AM PDT

While looking for novel pheromones that can control different instinctive mouse behaviors, researchers have discovered a pheromone found only in the tears of young mice. Their experiments showed that this molecule protects prepubescent mice from mating activity by adult male mice. The research provides the first step toward a detailed understanding of how a sensory system can regulate social behavior.

Discovery of charged droplets could lead to more efficient power plants

Posted: 02 Oct 2013 07:33 AM PDT

In a completely unexpected finding, researchers have discovered that tiny water droplets that form on a superhydrophobic surface, and then "jump" away from that surface, carry an electric charge. The finding could lead to more efficient power plants and a new way of drawing power from the atmosphere, they say.

Measuring height by connecting clocks

Posted: 02 Oct 2013 07:30 AM PDT

How far above sea level is a place located? And where exactly is "sea level"? It is one objective of the geodesists to answer these questions with 1 cm accuracy. Conventional measurement procedures or GPS technologies via satellites, however, reach their limits here. Now optical atomic clocks offer a new approach, because the tick rate of a clock is influenced by gravity.

Eye contact may make people more resistant to persuasion

Posted: 02 Oct 2013 06:26 AM PDT

Making eye contact has long been considered an effective way of drawing a listener in and bringing him or her around to your point of view. But new research shows that eye contact may actually make people more resistant to persuasion, especially when they already disagree.

Like father, not like son: Brain and song structure in zebra finches are strongly influenced by the environment

Posted: 02 Oct 2013 06:21 AM PDT

A central topic in behavioral biology is the question, which aspects of a behavior are learned or expressed due to genetic predisposition. Today it is known that our personality and behavior are far less determined by the genetic background. Especially during development environmental factors can shape brain and behavior via so-called epigenetic effects. Thereby hormones play an important role. netic predisposition. However, it is relatively hard to discriminate the effects of the environment from that of the genes.

Fecal transplant: Microbial restoration of the inflamed gut

Posted: 01 Oct 2013 07:51 AM PDT

Gastroenterologists and microbiologists explored how a treatment called "fecal microbiota transplantation" can be used to support microbial recolonization of the gut of patients with chronic intestinal inflammation (ulcerative colitis). In this unusual alternative therapy the gut microbiota of healthy donors is transmitted to patients.

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