ScienceDaily: Strange Science News

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• Uncommon features of Einstein's brain might explain his remarkable cognitive abilities
• Tenth of quirky creature's active genes are foreign: Believed to 'ingest' DNA from other simple organisms
• Probiotic worm treatment may improve symptoms of colitis by restoring gut bacteria to healthy state
• How insects domesticate bacteria to live symbiotically: Symbiotic microbes' origin discovered after man impales hand on branch
• Robotic explorers may usher in lunar 'water rush'
• Technology harvests energy from railroad train vibrations
• Using skills gleaned from video games, high school and college students outmatch medical residents in surgical simulations
• Bioprinting has promising future: Scientists building structures for cells to grow on, in order to regenerate tissue
• Key to super-sensory hearing? Newly identified hearing organ in bushcrickets' ears may inspire acoustic sensors
• Wax-filled nanotech yarn behaves like powerful, super-strong muscle
• These mini-bots were made for walking: Cells power biological machines
• This is your brain on freestyle rap: Study reveals characteristic brain patterns of lyrical improvisation
• Ingredient in diarrhea medicine leads to sustainable new farm fertilizer
• Bond's new crime-fighting device launched: 'Bullet fingerprint' visualization technique

Uncommon features of Einstein's brain might explain his remarkable cognitive abilities Posted: 15 Nov 2012 06:04 PM PST Portions of Albert Einstein's brain have been found to be unlike those of most people and could be related to his extraordinary cognitive abilities, according to a new study.

Tenth of quirky creature's active genes are foreign: Believed to 'ingest' DNA from other simple organisms Posted: 15 Nov 2012 02:20 PM PST Up to 10 percent of the active genes of an organism that has survived 80 million years without sex are foreign, a new study reveals. The asexual organism, the bdelloid rotifer, has acquired a tenth of its active genes from bacteria and other simple organisms like fungi and algae.

Probiotic worm treatment may improve symptoms of colitis by restoring gut bacteria to healthy state Posted: 15 Nov 2012 02:20 PM PST A new study on monkeys with chronic diarrhea that were treated by microscopic parasite worm (helminth) eggs has provided insights on how this form of therapy may heal the intestine. This condition in monkeys is similar to the inflammatory bowel diseases that affects up to 1.4 million Americans.

How insects domesticate bacteria to live symbiotically: Symbiotic microbes' origin discovered after man impales hand on branch Posted: 15 Nov 2012 02:13 PM PST Two years ago, a 71-year-old Indiana man impaled his hand on a branch after cutting down a dead crab apple tree, causing an infection that led scientists to discover a new bacterium and solve a mystery about how bacteria came to live inside insects.

Robotic explorers may usher in lunar 'water rush' Posted: 15 Nov 2012 01:50 PM PST The American space program stands at the cusp of a "water rush" to the moon by several companies developing robotic prospectors for launch in the near future, according to a NASA scientist considering how to acquire and use water ice believed to be at the poles of the moon.

Technology harvests energy from railroad train vibrations Posted: 15 Nov 2012 01:21 PM PST Engineers have won a national award for an innovative energy harvester that has the potential to save millions of dollars in energy costs for railroads while reducing carbon dioxide emissions. The team developed a new type of energy harvester that converts the irregular, oscillatory motion of train-induced rail track vibrations into regular, unidirectional motion, in the same way that an electric voltage rectifier converts AC voltage into DC.

Using skills gleaned from video games, high school and college students outmatch medical residents in surgical simulations Posted: 15 Nov 2012 11:16 AM PST What can high school and college-age video game enthusiasts teach young surgeons-in-training? According to a new study the superior hand-eye coordination and hand skills gained from hours of repetitive joystick maneuvers mimic the abilities needed to perform today's most technologically advanced robotic surgeries.

Bioprinting has promising future: Scientists building structures for cells to grow on, in order to regenerate tissue Posted: 15 Nov 2012 11:15 AM PST The pioneering concept of bioprinting is delivering promising results according to one of the early champions of the process.

Key to super-sensory hearing? Newly identified hearing organ in bushcrickets' ears may inspire acoustic sensors Posted: 15 Nov 2012 11:15 AM PST Researchers have identified a new hearing organ which provides the missing link to understanding how sound is transmitted within the ears of bushcrickets. This discovery will make a valuable contribution to creating bio-inspired acoustic sensors of the future, from medical imaging equipment in hospitals to developing improved hearing aid devices.

Wax-filled nanotech yarn behaves like powerful, super-strong muscle Posted: 15 Nov 2012 11:15 AM PST New artificial muscles made from nanotech yarns and infused with paraffin wax can lift more than 100,000 times their own weight and generate 85 times more mechanical power during contraction than the same size natural muscle, according to scientists. The artificial muscles are yarns constructed from carbon nanotubes.

These mini-bots were made for walking: Cells power biological machines Posted: 15 Nov 2012 10:37 AM PST They're soft, biocompatible, about 7 millimeters long -- and, incredibly, able to walk by themselves. Miniature "bio-bots" are making tracks in synthetic biology. The walking bio-bots demonstrate forward-engineering functional machines using only hydrogel, heart cells and a 3-D printer. The bio-bots could be customized for specific applications in medicine, energy or the environment.

This is your brain on freestyle rap: Study reveals characteristic brain patterns of lyrical improvisation Posted: 15 Nov 2012 10:31 AM PST Researchers have shown that freestyle rapping is associated with a unique functional reallocation of brain activity in the prefrontal cortex and proposes a novel neural network that appears to be intimately involved in improvisatory and creative endeavors.

Ingredient in diarrhea medicine leads to sustainable new farm fertilizer Posted: 14 Nov 2012 08:38 AM PST The search for a sustainable slow-release fertilizer -- a key to sustaining global food production at a time of burgeoning population growth -- has led scientists to an ingredient used in some diarrhea medicines. They describe use of the substance, attapulgite, as a "carrier" for plant nutrients.

Bond's new crime-fighting device launched: 'Bullet fingerprint' visualization technique Posted: 14 Nov 2012 05:39 AM PST A 'bullet fingerprint' visualization technique pioneered by a British scientist has been commercialized in the United States.

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