ScienceDaily: Strange Science News

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• Ants aquaplaning on a pitcher plant
• Metamaterials experts show a way to reduce electrons' effective mass to nearly zero
• Liquid metal used to create wires that stretch eight times their original length
• Bugs in the Christmas tree
• Prehistoric ghosts revealing new details: Synchrotron helps identify previously unseen anatomy preserved in fossils
• Experts discover why Rudolph's nose is red

Ants aquaplaning on a pitcher plant Posted: 18 Dec 2012 05:35 PM PST An insect-trapping pitcher plant in Venezuela uses its downward pointing hairs to create a 'water slide' on which insects slip to their death, new research reveals.

Metamaterials experts show a way to reduce electrons' effective mass to nearly zero Posted: 18 Dec 2012 12:32 PM PST The field of metamaterials involves augmenting materials with specially designed patterns, enabling those materials to manipulate electromagnetic waves and fields in previously impossible ways. Now, researchers have come up with a theory for moving this phenomenon onto the quantum scale, laying out blueprints for materials where electrons have nearly zero effective mass. Such materials could make for faster circuits with novel properties.

Liquid metal used to create wires that stretch eight times their original length Posted: 18 Dec 2012 09:14 AM PST Researchers have created conductive wires that can be stretched up to eight times their original length while still functioning. The wires can be used for everything from headphones to phone chargers, and hold potential for use in electronic textiles.

Bugs in the Christmas tree Posted: 18 Dec 2012 05:18 AM PST Your Christmas tree may be adorned with lights and glitter. But 25,000 insects, mites, and spiders are sound asleep inside the tree.

Prehistoric ghosts revealing new details: Synchrotron helps identify previously unseen anatomy preserved in fossils Posted: 18 Dec 2012 05:17 AM PST Scientists have used synchrotron-based imaging techniques to identify previously unseen anatomy preserved in fossils. Their work on a 50-million-year-old lizard skin identified the presence of teeth (invisible to visible light), demonstrating for the first time that this fossil animal was more than just a skin moult. This was only possible using some of the brightest light in the universe, X-rays generated by a synchrotron.

Experts discover why Rudolph's nose is red Posted: 17 Dec 2012 04:06 PM PST Rudolph's nose is red because it is richly supplied with red blood cells which help to protect it from freezing and to regulate brain temperature.

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