ScienceDaily: Strange Science News

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• First evidence of fish sensing geomagnetic fields from a Czech Christmas market
• When the first stars blinked on: Very first stars may have turned on when the universe was 750 million years old
• New genetic fingerprint lives in your gut
• First synthesis of gold nanoparticles inside human hair for dyeing and much more
• DNA hydrogel flows like liquid but remembers its original shape
• Microchoreography: Synthetic molecule used to guide cellular 'dance'
• Africa's Homo sapiens were the first techies
• Pokemon provides rare opening for study of face-recognition processes
• Next scientific fashion could be designer nanocrystals
• Breakthrough in augmented reality contact lens
• Hushed hoarders and prying pilferers: Eurasian jays change strategies to prevent others from stealing food

First evidence of fish sensing geomagnetic fields from a Czech Christmas market Posted: 05 Dec 2012 05:00 PM PST Carp stored in large tubs at Czech Christmas markets align themselves in the north-south direction, suggesting they possess a previously unknown capacity to perceive geomagnetic fields, according to a new study.

When the first stars blinked on: Very first stars may have turned on when the universe was 750 million years old Posted: 05 Dec 2012 10:24 AM PST Researchers have peered far back in time, to the era of the first stars and galaxies, and found matter with no discernible trace of heavy elements.

New genetic fingerprint lives in your gut Posted: 05 Dec 2012 10:21 AM PST Our bodies contain far more microbial genes than human genes. And a new study suggests that just as human DNA varies from person to person, so too does the massive collection of microbial DNA in the intestine. The research is the first to catalog the genetic variation of microbes that live in the gut.

First synthesis of gold nanoparticles inside human hair for dyeing and much more Posted: 05 Dec 2012 09:11 AM PST In a discovery with applications ranging from hair dyeing to electronic sensors to development of materials with improved properties, scientists are reporting the first synthesis of gold nanoparticles inside human hairs.

DNA hydrogel flows like liquid but remembers its original shape Posted: 05 Dec 2012 08:28 AM PST A new material is so soft it can flow like a liquid and then, strangely, return to its original shape. It is a hydrogel, a mesh of organic molecules with many small empty spaces that can absorb water like a sponge, and qualifies as a "metamaterial" with properties not found in nature.

Microchoreography: Synthetic molecule used to guide cellular 'dance' Posted: 05 Dec 2012 08:28 AM PST Researchers have used a small synthetic molecule to stimulate cells to move and change shape, bypassing the cells' usual way of sensing and responding to their environment. The experiment pioneers a new tool for studying cell movement, a phenomenon involved in everything from development to immunity to the spread of cancer.

Africa's Homo sapiens were the first techies Posted: 05 Dec 2012 07:30 AM PST The search for the origin of modern human behavior and technological advancement among our ancestors in southern Africa some 70,000 years ago has taken a step closer to firmly establishing Africa, and especially South Africa, as the primary center for the early development of human behavior.

Pokemon provides rare opening for study of face-recognition processes Posted: 05 Dec 2012 07:26 AM PST Neuroscientists used Pokemon cards and kids to test a theory of facial cognition that until now has been difficult to support.

Next scientific fashion could be designer nanocrystals Posted: 05 Dec 2012 07:26 AM PST Three chemistry professors hope that their separate research trajectories will converge to create a new way of assembling what they call "designer atoms" into materials with a broad array of potentially useful properties and functions.

Breakthrough in augmented reality contact lens Posted: 05 Dec 2012 06:09 AM PST Scientists have developed an innovative spherical curved LCD display, which can be embedded in contact lenses. The first step toward fully pixilated contact lens displays, this achievement has potential wide-spread applications in medical and cosmetic domains.

Hushed hoarders and prying pilferers: Eurasian jays change strategies to prevent others from stealing food Posted: 05 Dec 2012 05:44 AM PST In order to prevent other birds from stealing the food they are storing for later, Eurasian jays, a type of corvid, minimizes any auditory hints a potential pilferer may use to steal their cache (food that is buried for later use).

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