ScienceDaily: Strange Science News

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• Discovery of new material state counterintuitive to laws of physics
• Altitude may affect the way language is spoken
• Turtles watch for, snack on gelatinous prey while swimming
• Male guppies reproduce long after death
• Big movies and other cultural products have evolutionary roots
• Filmmaking magic with polymers
• Saliva proteins may protect older people from influenza
• Network of cameras used to track people in complex indoor settings
• Dad's life stress exposure leaves mark on sperm, can affect offspring brain development
• Fingernails reveal clues to limb regeneration
• Global quantum networks based on optical fibers: Scientists quantum mechanically couple atoms to glass fiber cables

Discovery of new material state counterintuitive to laws of physics Posted: 12 Jun 2013 07:42 PM PDT When you squeeze something, it gets smaller -- unless you're among a group of scientists who have seemingly defied the laws of physics and found a way to apply pressure to make a material expand instead of compress/contract.

Altitude may affect the way language is spoken Posted: 12 Jun 2013 02:33 PM PDT Until recently most linguists believed that the relationship between the structure of language and the natural world was mainly the influence of the environment on vocabulary. Now, a new study shows that there is a link between geographical elevation and the way language is spoken. Ejectives are sounds made, and incorporated into language, only at higher altitudes.

Turtles watch for, snack on gelatinous prey while swimming Posted: 12 Jun 2013 02:33 PM PDT Loggerhead turtles use visual cues to find gelatinous prey to snack on as they swim in open waters, according to new research.

Male guppies reproduce long after death Posted: 12 Jun 2013 10:34 AM PDT Performing experiments in a river in Trinidad, evolutionary biologists have found that male guppies -- small freshwater fish -- continue to reproduce for at least ten months after they die, living on as stored sperm in females, who have much longer lifespans than males. While it is well known that guppies store sperm, biologists had never before thought of the extent of the storage.

Big movies and other cultural products have evolutionary roots Posted: 12 Jun 2013 10:33 AM PDT Epic battles, whirlwind romances, family feuds, heroic attempts to save the lives of strangers: these are stories guaranteed to grace the silver screen. According to new research, that's not lazy scriptwriting, that's evolutionary consumerism.

Filmmaking magic with polymers Posted: 12 Jun 2013 10:31 AM PDT Self-assembled copolymer block film is now being fabricated with intricately organized nanostructures, giving them multiple functions and flexibility on a macroscale level never before seen.

Saliva proteins may protect older people from influenza Posted: 12 Jun 2013 10:31 AM PDT Spit. Drool. Dribble. Saliva is not normally a topic of polite conversation, but it may be the key to explaining the age and sex bias exhibited by influenza and other diseases, according to a new study. Research, it provides new insights into why older people were better able to fight off the new strains of "bird" flu and "swine" flu than younger people.

Network of cameras used to track people in complex indoor settings Posted: 12 Jun 2013 10:31 AM PDT Researchers have developed a method for tracking the locations of multiple individuals in complex, indoor settings using a network of video cameras, creating something similar to the fictional Marauder's Map used by Harry Potter to track comings and goings at the Hogwarts School. The method was able to automatically follow the movements of 13 people within a nursing home, even though individuals sometimes slipped out of view of the cameras.

Dad's life stress exposure leaves mark on sperm, can affect offspring brain development Posted: 12 Jun 2013 10:26 AM PDT Stress felt by dad -- whether as a preadolescent or adult -- leaves a lasting impression on his sperm that gives sons and daughters a blunted reaction to stress, according to a new preclinical study. The findings point to a never-before-seen epigenetic link to stress-related diseases such as anxiety and depression passed from father to child.

Fingernails reveal clues to limb regeneration Posted: 12 Jun 2013 10:25 AM PDT Mammals possess the remarkable ability to regenerate a lost fingertip, including the nail, nerves and even bone. In humans, an amputated fingertip can sprout back in as little as two months, a phenomenon that has remained poorly understood until now. Biologists now shed light on this rare regenerative power in mammals, using genetically engineered mice to document for the first time the biochemical chain of events that unfolds in the wake of a fingertip amputation.

Global quantum networks based on optical fibers: Scientists quantum mechanically couple atoms to glass fiber cables Posted: 12 Jun 2013 06:35 AM PDT Researchers have quantum mechanically couple atoms to glass fiber cables. Now, they have shown that their technique enables storage of quantum information over a sufficiently long period of time to realize global quantum networks based on optical fibers.

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