ScienceDaily: Strange Science News

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• Everest trek shows how some people get type II diabetes
• Faithful allies since the Cretaceous: Symbiosis between beewolves and protective bacteria originated millions of years ago
• Cosmic slurp: Supercomputers help astronomers understand and predict how black holes swallow stars
• Four new species of 'killer sponges' from the deep sea
• House windows that double as solar panels? Shiny quantum dots brighten future of solar cells
• SpaceX’s Dragon headed to space station to create astronaut farmers
• Surgeons develop personalized 3-D printed kidney to simulate surgery prior to cancer operation
• Wolves at the door: Study finds recent wolf-dog hybridization in Caucasus region
• Genetically modified tobacco plants as an alternative for producing bioethanol
• Does germ plasm accelerate evolution?
• Look who's evolving now: Using robots to study evolution
• How a Silly Putty ingredient could advance stem cell therapies
• Ocean acidification robs reef fish of their fear of predators
• Older people with faster decline in memory and thinking skills may have lower risk of cancer death

Everest trek shows how some people get type II diabetes Posted: 14 Apr 2014 02:21 PM PDT Scientists have gained new insights into the molecular process of how some people get type II diabetes, which could lead to new ways of preventing people from getting the condition. The research, which took place on Mount Everest, assessed the mechanisms by which low oxygen levels in the body -- known as hypoxia -- are associated with the development of insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is when cells fail to respond to insulin in the body. Insulin enables the body to regulate sugar levels. Too much sugar can be toxic and leads to type II diabetes.

Faithful allies since the Cretaceous: Symbiosis between beewolves and protective bacteria originated millions of years ago Posted: 14 Apr 2014 12:44 PM PDT Scientists have discovered that certain wasps tightly control mother-to-offspring transmission of their bacterial symbionts. This stabilizes the symbiotic alliance and contributed to its persistence over the past 68-110 million years.

Cosmic slurp: Supercomputers help astronomers understand and predict how black holes swallow stars Posted: 14 Apr 2014 12:08 PM PDT A 'tidal disruption' occurs when a star orbits too close to a black hole and gets usurped. Researchers are using supercomputers to simulate tidal disruptions to better understand the dynamics of the process. Doing so will help astronomers find many more possible candidates of tidal disruptions in sky surveys and reveal details of how stars and black holes interact.

Four new species of 'killer sponges' from the deep sea Posted: 14 Apr 2014 10:40 AM PDT Killer sponges sound like creatures from a B-grade horror movie. In fact, they thrive in the lightless depths of the deep sea. Scientists first discovered that some sponges are carnivorous about 20 years ago. Since then only seven carnivorous species have been found in all of the northeastern Pacific. A new article describes four new species of carnivorous sponges living on the deep seafloor, from the Pacific Northwest to Baja California.

House windows that double as solar panels? Shiny quantum dots brighten future of solar cells Posted: 14 Apr 2014 09:38 AM PDT A house window that doubles as a solar panel could be on the horizon, thanks to recent quantum-dot work. Scientists have demonstrated that superior light-emitting properties of quantum dots can be applied in solar energy by helping more efficiently harvest sunlight.

SpaceX’s Dragon headed to space station to create astronaut farmers Posted: 14 Apr 2014 07:33 AM PDT "Enter the Dragon" takes on a whole new meaning this month as SpaceX's Dragon capsule heads to the International Space Station for its third commercial resupply mission on April 14. During the SpaceX-3 mission, the Dragon capsule not only will deliver cargo to the orbiting laboratory, but it also will return science samples and hardware to Earth.

Surgeons develop personalized 3-D printed kidney to simulate surgery prior to cancer operation Posted: 14 Apr 2014 07:08 AM PDT For the first time, surgeons have used 3-D printing to produce exact models of tumor-containing kidneys, allowing them to simulate surgery prior to the real operation. These models can be personalized to each patient, giving doctors a 3-D model of each individual's tumor. The ability to produce exact 3-dimensional models of objects means that 3D printing is set to revolutionize many fields.

Wolves at the door: Study finds recent wolf-dog hybridization in Caucasus region Posted: 14 Apr 2014 06:21 AM PDT Hybridization of wolves with shepherd dogs in the Caucasus region might be more common, and more recent, than previously thought, according to new research. Scientists found recent hybrid ancestry in about ten percent of the dogs and wolves sampled. About two to three percent of the sampled wolves and dogs were identified as first-generation hybrids.

Genetically modified tobacco plants as an alternative for producing bioethanol Posted: 14 Apr 2014 06:20 AM PDT Tobacco, a high-density crop which is mown several times throughout its cycle, can produce as much as 160 tonnes of fresh matter per hectare and become a source of biomass suitable for producing bioethanol. As one researcher explained, "tobacco plants as a source of biomass for producing bioethanol could be an alternative to traditional tobacco growing which is in decline in the USA and in Europe because it cannot compete with emerging countries like China".

Does germ plasm accelerate evolution? Posted: 14 Apr 2014 06:19 AM PDT Scientists have challenged a long held belief about the way certain species of vertebrates evolved. They found that genes evolve more rapidly in species containing germ plasm. The results came about as they put to the test a novel theory that early developmental events dramatically alter the vertebrate body plan and the way evolution proceeds.

Look who's evolving now: Using robots to study evolution Posted: 14 Apr 2014 06:19 AM PDT Scientists have demonstrated the usefulness of robots in studying evolution.  They successfully used a colony of rodent-like robots to watch different mating strategies evolve.  The work not only generated interesting and unexpected results, but it has also helped validate the use of robots in the study of evolution.

How a Silly Putty ingredient could advance stem cell therapies Posted: 13 Apr 2014 10:59 AM PDT The sponginess of the environment where human embryonic stem cells are growing affects the type of specialized cells they eventually become, a study shows. The researchers coaxed human embryonic stem cells to turn into working spinal cord cells more efficiently by growing the cells on a soft, utrafine carpet made of a key ingredient in Silly Putty.

Ocean acidification robs reef fish of their fear of predators Posted: 13 Apr 2014 10:59 AM PDT Research on the behavior of coral reef fish at naturally-occurring carbon dioxide seeps in Milne Bay in eastern Papua New Guinea has shown that continuous exposure to increased levels of carbon dioxide dramatically alters the way fish respond to predators.

Older people with faster decline in memory and thinking skills may have lower risk of cancer death Posted: 09 Apr 2014 05:42 PM PDT Older people who are starting to have memory and thinking problems, but do not yet have dementia may have a lower risk of dying from cancer than people who have no memory and thinking problems, according to a study. "We need to understand better the relationship between a disease that causes abnormal cell death and one that causes abnormal cell growth," the lead author said. "With the increasing number of people with both dementia and cancer, understanding this association could help us better understand and treat both diseases."

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