ScienceDaily: Strange Science News

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• Mantis shrimp stronger than airplanes: Composite material inspired by shrimp stronger than standard used in airplane frames
• Neurotics don't just avoid action: They dislike it, study finds
• Brain size matters when it comes to animal self-control
• Cloaked DNA nanodevices survive pilot mission
• How are we different and what gave us the advantage over extinct types of humans like the Neanderthals?
• 'Blood lab' inside a mobile phone could detect cancer
• Tarantulas' personality determines whether they copulate with males or cannibalize them
• Jacket works like a mobile phone
• Red stars and big bulges: How black holes shape galaxies
• 'Upside-down planet' reveals new method for studying binary star systems
• Today's Antarctic region once as hot as California, Florida
• Earth Week: Bark beetles change Rocky Mountain stream flows, affect water quality
• Edible flowers may inhibit chronic diseases
• Teachers' scare tactics may lead to lower exam scores
• Ancient DNA: Barnyard chickens living just a few hundred years ago looked far different from today's chickens

Mantis shrimp stronger than airplanes: Composite material inspired by shrimp stronger than standard used in airplane frames Posted: 22 Apr 2014 10:09 AM PDT Inspired by the fist-like club of a mantis shrimp, researchers have developed a design structure for composite materials that is more impact resistant and tougher than the standard used in airplanes. The peacock mantis shrimp, or stomatopod, is a 4- to 6-inch-long rainbow-colored crustacean with a fist-like club that accelerates underwater faster than a 22-calibur bullet.

Neurotics don't just avoid action: They dislike it, study finds Posted: 22 Apr 2014 09:12 AM PDT Neurotics don't just avoid taking action. By their very nature they dislike it. A study of nearly 4,000 college students in 19 countries has uncovered new details about why neurotic people may avoid making decisions and moving forward with life. Turns out that when they are asked if action is positive, favorable, good, they just don't like it as much as non-neurotics. Framing communication messages that get around this roadblock is a key to success communication with neurotic folks.

Brain size matters when it comes to animal self-control Posted: 22 Apr 2014 08:34 AM PDT Chimpanzees may throw tantrums like toddlers, but their total brain size suggests they have more self-control than, say, a gerbil or fox squirrel, according to a new study of 36 species of mammals and birds ranging from orangutans to zebra finches.

Cloaked DNA nanodevices survive pilot mission Posted: 22 Apr 2014 07:00 AM PDT By mimicking a viral strategy, scientists have created the first cloaked DNA nanodevice that survives the body's immune defenses. Their success opens the door to smart DNA nanorobots that use logic to spot cancerous tissue and manufacture drugs on the spot to cripple it, as well as artificial microscopic containers called protocells that detect pathogens in food or toxic chemicals in drinking water.

How are we different and what gave us the advantage over extinct types of humans like the Neanderthals? Posted: 22 Apr 2014 05:47 AM PDT In parallel with modern man (Homo sapiens), there were other, extinct types of humans with whom we lived side by side, such as Neanderthals and the recently discovered  Denisovans of Siberia. Yet only Homo sapiens survived. What was it in our genetic makeup that gave us the advantage?

'Blood lab' inside a mobile phone could detect cancer Posted: 22 Apr 2014 05:47 AM PDT Scientists are in the early stages of an 'e-health technology' project aimed at developing a mobile phone app that can examine blood sample images and diagnose cancer. It would work by taking a magnified image of a blood slide via a microscopic lens attached to the smart phone, which the app would then be able to screen for evidence of leukemia -- a blood cancer.

Tarantulas' personality determines whether they copulate with males or cannibalize them Posted: 22 Apr 2014 05:47 AM PDT Sexual cannibalism in spiders – the attack and consumption of males by females before or after copulation – is very widespread. A new investigation analyses the reason behind such extreme behavior, at times even before the females have ensured the sperm's fertilization of their eggs.

Jacket works like a mobile phone Posted: 22 Apr 2014 05:47 AM PDT A fire is raging in a large building and the fire leader is sending a message to all firefighters at the scene. But they don't need a mobile phone -- they simply check their jacket sleeves and read the message there.

Red stars and big bulges: How black holes shape galaxies Posted: 22 Apr 2014 05:46 AM PDT The universe we can see is made up of thousands of millions of galaxies, each containing anywhere from hundreds of thousands to hundreds of billions of stars. Large numbers of galaxies are elliptical in shape, red and mostly made up of old stars. Another (more familiar) type is the spiral, where arms wind out in a blue thin disk from a central red bulge. On average stars in spiral galaxies tend to be much younger than those in ellipticals. Now a group of astronomers has found a (relatively) simple relationship between the color of a galaxy and the size of its bulge: the more massive the bulge, the redder the galaxy.

'Upside-down planet' reveals new method for studying binary star systems Posted: 21 Apr 2014 06:13 PM PDT What looked at first like a sort of upside-down planet has instead revealed a new method for studying binary star systems. Astronomers confirmed the first "self-lensing" binary star system -- one in which the mass of the closer star can be measured by how powerfully it magnifies light from its more distant companion star. Though our sun stands alone, about 40 percent of similar stars are in binary (two-star) or multi-star systems, orbiting their companions in a gravitational dance.

Today's Antarctic region once as hot as California, Florida Posted: 21 Apr 2014 01:43 PM PDT Parts of ancient Antarctica were as warm as today's California coast, and polar regions of the southern Pacific Ocean registered 21st-century Florida heat, according to scientists using a new way to measure past temperatures.

Earth Week: Bark beetles change Rocky Mountain stream flows, affect water quality Posted: 21 Apr 2014 01:43 PM PDT On Earth Week -- and in fact, every week now -- trees in mountains across the western United States are dying, thanks to an infestation of bark beetles that reproduce in the trees' inner bark. In Colorado alone, the mountain pine beetle has caused the deaths of more than 3.4 million acres of pine trees. What effect do all these dead trees have on stream flow and water quality? Plenty, according to new research findings reported this week.

Edible flowers may inhibit chronic diseases Posted: 21 Apr 2014 08:26 AM PDT Common edible flowers in China are rich in phenolics and have excellent antioxidant capacity, research has shown. Edible flowers, which have been used in the culinary arts in China for centuries, are receiving renewed interest. Flowers can be used as an essential ingredient in a recipe, provide seasoning to a dish, or simply be used as a garnish. Some of these flowers contain phenolics that have been correlated with anti-inflammatory activity and a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and certain cancers.

Teachers' scare tactics may lead to lower exam scores Posted: 21 Apr 2014 06:37 AM PDT As the school year winds down and final exams loom, teachers may want to avoid reminding students of the bad consequences of failing a test because doing so could lead to lower scores, according to new research. Students who said they felt threatened by their teachers' messages that frequently focused on failure reported feeling less motivated and scored worse on the exam than students who said their teacher used fewer fear tactics that they considered less threatening, the study found.

Ancient DNA: Barnyard chickens living just a few hundred years ago looked far different from today's chickens Posted: 18 Apr 2014 11:11 AM PDT Ancient DNA adds a twist to the story of how barnyard chickens came to be. Analyzing DNA from the bones of chickens that lived 200-2,300 years ago in Europe, researchers report that some of the traits we associate with modern domestic chickens -- such as their yellowish skin -- only became widespread in the last 500 years, much more recently than previously thought.

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