Strange & Offbeat News -- ScienceDaily

Female pumas kill more, eat less when humans are near Posted: 13 Feb 2015 11:51 AM PST Female pumas kill more prey but consume less when their territories bump into human development, researchers report in a new study based on monitoring more than two dozen pumas in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

Distant species produce 'love child' fern after 60-million-year breakup Posted: 13 Feb 2015 11:50 AM PST A delicate woodland fern discovered in the mountains of France is the love child of two distantly-related groups of plants that haven't interbred in 60 million years, genetic analyses show. Reproducing after such a long evolutionary breakup is akin to an elephant hybridizing with a manatee, or a human with a lemur, the researchers say.

See here now: Telescopic contact lenses and wink-control glasses Posted: 13 Feb 2015 11:50 AM PST Optics specialist Eric Tremblay from EPFL in Switzerland unveils the latest prototype in the telescopic contact lens and debuts accessory wink-controlled glasses that switch between normal and 2.8x magnified vision.

Self-stretching material: No limit to number of times material can change shape Posted: 13 Feb 2015 11:42 AM PST Although most materials slightly expand when heated, there is a new class of rubber-like material that not only self-stretches upon cooling; it reverts back to its original shape when heated, all without physical manipulation.

Harm and response: Plants recognize and respond to different insects Posted: 13 Feb 2015 07:47 AM PST In one of the broadest studies of its kind, scientists recently looked at all plant genes and their response to the enemy. Their results showed that the model Arabidopsis plant recognizes and responds differently to four insect species. The insects cause changes on a transcriptional level, triggering proteins that switch on and off plant genes to help defend against more attacks.

Transforming silver into any color of the rainbow: Silver-glass sandwich structure acts as inexpensive color filter Posted: 13 Feb 2015 07:47 AM PST The engineering world just became even more colorful. Researchers have created a new technique that can transform silver into any color of the rainbow. Their simple method is a fast, low-cost alternative to color filters currently used in electronic displays and monitors.

Interstellar technology throws light on spinning black holes Posted: 13 Feb 2015 05:16 AM PST The team responsible for the Oscar-nominated visual effects at the center of Christopher Nolan's epic 'Interstellar' have turned science fiction into science fact by providing new insights into the powerful effects of black holes.

Making teeth tough: Beavers show way to improve our enamel Posted: 12 Feb 2015 12:45 PM PST Beavers don't brush their teeth or drink fluoridated water, but a new study reports beavers do have protection against tooth decay built into the chemical structure of their teeth: iron. This pigmented enamel, the researchers found, is both harder and more resistant to acid than regular enamel, including that treated with fluoride. This discovery is among others that could lead to a better understanding of human tooth decay, earlier detection of the disease and improving on current fluoride treatments.

Neural basis of 'being in the mood': Researchers discover neurons that combine social information with hormonal state in female mice Posted: 12 Feb 2015 10:16 AM PST What determines receptivity or rejection towards potential sexual partners? In a recent study of female mice, researchers recorded the activity of neurons in an area within the hypothalamus dedicated to socio-sexual behavior. The activity of the neurons was observed while the females interacted with males or with other females.

Weird 'strings' attached to future high temperature superconductivity Posted: 12 Feb 2015 03:51 AM PST The behavior of strongly correlated electron systems, such as high temperature superconductors, defies explanation in the language of ordinary quantum theory. A seemingly unrelated area of physics, string theory, might give physicists a better understanding of the weird behavior of this kind of collective electron systems.