Strange & Offbeat News -- ScienceDaily

Seeing through sparklers: What happens to heat-treated diamonds Posted: 13 Feb 2015 07:46 AM PST Diamonds come in all colors with price tags to match -- ice-white, blue and pink attract high prices and stones with brown hues the least. But now that brown diamonds can be heat-treated to remove the darker color to produce near-perfect colorless gemstones, can consumers tell the difference?

First-in human: Tumor suctioned from vein of cancer patient to allow minimally invasive kidney surgery Posted: 11 Feb 2015 10:19 AM PST Physicians have successfully suctioned a cancerous tumor from a major vein in a patient with metastatic kidney cancer, clearing the way for him to undergo a minimally-invasive kidney removal. This allowed him to participate in a clinical trial using genetic material from his tumor to produce a vaccine to help fight his metastatic disease.

Making a better wound dressing, with fish skin Posted: 11 Feb 2015 09:37 AM PST With a low price tag and mild flavor, tilapia has become a staple dinnertime fish for many Americans. Now it could have another use: helping to heal our wounds. Scientists have shown that a protein found in this fish can promote skin repair in rats without an immune reaction, suggesting possible future use for human patients.