Strange & Offbeat News -- ScienceDaily

Perfect colors, captured with one ultra-thin lens Posted: 19 Feb 2015 11:46 AM PST A completely flat, ultrathin lens can focus different wavelengths of light at the same point, achieving instant color correction in one extremely thin, miniaturized device.

New nanogel for drug delivery Posted: 19 Feb 2015 11:13 AM PST Chemical engineers have designed a new type of self-healing hydrogel that could be injected through a syringe. Scientists are interested in using gels to deliver drugs because they can be molded into specific shapes and designed to release their payload over a specified time period.

Mouse embryo with really big brain: Evolving a bigger brain with human DNA Posted: 19 Feb 2015 10:31 AM PST The human brain expanded dramatically in size during evolution, imparting us with unique capabilities. Scientists have now shown that it's possible to pick out key changes in the genetic code between chimpanzees and humans and visualize their respective contributions to early brain development in mouse embryos. The findings may lend insight what makes the human brain special and why people get some neurological disorders, such as autism and Alzheimer's disease, whereas chimpanzees don't.

A new view of the solar system: Astrophysical jets driven by the sun Posted: 19 Feb 2015 08:56 AM PST New research suggests that the sun's magnetic field controls the large-scale shape of the heliosphere much more than expected. The new model shows that the magnetic field squeezes the solar wind along the sun's north-south axis, producing two jets. These jets are then dragged downstream by the flow of the interstellar medium -- the gases and dust that lie between star systems.

Atomically thin gas and chemical sensors Posted: 19 Feb 2015 07:17 AM PST The relatively recent discovery of graphene, a two-dimensional layered material with unusual and attractive electronic, optical and thermal properties, led scientists to search for other atomically thin materials with unique properties.

Scientists observe 'god particle' analogue in superconductors: 'Tabletop' technique Posted: 19 Feb 2015 07:17 AM PST The Nobel Prize-winning discovery of the Higgs boson -- the 'God particle' believed responsible for all the mass in the universe -- took place in 2012 at CERN's Large Hadron Collider. The first hint of Higgs was inspired by the study of superconductors -- a special class of metals that, when cooled to very low temperatures, allow electrons to move without resistance. Now, a research team has reported the first-ever observations of the Higgs mode in superconducting materials.

Does dark matter cause mass extinctions and geologic upheavals? Posted: 19 Feb 2015 05:58 AM PST New research concludes that Earth's infrequent but predictable path around and through our Galaxy's disc may have a direct and significant effect on geological and biological phenomena occurring on Earth. Scientists conclude that movement through dark matter may perturb the orbits of comets and lead to additional heating in the Earth's core, both of which could be connected with mass extinction events.

Cheap solar cells made from shrimp shells Posted: 18 Feb 2015 04:17 PM PST Researchers have successfully created electricity-generating solar-cells with chemicals found the shells of shrimps and other crustaceans for the first time.

Moths shed light on how to fool enemy sonar Posted: 18 Feb 2015 04:15 PM PST It's hard to hide from a bat: The camouflage and mimicry techniques that animals use to avoid becoming a meal aren't much use against a predator using echolocation. But a new study shows that moths can outsmart sonar with a flick of their long tails.

Fearless birds and big city spiders: Is urbanization pushing earth's evolution to a tipping point? Posted: 18 Feb 2015 04:15 PM PST That humans and our cities build affect the ecosystem and even drive some evolutionary change is already known. What's new is that these evolutionary changes are happening more quickly than previously thought, and have potential impacts on ecosystem function on a contemporary scale. Not in the distant future, that is -- but now.

Where ants go when nature calls: Ants use corners of their nest as 'toilets' Posted: 18 Feb 2015 11:55 AM PST Ants may use the corners of their nest as 'toilets,' according to a new study. Little research has been done on ant sanitary behavior, so the authors of this study conducted an experiment to determine whether distinct brown patches they observed forming in ants' nests were feces. They fed ants, living in white plaster nests, food dyed with either red or blue food coloring and observed the nests for the colorful feces.

For the first time, spacecraft catch solar shockwave in the act: 'Ultrarelativistic, killer electrons made in 60 seconds Posted: 18 Feb 2015 11:13 AM PST On Oct. 8, 2013, an explosion on the sun's surface sent a supersonic blast wave of solar wind out into space. This shockwave tore past Mercury and Venus, blitzing by the moon before streaming toward Earth. The shockwave struck a massive blow to the Earth's magnetic field, setting off a magnetized sound pulse around the planet.