Strange & Offbeat News -- ScienceDaily

Boy or girl? Lemur scents have the answer Posted: 24 Feb 2015 04:27 PM PST Dozens of pregnancy myths claim to predict whether a mom-to-be is carrying a boy or a girl. Some say you can tell by the shape of a woman's bump, or whether she craves salty or sweet. Even ultrasound doesn't always get it right. But for lemurs, the answer is in the mother's scent.

Bionic reconstruction lets patients use a robotic prosthetic hand controlled by the mind Posted: 24 Feb 2015 04:26 PM PST Three Austrian men have become the first in the world to undergo a new technique called "bionic reconstruction", enabling them to use a robotic prosthetic hand controlled by their mind, according to new research. All three men suffered for many years with brachial plexus injuries and poor hand function as a result of motor vehicle and climbing accidents.

Tissue engineering: Scientists grow leg muscle from cells in a dish Posted: 24 Feb 2015 03:25 PM PST Scientists have generated mature, functional skeletal muscles in mice using a new approach for tissue engineering. The scientists grew a leg muscle starting from engineered cells cultured in a dish to produce a graft. The subsequent graft was implanted close to a normal, contracting skeletal muscle where the new muscle was nurtured and grown. In time, the method could allow for patient-specific treatments for a large number of muscle disorders.

Sensor-packed smartphones can read your mood, guard your data, and wreak havoc in the wrong hands Posted: 24 Feb 2015 12:47 PM PST Smartphones have replaced nearly every conceivable gadget, but computer scientists are teaching them some new tricks. The researchers are adapting accelerometers, GPS chips, gyroscopes and other sensors to make phones that can read a user's mood, eliminate passwords, protect financial transactions and more.

Yellowstone: Geysers erupt periodically because they have loops in their plumbing Posted: 24 Feb 2015 11:31 AM PST Volcanologists threaded sensors and cameras into the superheated water of geysers in Chile and Yellowstone, and have come up with an explanation for why geysers erupt periodically. They've even built a laboratory geyser that erupts every 20 minutes to demonstrate that loops and bends in the underground plumbing trap steam bubbles that slowly leak out, heating the water above until it suddenly boils from the top down.

Climate-change clues from turtles of tropical Wyoming Posted: 24 Feb 2015 10:12 AM PST Tropical turtle fossils discovered in Wyoming reveal that when Earth got warmer, prehistoric turtles headed north. But if today's turtles try the same technique to cope with warming habitats, they might run into trouble.

Why a latte is less likely to spill than a coffee Posted: 24 Feb 2015 08:29 AM PST Carrying a cup of coffee can be precarious for a sleepy-eyed caffeine addict who might accidentally send a wave of java sloshing over the rim, but add some foam and the trip becomes easier. New research shows that just a few layers of bubbles can significantly dampen the sloshing motion of liquid, and it may have applications far beyond breakfast beverages, including the safer transport of liquefied gas in trucks and propellants in rocket engines.

Great Barrier Reef corals eat plastic Posted: 24 Feb 2015 07:41 AM PST Researchers in Australia have found that corals commonly found on the Great Barrier Reef will eat micro-plastic pollution. Microplastics are tiny fragments of plastic in the environment and are a widespread contaminant in marine ecosystems, particularly in inshore coral reefs.

Mapping lizard venom makes it possible to develop new drugs Posted: 24 Feb 2015 06:18 AM PST Lizards and other reptiles are not normally considered venomous, but a number of lizard species actually do produce and use venom. The most classic venomous lizard is no doubt the gila monster -- a heavy-bodied lizard. As the first in the world, a group of researchers has made a comprehensive description of the proteins in the venom which can prove to be relevant in connection with developing new types of drugs.

Preventing diabetic heart condition in mice by amplifying effect of exercise: Potential for benefits of exercise in a pill? Posted: 24 Feb 2015 06:17 AM PST Magnifying a benefit of exercise in mice provided a "profound" protection from diabetic cardiomyopathy, a potentially deadly heart condition that affects many people with diabetes. The discovery demonstrates the power of exercise to prevent chronic health conditions and suggests that one day some benefits of exercise may come in a pill or bottle.

Neuroscientists literally change the way we think: Advantages of a wandering mind Posted: 23 Feb 2015 01:45 PM PST Does your mind wander when performing monotonous, repetitive tasks? Of course! But daydreaming involves more than just beating back boredom. In fact, according to a new study, a wandering mind can impart a distinct cognitive advantage.

Sobering effect of the love hormone Posted: 23 Feb 2015 01:44 PM PST Giving drunken rats oxytocin counteracts its intoxicating effects, researchers have found. "In the rat equivalent of a sobriety test, the rats given alcohol and oxytocin passed with flying colours, while those given alcohol without oxytocin were seriously impaired," a researcher said. This 'sobering-up' effect of oxytocin has yet to be shown in humans but the researchers plan to conduct these studies in the near future.

Bacteria in marine sponges harvest phosphorus for reef community Posted: 23 Feb 2015 01:44 PM PST Significant accumulations of polyphosphate granules have been found in three common sponge species of the Caribbean coral reef, indicating that microorganisms that live on marine sponges are pulling phosphorus out of the water to feed themselves and survive in a deep-water environment where very few nutrients are available. This finding has important implications for understanding how phosphorus is sequestered and recycled in a reef environment.

Hidden in plain sight: Amazonian bird chick mimics toxic caterpillar to avoid being eaten Posted: 23 Feb 2015 12:48 PM PST A unique nesting strategy has been observed in a species of tropical bird. By simulating the appearance of a hairy aposematic caterpillar, cinereous mourner chicks in Peru employ Batesian mimcry to avoid nest predation.

Carnivorous plant packs big wonders into tiny genome Posted: 23 Feb 2015 11:22 AM PST Great, wonderful, wacky things can come in small genomic packages. That's one lesson to be learned from the carnivorous bladderwort, a plant whose tiny genome turns out to be a jewel box full of evolutionary treasures. A new study breaks down the plant's genetic makeup, and finds a fascinating story.