Strange & Offbeat News -- ScienceDaily

Mars: The planet that lost an ocean's worth of water Posted: 05 Mar 2015 11:04 AM PST A primitive ocean on Mars held more water than Earth's Arctic Ocean, and covered a greater portion of the planet's surface than the Atlantic Ocean does on Earth, according to new results published today. An international team of scientists used ESO's Very Large Telescope, along with instruments at the W. M. Keck Observatory and the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility, to monitor the atmosphere of the planet and map out the properties of the water in different parts of Mars's atmosphere over a six-year period. These new maps are the first of their kind.

Hubble sees supernova split into four images by cosmic lens Posted: 05 Mar 2015 11:04 AM PST Astronomers have spotted for the first time a distant supernova split into four images. The multiple images of the exploding star are caused by the powerful gravity of a foreground elliptical galaxy embedded in a massive cluster of galaxies.

Menopausal whales are influential and informative leaders Posted: 05 Mar 2015 09:53 AM PST Menopause is a downright bizarre trait among animals. It's also rare. Outside of the human species, only the female members of two whale species outlive their reproductive lives in such a major way. Female killer whales typically become mothers between the ages of 12 and 40, but they can live for more than 90 years. Males rarely make it past 50. Now, researchers have new evidence to explain why.

Baby mantises harness mid-air 'spin' during jumps for precision landings Posted: 05 Mar 2015 09:52 AM PST High-speed videos reveal that, unlike other jumping insects, the juvenile praying mantis does not spin out of control when airborne. In fact, it both creates and controls angular momentum at extraordinary speeds to orient its body for precise landings.

Exposure to endocrine disruptors during pregnancy affects the brain two generations later, rat study shows Posted: 05 Mar 2015 09:51 AM PST Prenatal exposure to low doses of the environmental contaminants polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, change the developing brain in an area involved in metabolism, and some effects are apparent even two generations later, a new study finds. Hereditary effects included increased body weight, but only in descendants of females -- and not males -- exposed to PCBs in the womb.

Reliance on smartphones linked to lazy thinking Posted: 05 Mar 2015 08:05 AM PST Our smartphones help us find a phone number quickly, provide us with instant directions and recommend restaurants, but new research indicates that this convenience at our fingertips is making it easy for us to avoid thinking for ourselves.

Turning a vole into a mighty rodent Posted: 05 Mar 2015 08:05 AM PST Take a wild, common forest-dwelling mouse-like rodent, known as a vole, and subject it to 13 rounds of selection for increased aerobic exercise metabolism, and what do you get? A mighty 'mouse' with a 48 percent higher peak rate of oxygen consumption and an increased basal metabolic rate, compared to unselected controls. Scientists have used an evolution technique that has gained popularity, dubbed 'evolve and resequence,' to measure the genetic changes that pushed the humble vole to Olympian levels of performance.

'Extinct' bird rediscovered: Last seen in 1941 Posted: 05 Mar 2015 08:02 AM PST A scientific team has rediscovered a bird previously thought to be extinct. Jerdon's babbler (Chrysomma altirostre) had not been seen in Myanmar since July 1941, where it was last found in grasslands near the town of Myitkyo, Bago Region near the Sittaung River.

Breakthrough in energy harvesting could power 'life on Mars' Posted: 05 Mar 2015 05:11 AM PST Martian colonists could use an innovative new technique to harvest energy from carbon dioxide thanks to new research. The research proposes a new kind of engine for producing energy based on the Leidenfrost effect -- a phenomenon which happens when a liquid comes into near contact with a surface much hotter than its boiling point. This effect is commonly seen in the way water appears to skitter across the surface of a hot pan, but it also applies to solid carbon dioxide, commonly known as dry ice.

Male images seen by left side of the brain Posted: 04 Mar 2015 06:27 PM PST A new study has found that people are quicker to categorize a face as being male when it is shown to the left side of the brain.

When age matters: precise dating of ancient charcoal found near skull is helping reveal unique period in prehistory Posted: 03 Mar 2015 07:59 AM PST The precise dating of ancient charcoal found near a skull is helping reveal a unique period in prehistory. The Manot Cave, a natural limestone formation, had been sealed for some 15,000 years. It was discovered by a bulldozer clearing the land for development, and the first to find the partial skull, which was sitting on a ledge, were spelunkers exploring the newly-opened cave. Five excavation seasons uncovered a rich deposit, with stone tools and stratified occupation levels covering a period of time from at least 55,000 to 27,000 years ago.

Sad movies are fattening Posted: 02 Mar 2015 03:23 PM PST Sad movies are bad news for diets. A newly reported study showed movie-goers watching tearjerkers ate between 28 and 55 percent more popcorn both in the lab and in a mall theater during the Thanksgiving holiday.