Strange & Offbeat News -- ScienceDaily

Potential 'killer blow' to King Richard III revealed Posted: 12 Feb 2015 06:19 PM PST New film footage reveals for the first time details of the potential killer blow that claimed the life of King Richard III.

Remoras don't suck: Their iconic clinch is far more complex Posted: 12 Feb 2015 03:36 PM PST Researchers have long studied animals like tree frogs, geckos, and spiders for their adhesive abilities, but what makes remoras unique in this group is they combine three key elements: the ability to securely fasten themselves for long periods of time; attach to different types of surfaces; release quickly without harming the surface.

Exotic states materialize with supercomputers Posted: 12 Feb 2015 12:46 PM PST Supercomputers used to find new class of materials that exhibit exotic matter state known as the quantum spin Hall effect. The researchers propose a new type of transistor made from these materials.

Data-storage for eternity, stored in the form of DNA Posted: 12 Feb 2015 12:46 PM PST How can we preserve our knowledge today for the next millennia? Researchers have found a way to store information in the form of DNA, presumably preserving it for nearly an eternity.

Curious monkeys share our thirst for knowledge Posted: 12 Feb 2015 12:46 PM PST Monkeys are notoriously curious, and new research has quantified just how eager they are to gain new information, even if there are not immediate benefits. The findings offer insights into how a certain part of the brain shared by monkeys and humans plays a role in decision making, and perhaps even in some disorders and addictions in humans.

Explaining 30-year-old 'hidden order' physics mystery Posted: 12 Feb 2015 12:46 PM PST A new explanation for a type of order, or symmetry, in an exotic material made with uranium is a major step toward explaining a puzzle that physicists worldwide have been struggling with for 30 years. This 'hidden order' appears as a subtle change in the material's electrical and magnetic properties when the material is cooled to 17.5 degrees above absolute zero or lower -- a bone-chilling minus 428 degrees Fahrenheit.

Magnitude of plastic waste going into the ocean calculated: 8 million metric tons of plastic enter the oceans per year Posted: 12 Feb 2015 12:44 PM PST How much mismanaged plastic waste is making its way from land to ocean has been a decades-long guessing game. Now scientists have put a number on the global problem. Their study found between 4.8 and 12.7 million metric tons of plastic entered the ocean in 2010 from people living within 50 kilometers of the coastline.

New fluorescent protein permanently marks neurons that fire Posted: 12 Feb 2015 11:14 AM PST A new tool lets scientists shine a light on an animal's brain to permanently mark neurons that are active at a particular time. The tool -- a fluorescent protein called CaMPARI -- converts from green to red when calcium floods a nerve cell after the cell fires. The permanent mark frees scientists from the need to focus a microscope on the right cells at the right time to observe neuronal activity.

Earliest-known arboreal and subterranean ancestral mammals discovered Posted: 12 Feb 2015 11:14 AM PST The fossils of two interrelated ancestral mammals, newly discovered in China, suggest that the wide-ranging ecological diversity of modern mammals had a precedent more than 160 million years ago.

People value resources more consistently when they are scarce Posted: 12 Feb 2015 10:18 AM PST We tend to be economically irrational when it comes to choosing how we use resources like money and time but scarcity can convert us into economically rational decision makers, according to new research.

How the Eastern tiger swallowtail got 'scary' Posted: 12 Feb 2015 10:16 AM PST Scientists know a lot about Eastern tiger swallowtail -- the state insect in five states -- but they hadn't managed to sequence their genome. Now, researchers have sequenced the complete genome of one wild-caught individual, and they say that it has already told them more than they had anticipated about the butterflies and some of their most intriguing features.

Dogs know that smile on your face Posted: 12 Feb 2015 10:16 AM PST Dogs can tell the difference between happy and angry human faces, according to a new study. The discovery represents the first solid evidence that an animal other than humans can discriminate between emotional expressions in another species, the researchers say.

Make like a squid and transform: Squid can recode their genetic make-up on-the-fly to adjust to their surroundings, study finds Posted: 12 Feb 2015 08:43 AM PST A new study showcases the first example of an animal editing its own genetic makeup on-the-fly to modify most of its proteins, enabling adjustments to its immediate surroundings.

Astronomers discover rare planet: Kepler-432b is a dense, massive celestial body with extreme seasons Posted: 12 Feb 2015 08:42 AM PST Two research groups of astronomers have independently of each other discovered a rare planet. The celestial body, called Kepler-432b, is one of the most dense and massive planets known so far. The teams report that the planet has six times the mass of Jupiter, but about the same size. The shape and the size of its orbit are also unusual for a planet like Kepler-432b that is revolving around a giant star. In less than 200 million years, this "red giant" will most likely swallow up the planet.

Reality is distorted in brain's maps Posted: 12 Feb 2015 06:25 AM PST The brain's GPS would be worthless if it simply contained maps of our surroundings that were not aligned to the real world. But we now know how this is done.

Extreme mechano-sensitive neurons of tactile-foraging ducks fit the bill for touch research Posted: 11 Feb 2015 09:25 AM PST Mechanosensation is one of our fundamental physiological processes, on par with sight and smell, but how it works on a cellular level remains poorly understood, holding back development of effective treatments for mechanosensory disorders like chronic pain. Now, a team of researchers has identified a new model organism that may help elucidate the cellular mechanisms behind mechanosensation: the ordinary duck.

Better batteries inspired by lowly snail shells Posted: 11 Feb 2015 09:25 AM PST Researchers have isolated a peptide, a type of biological molecule, which binds strongly to lithium manganese nickel oxide (LMNO), a material that can be used to make the cathode in high performance batteries. The peptide can latch onto nanosized particles of LMNO and connect them to conductive components of a battery electrode, improving the potential power and stability of the electrode.