ScienceDaily: Strange Science News

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• Scientists trace the origin of our teeth from the most primitive jawed fish
• Bats offer clues to treating COVID-19
• Native bees also facing novel pandemic
• Distorted passage of time during the COVID-19 lockdown
• Skull of two million year-old giant dormouse reconstructed
• Care for cats? So did people along the Silk Road more than 1,000 years ago
• Spider silk made by photosynthetic bacteria
• New study detects ringing of the global atmosphere
• Portable system boosts laser precision, at room temperature
• Researchers foresee linguistic issues during space travel

Scientists trace the origin of our teeth from the most primitive jawed fish Posted: 09 Jul 2020 11:16 AM PDT Scientists have digitally 'dissected', for the first time, the most primitive jawed fish fossils with teeth found near Prague more than 100 years ago. The results show that their teeth have surprisingly modern features.

Bats offer clues to treating COVID-19 Posted: 09 Jul 2020 10:56 AM PDT Bats carry many viruses, including COVID-19, without becoming ill. Biologists are studying the immune system of bats to find potential ways to 'mimic' that system in humans.

Native bees also facing novel pandemic Posted: 09 Jul 2020 10:56 AM PDT There is growing evidence that another 'pandemic' has been infecting bees around the world for the past two decades, and is spreading: a fungal pathogen known as Nosema.

Distorted passage of time during the COVID-19 lockdown Posted: 09 Jul 2020 07:52 AM PDT A survey conducted in the U.K. suggests that social and physical distancing measures put in place during the Covid-19 pandemic significantly impacted people's perception of how quickly time passed compared to their pre-lockdown perceptions.

Skull of two million year-old giant dormouse reconstructed Posted: 09 Jul 2020 07:51 AM PDT A researcher has digitally pieced together fossilized fragments from five giant dormouse skulls to reconstruct the first known complete skull of the species, which was roughly the size of a cat.

Care for cats? So did people along the Silk Road more than 1,000 years ago Posted: 09 Jul 2020 05:53 AM PDT Common domestic cats, as we know them today, might have accompanied Kazakh pastoralists as pets more than 1,000 years ago. This is indicated by new analyses done on an almost complete cat skeleton found during an excavation along the former Silk Road in southern Kazakhstan. An international research team has reconstructed the cat's life, revealing astonishing insights into the relationship between humans and pets at the time.

Spider silk made by photosynthetic bacteria Posted: 08 Jul 2020 07:59 AM PDT A research team in Japan reported that they succeeded in producing the spider silk -- ultra-lightweight, though, biodegradable and biocompatible material -- using photosynthetic bacteria. This study will open a new era in which bio-factories stably output the bulk of spider silk.

New study detects ringing of the global atmosphere Posted: 07 Jul 2020 03:39 PM PDT A ringing bell vibrates simultaneously at a low-pitched fundamental tone and at many higher-pitched overtones, producing a pleasant musical sound. A recent study shows that the Earth's entire atmosphere vibrates in an analogous manner, in a striking confirmation of theories developed by physicists over the last two centuries.

Portable system boosts laser precision, at room temperature Posted: 07 Jul 2020 08:32 AM PDT Physicists have designed a quantum ''light squeezer'' that reduces quantum noise in an incoming laser beam by 15 percent. It is the first system of its kind to work at room temperature, making it amenable to a compact, portable setup that may be added to high-precision experiments to improve laser measurements where quantum noise is a limiting factor.

Researchers foresee linguistic issues during space travel Posted: 06 Jul 2020 11:54 AM PDT Interstellar space travelers arriving on another planet could face problems communicating with previous and subsequent arrivals, their spoken language having changed in isolation along the way.

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