ScienceDaily: Strange Science News

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• Queen’s genes determine sex of entire ant colonies
• More microbes that can degrade plastics in places with heavy plastic pollution
• Swirling bacteria mimic Van Gogh's 'The Starry Night'
• Challenging Einstein’s greatest theory with extreme stars
• Discovery of ‘split’ photon provides a new way to see light
• Super-bright stellar explosion is likely a dying star giving birth to a black hole or neutron star
• Fecal transplant discovery could improve care for dangerous infections
• From flashing fireflies to cheering crowds -- Physicists unlock secret to synchronization
• Microfountain pen draws minute patterns for live cells, circuits

Queen’s genes determine sex of entire ant colonies Posted: 14 Dec 2021 05:45 AM PST Researchers have discovered the genetic basis for a quirk of the animal kingdom -- how ant queens produce broods that are entirely male or female.

More microbes that can degrade plastics in places with heavy plastic pollution Posted: 14 Dec 2021 05:45 AM PST The number of microbial enzymes with the ability to degrade plastic is growing, in correlation with local levels of plastic pollution. That is the finding of a new study that measured samples of environmental DNA from around the globe. The results illustrate the impact plastic pollution is having on the environment, and hint at potential new solutions for managing the problem.

Swirling bacteria mimic Van Gogh's 'The Starry Night' Posted: 13 Dec 2021 01:01 PM PST Scientists discovered a way to transform millions of predatory bacteria into swirling flash mobs reminiscent of painter Vincent Van Gogh's 'The Starry Night' as the unexpected result of experiments on a genetic circuit the creatures use to discern friend from foe.

Challenging Einstein’s greatest theory with extreme stars Posted: 13 Dec 2021 08:17 AM PST Researchers have conducted a 16-year long experiment to challenge Einstein's theory of general relativity. The international team looked to the stars - a pair of extreme stars called pulsars to be precise -- through seven radio telescopes across the globe. And they used them to challenge Einstein's most famous theory with some of the most rigorous tests yet. The study reveals new relativistic effects that, although expected, have now been observed for the first time.

Discovery of ‘split’ photon provides a new way to see light Posted: 13 Dec 2021 08:16 AM PST Nearly a century after Italian physicist Ettore Majorana laid the groundwork for the discovery that electrons could be divided into halves, researchers predict that split photons may also exist. The finding advances the fundamental understanding of light and how it behaves.

Super-bright stellar explosion is likely a dying star giving birth to a black hole or neutron star Posted: 13 Dec 2021 08:16 AM PST A powerful cosmic burst dubbed AT2018cow, or 'the Cow,' was much faster and brighter than any stellar explosion astronomers had seen. They have now determined it was likely a product of a dying star that, in collapsing, gave birth to a compact object in the form of a black hole or neutron star.

Fecal transplant discovery could improve care for dangerous infections Posted: 13 Dec 2021 06:50 AM PST New research sheds light on why a fecal transplant can benefit patients with dangerous recurrent C. difficile infections -- and suggests a way to improve patient outcomes.

From flashing fireflies to cheering crowds -- Physicists unlock secret to synchronization Posted: 13 Dec 2021 06:48 AM PST Physicists have unlocked the secret that explains how large groups of individual 'oscillators' -- from flashing fireflies to cheering crowds, and from ticking clocks to clicking metronomes -- tend to synchronize when in each other's company. This new discovery has a suite of potential applications, including developing new types of computer technology that uses light signals to process information.

Microfountain pen draws minute patterns for live cells, circuits Posted: 07 Dec 2021 12:26 PM PST Researchers outline the development of a flexible and easy-to-use micropen setup, capable of directly writing on surfaces to a microprecise level. The micropen is held over an ink reservoir as ink is drawn into the pen nozzle. Once filled, the nozzle is positioned for writing onto a tabletop surface.

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