ScienceDaily: Strange Science News

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• Puffy planets lose atmospheres, become super-Earths
• Humans and other primates have evolved less sensitive noses
• Are scientists being fooled by bacteria?
• The brain’s secret to life-long learning can now come as hardware for artificial intelligence
• Warps drive disruptions in planet formation in young planetary systems
• Juno and Hubble data reveal electromagnetic 'tug-of-war' lights up Jupiter’s upper atmosphere
• People prefer interacting with female robots in hotels, study finds
• Astronomers offer theory about mysterious location of massive stars
• Anxiety and neuroticism linked to ability to experience ASMR
• Scientists develop insect-sized flying robots with flapping wings
• Shocked zircon find a 'one-off gift' from Mars
• Scientists engineer new material that can absorb and release enormous amounts of energy
• Nearly 1,000 mysterious strands revealed in Milky Way’s center
• Microbes making tree methane in ghost forests are in the soils
• Harnessing strongest magnetic fields in universe could reveal elusive particle
• Shadow of cosmic water cloud reveals the temperature of the young universe
• Cooling matter from a distance
• Did comet's fiery destruction lead to downfall of ancient Hopewell?

Puffy planets lose atmospheres, become super-Earths Posted: 03 Feb 2022 01:12 PM PST Astronomers have identified two different cases of 'mini-Neptune' planets that are losing their puffy atmospheres and likely transforming into super-Earths.

Humans and other primates have evolved less sensitive noses Posted: 03 Feb 2022 01:11 PM PST Variations in the genes for the newly discovered scent receptors for musk and underarm odor add to a growing body of research suggesting that humans' sense of smell is gradually becoming less sensitive.

Are scientists being fooled by bacteria? Posted: 03 Feb 2022 01:05 PM PST Researchers created a tailor-made gene sequencing method to accurately measure a biochemical, DNA tagging system, which switches genes on or off. This helped them study the system in any cell type, including human, plant and bacterial cells. While the results supported the idea that this system may occur naturally in non-bacterial cells, the levels were much lower than some previous studies reported and were easily skewed by bacterial contamination or current experimental methods. Experiments on human brain cancer cells produced similar results.

The brain’s secret to life-long learning can now come as hardware for artificial intelligence Posted: 03 Feb 2022 01:05 PM PST As companies use more and more data to improve how AI recognizes images, learns languages and carries out other complex tasks, a recent article shows a way that computer chips could dynamically rewire themselves to take in new data like the brain does, helping AI to keep learning over time.

Warps drive disruptions in planet formation in young planetary systems Posted: 03 Feb 2022 09:29 AM PST A new study demonstrates the impact of passing stars, misaligned binary stars and passing gas clouds on the formation of planets in early star systems.

Juno and Hubble data reveal electromagnetic 'tug-of-war' lights up Jupiter’s upper atmosphere Posted: 03 Feb 2022 05:36 AM PST New space research has revealed a complex 'tug-of-war' lights up aurorae in Jupiter's upper atmosphere. The study describes the delicate current cycle driven by Jupiter's rapid rotation and the release of sulphur and oxygen from volcanoes on its moon, Io.

People prefer interacting with female robots in hotels, study finds Posted: 03 Feb 2022 05:35 AM PST People are more comfortable talking to female rather than male robots working in service roles in hotels, according to new research. The study, which surveyed about 170 people on hypothetical service robot scenarios, also found that the preference was stronger when the robots were described as having more human features.

Astronomers offer theory about mysterious location of massive stars Posted: 02 Feb 2022 12:38 PM PST Astronomers have found an explanation for the strange occurrence of massive stars located far from their birthplace in the disk of our Milky Way Galaxy.

Anxiety and neuroticism linked to ability to experience ASMR Posted: 02 Feb 2022 11:30 AM PST A study has uncovered new evidence linking higher levels of neuroticism and anxiety with the ability to experience a deeply relaxing sensation known as the Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR).

Scientists develop insect-sized flying robots with flapping wings Posted: 02 Feb 2022 11:30 AM PST A new drive system for flapping wing autonomous robots has been developed, using a new method of electromechanical zipping that does away with the need for conventional motors and gears.

Shocked zircon find a 'one-off gift' from Mars Posted: 02 Feb 2022 11:30 AM PST Researchers studying a Martian meteorite have found the first evidence of high-intensity damage caused by asteroid impact, in findings that have implications for understanding when conditions suitable for life may have existed on early Mars.

Scientists engineer new material that can absorb and release enormous amounts of energy Posted: 02 Feb 2022 10:47 AM PST A team of researchers recently announced that they had engineered a new rubber-like solid substance that has surprising qualities. It can absorb and release very large quantities of energy. And it is programmable. Taken together, this new material holds great promise for a very wide array of applications, from enabling robots to have more power without using additional energy, to new helmets and protective materials that can dissipate energy much more quickly.

Nearly 1,000 mysterious strands revealed in Milky Way’s center Posted: 02 Feb 2022 10:46 AM PST More than 35 years ago, a Northwestern professor discovered mysterious, gigantic magnetic filaments in the Milky Way galaxy's turbulent center. Now, armed with more advanced technology, he and his collaborators have uncovered nearly 1,000 of the strange structures.

Microbes making tree methane in ghost forests are in the soils Posted: 02 Feb 2022 09:43 AM PST Researchers wanted to know if different communities of microbes are making methane gas inside the soils or in the dead trees, which are also known as snags. They found that although the methane gas is generated in the soils, the trees act like filtering straws as the gas rises through the wood.

Harnessing strongest magnetic fields in universe could reveal elusive particle Posted: 02 Feb 2022 09:43 AM PST Finding an elusive elementary particle is more viable than ever after an international team of scientists conducted the first experiment to explore magnetic monopoles using the Large Hadron Collider.

Shadow of cosmic water cloud reveals the temperature of the young universe Posted: 02 Feb 2022 08:18 AM PST Astronomers have found a new and original method for measuring the cosmic microwave background's temperature when the Universe was still in its infancy. They confirm in their new study the early cooling of our Universe shortly after the Big Bang and open up new perspectives on the elusive dark energy.

Cooling matter from a distance Posted: 02 Feb 2022 08:18 AM PST Researchers have succeeded in forming a control loop consisting of two quantum systems separated by a distance of one meter. Within this loop, one quantum system -- a vibrating membrane -- is cooled by the other -- a cloud of atoms, and the two systems are coupled to one another by laser light. Interfaces such as this allow different kinds of quantum systems to interact with one another even over relatively large distances and will play a key role in quantum technologies of the future.

Did comet's fiery destruction lead to downfall of ancient Hopewell? Posted: 01 Feb 2022 11:39 AM PST The rapid decline of the Hopewell culture about 1,500 years ago might be explained by falling debris from a near-Earth comet that created a devastating explosion over North America, laying waste to forests and Native American villages alike. Researchers found evidence of a cosmic airburst at 11 Hopewell archaeological sites in three states stretching across the Ohio River Valley.

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