ScienceDaily: Strange Science News

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• Arecibo observatory scientists help unravel surprise asteroid mystery
• Giant bacteria found in Guadeloupe mangroves challenge traditional concepts
• Humans can't, but turtles can: Reduce weakening and deterioration with age
• Secrets of aging revealed in largest study on longevity, aging in reptiles and amphibians
• Self-assembled, interlocked threads: Spinning yarn with no machine needed
• Ultra-thin film creates vivid 3D images with large field of view
• Artificial photosynthesis can produce food without sunshine
• Are babies the key to the next generation of artificial intelligence?
• Stretching of the continents drove ancient global warming event, say scientists
• It sucked to be the prey of ancient cephalopods
• What did Megalodon eat? Anything it wanted -- including other predators.
• When the world of nanotechnology and microbreweries meet
• Research with a bite
• Optical microphone sees sound like never before
• The secret lives of mites in the skin of our faces
• Custom suits for worms that really deliver
• Tiny fish-shaped robot 'swims' around picking up microplastics
• Sniffing out your identity with breath biometrics
• Technology helps self-driving cars learn from own 'memories'

Arecibo observatory scientists help unravel surprise asteroid mystery Posted: 23 Jun 2022 03:42 PM PDT Specifications from an asteroid that made headline news in 2019 because it appeared to come out of nowhere and was traveling fast has just been published.

Giant bacteria found in Guadeloupe mangroves challenge traditional concepts Posted: 23 Jun 2022 11:05 AM PDT Researchers describe the morphological and genomic features of a ''macro' microbe' -- a giant filamentous bacterium composed of a single cell discovered in the mangroves of Guadeloupe. Using various microscopy techniques, the team also observed novel, membrane-bound compartments that contain DNA clusters dubbed 'pepins.'

Humans can't, but turtles can: Reduce weakening and deterioration with age Posted: 23 Jun 2022 11:05 AM PDT Evolutionary theories of ageing predict that all living organisms weaken and deteriorate with age (a process known as senescence) -- and eventually die. Now, researchers show that certain animal species, such as turtles (including tortoises) may exhibit slower or even absent senescence when their living conditions improve.

Secrets of aging revealed in largest study on longevity, aging in reptiles and amphibians Posted: 23 Jun 2022 11:05 AM PDT An international team of 114 scientists reports the most comprehensive study of aging and longevity to date of reptiles and amphibians worldwide. Among their many findings, they document for the first time that turtles, crocodilians and salamanders have particularly low aging rates and extended lifespans for their sizes. The team also finds that protective phenotypes, such as the hard shells of most turtle species, contribute to slower aging, and in some cases even 'negligible aging' -- or lack of biological aging.

Self-assembled, interlocked threads: Spinning yarn with no machine needed Posted: 23 Jun 2022 11:05 AM PDT Researchers unexpectedly discovered that the ability for spirals to form in nature also happens in some non-biological systems that convert chemical energy into mechanical action -- allowing two-dimensional polymer sheets to rise and rotate in spiral helices without the application of external power. This self-assembly into coherent three-dimensional structures represents the group's latest contribution in the field of soft robotics and chemo-mechanical systems.

Ultra-thin film creates vivid 3D images with large field of view Posted: 23 Jun 2022 11:05 AM PDT Researchers have developed a new ultra-thin film that can create detailed 3D images viewable under normal illumination without any special reading devices. The images appear to float on top of the film and can be clearly viewed from all angles. The new imaging film uses a technology known as light-field imaging, which captures the direction and intensity of all rays of light within a scene to create a 3D image. With additional development, the new glass-free approach could be used as a visual security feature or incorporated into virtual or augmented reality devices.

Artificial photosynthesis can produce food without sunshine Posted: 23 Jun 2022 09:26 AM PDT Scientists have found a way to bypass the need for biological photosynthesis altogether and create food independent of sunlight by using artificial photosynthesis. The technology uses a two-step electrocatalytic process to convert carbon dioxide, electricity, and water into acetate. Food-producing organisms then consume acetate in the dark to grow. The hybrid organic-inorganic system could increase the conversion efficiency of sunlight into food, up to 18 times more efficient for some foods.

Are babies the key to the next generation of artificial intelligence? Posted: 23 Jun 2022 08:09 AM PDT Babies can help unlock the next generation of artificial intelligence (AI), according to neuroscientists who have just published new guiding principles for improving AI. The research examines the neuroscience and psychology of infant learning and distills three principles to guide the next generation of AI, which will help overcome the most pressing limitations of machine learning.

Stretching of the continents drove ancient global warming event, say scientists Posted: 23 Jun 2022 08:09 AM PDT Scientists have discovered that stretching of the continents is likely to have caused one of the most extreme and abrupt episodes of global warming in Earth history.

It sucked to be the prey of ancient cephalopods Posted: 23 Jun 2022 08:09 AM PDT The Jurassic cephalopod Vampyronassa rhodanica, thought to be the oldest known ancestor of the modern-day vampire squid (Vampyroteuthis infernalis), was likely an active hunter -- a mode of life that is in contrast with its opportunistic descendant. Scientists came to this conclusion after analyzing microtomographic data of this rare fossil.

What did Megalodon eat? Anything it wanted -- including other predators. Posted: 22 Jun 2022 01:45 PM PDT Megalodon sharks, which went extinct about 3 million years ago, were three times longer than modern great white sharks and were apex predators at highest trophic level ever measured. Researchers used the traces of nitrogen trapped in shark tooth enamel to calculate the trophic levels of the prehistoric predators.

When the world of nanotechnology and microbreweries meet Posted: 22 Jun 2022 08:31 AM PDT Researchers have shown that microbrewery waste can be used as a carbon source to synthesize quantum dots.

Research with a bite Posted: 22 Jun 2022 08:31 AM PDT How hard can insects bite? Having a strong chewing apparatus makes it easier to crush harder food and to succeed in fights with enemies. Biologists now present a mobile system (forceX) for measuring the bite forces of small animals, along with the software forceR to evaluate the data. This allows to understand how bite forces, for example of insects, evolved.

Optical microphone sees sound like never before Posted: 22 Jun 2022 07:14 AM PDT A camera system can see sound vibrations with such precision and detail that it can reconstruct the music of a single instrument in a band or orchestra. Even the most high-powered and directed microphones can't eliminate nearby sounds, ambient noise and the effect of acoustics when they capture audio. The novel system uses two cameras and a laser to sense high-speed, low-amplitude surface vibrations. These vibrations can be used to reconstruct sound, capturing isolated audio without inference or a microphone. 'We've invented a new way to see sound,' said Mark Sheinin, a post-doctoral research associate at the Illumination and Imaging Laboratory (ILIM) in the RI.

The secret lives of mites in the skin of our faces Posted: 22 Jun 2022 07:14 AM PDT A full DNA analysis of mites that live in the hair follicles of all humans reveals explanations for their bizarre mating habits, body features and evolutionary future. Inbreeding and isolation means they have shed genes and cells and are moving closer to a permanent existence with us.

Custom suits for worms that really deliver Posted: 22 Jun 2022 07:13 AM PDT Researchers have found that nematodes can be coated with a protective hydrogel sheath that can be engineered to carry functional cargo. This system could potentially be developed to deliver anti-cancer drugs to tumors using worms with a natural predilection for human cancer cells.

Tiny fish-shaped robot 'swims' around picking up microplastics Posted: 22 Jun 2022 07:13 AM PDT Microplastics are found nearly everywhere on Earth and can be harmful to animals if they're ingested. But it's hard to remove such tiny particles from the environment, especially once they settle into nooks and crannies at the bottom of waterways. Now, researchers have created a light-activated fish robot that 'swims' around quickly, picking up and removing microplastics from the environment.

Sniffing out your identity with breath biometrics Posted: 22 Jun 2022 07:13 AM PDT Researchers have developed an artificial 'nose' that can identify individuals from their breath. Built with a 16-channel sensor array that can detect different compounds found in a person's breath, the olfactory sensor system has the potential to become another option in the biometric security toolkit. Combined with machine learning, the 'artificial nose' was able to authenticate up to 20 individuals with an average accuracy of more than 97%.

Technology helps self-driving cars learn from own 'memories' Posted: 22 Jun 2022 07:13 AM PDT Researchers have developed a way to help autonomous vehicles create 'memories' of previous experiences and use them in future navigation, especially during adverse weather conditions when the car cannot safely rely on its sensors.

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