ScienceDaily: Strange Science News

---

• Glimpse into the invisible world of electric asteroids
• 'Cosmic own goal' another clue in hunt for dark matter
• Did Neanderthals eat their vegetables? First direct evidence of plants in Neanderthal diet
• Neural sweet talk: Taste metaphors emotionally engage the brain
• Whale of a target: Harpooning space debris
• Collaborative learning -- for robots: New algorithm
• New device allows brain to bypass spinal cord, move paralyzed limbs
• First year university students struggle to remember basic concepts learned the year before
• Insects as the food of the future: Locusts, grasshoppers, crickets, silk moth pupae, and beetle and moth larvae
• Young researcher discovers source of disco clams' light show
• Hormones affect voting behavior, researchers find
• New 'flight simulator' technology gives neurosurgeons peek inside brain before surgery
• Robot can be programmed by casually talking to it

Glimpse into the invisible world of electric asteroids Posted: 25 Jun 2014 05:19 PM PDT Space may appear empty -- a soundless vacuum, but it's not an absolute void. It flows with electric activity that is not visible to our eyes. NASA is developing plans to send humans to an asteroid, and wants to know more about the electrical environment explorers will encounter there.

'Cosmic own goal' another clue in hunt for dark matter Posted: 25 Jun 2014 05:19 PM PDT The hunt for dark matter has taken another step forward thanks to new supercomputer simulations showing the evolution of our 'local Universe' from the Big Bang to the present day. Physicists say their simulations could improve understanding of dark matter, a mysterious substance believed to make up 85 per cent of the mass of the Universe.

Did Neanderthals eat their vegetables? First direct evidence of plants in Neanderthal diet Posted: 25 Jun 2014 05:19 PM PDT Scientists have identified human fecal remains from El Salt, a known site of Neanderthal occupation in southern Spain that dates back 50,000 years. The researchers analyzed each sample for metabolized versions of animal-derived cholesterol, as well as phytosterol, a cholesterol-like compound found in plants. While all samples contained signs of meat consumption, two samples showed traces of plants -- the first direct evidence that Neanderthals may have enjoyed an omnivorous diet.

Neural sweet talk: Taste metaphors emotionally engage the brain Posted: 25 Jun 2014 11:12 AM PDT Researchers have found that taste-related metaphors such as 'sweet' actually engage the emotional centers of the brain more than literal words such as 'kind' that have the same meaning. If metaphors in general elicit a similar emotional response, that could mean that figurative language presents a 'rhetorical advantage' when communicating with others.

Whale of a target: Harpooning space debris Posted: 25 Jun 2014 10:28 AM PDT Faced with the challenge of capturing tumbling satellites to clear key orbits, the European Space Agency is considering turning to an ancient terrestrial technology: the harpoon.

Collaborative learning -- for robots: New algorithm Posted: 25 Jun 2014 10:24 AM PDT Machine learning, in which computers learn new skills by looking for patterns in training data, is the basis of most recent advances in artificial intelligence, from voice-recognition systems to self-parking cars. It's also the technique that autonomous robots typically use to build models of their environments. A new algorithm lets independent agents collectively produce a machine-learning model without aggregating data.

New device allows brain to bypass spinal cord, move paralyzed limbs Posted: 25 Jun 2014 10:01 AM PDT For the first time ever, a paralyzed man can move his fingers and hand with his own thoughts thanks to a new device. A 23-year-old quadriplegic is the first patient to use Neurobridge, an electronic neural bypass for spinal cord injuries that reconnects the brain directly to muscles, allowing voluntary and functional control of a paralyzed limb.

First year university students struggle to remember basic concepts learned the year before Posted: 25 Jun 2014 07:16 AM PDT University freshers struggle to remember basic concepts from their A-level studies according to new U.K. research. A new report shows that even grade-A students could only remember 40 percent of their A-Level syllabus by the first week of term at university.

Insects as the food of the future: Locusts, grasshoppers, crickets, silk moth pupae, and beetle and moth larvae Posted: 25 Jun 2014 07:12 AM PDT As the human population grows, it is critical that the drain on the planet's resources be lessened by decreasing consumption of animal protein. Insects are a promising, economically viable alternative source of high quality protein that leave a substantially smaller environmental footprint.

Young researcher discovers source of disco clams' light show Posted: 24 Jun 2014 07:00 PM PDT The disco clam was named for the rhythmic, pulsing light that ripples along the lips of its mantle. A graduate student was fascinated the first time she saw the clam, and set out to investigate the reflective material on its lips and why it flashes. She reports that the mirror is actually a highly reflective, densely packed layer of silica spheres a mere 340 nanometers across never before seen in animals.

Hormones affect voting behavior, researchers find Posted: 24 Jun 2014 02:21 PM PDT Psychology and political science professors finds people with high levels of a stress hormone are less likely to vote. As witnessed by recent voter turnout in primary elections, participation in U.S. national elections is low, relative to other western democracies. In fact, voter turnout in biennial national elections ranges includes only 40 to 60 percent of eligible voters.

New 'flight simulator' technology gives neurosurgeons peek inside brain before surgery Posted: 23 Jun 2014 11:17 AM PDT A novel technology that serves as a "flight simulator" for neurosurgeons is being used before surgery, allowing the physicians to rehearse complicated brain surgeries before making an actual incision on a patient. The new simulator creates an individualized walkthrough based on 3D imaging taken from the patient's CT and MRI scans. Surgeons then plan and rehearse the surgeries using the unique software, which combines life-like tissue reaction with accurate modeling of surgical tools and clamps, to enable them to navigate multiple-angled models of a patient's brain and vasculature.

Robot can be programmed by casually talking to it Posted: 23 Jun 2014 06:18 AM PDT A professor of computer science is teaching robots to understand instructions in natural language from various speakers, account for missing information, and adapt to the environment at hand.

You are subscribed to email updates from Strange & Offbeat News -- ScienceDaily To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610