ScienceDaily: Strange Science News

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• Extinct giant sea scorpion gets an eye exam, with surprising results
• Hi-ho! Astronomers discover seven dwarf galaxies with new telescope
• Hunger for vegetable oil means trouble for Africa's great apes
• Radio-burst discovery deepens astrophysics mystery
• Decreasing font size enhances reading comprehension among children who have already developed proficient reading skills
• Food imagery ideal for teaching doctors -- but they must have strong stomachs
• Climate change may bring more kidney stones
• Men's hot flashes: Hypnotic relaxation therapy may ease the discomfort that guys don't talk about

Extinct giant sea scorpion gets an eye exam, with surprising results Posted: 10 Jul 2014 03:36 PM PDT Poor peepers are a problem, even if you are a big, bad sea scorpion. One minute, you're an imperious predator, scouring the shallow waters for any prey in sight. The next, thanks to a post-extinction eye exam, you're reduced to trolling for weaker, soft-bodied animals you stumble upon at night.

Hi-ho! Astronomers discover seven dwarf galaxies with new telescope Posted: 10 Jul 2014 03:36 PM PDT Meet the seven new dwarf galaxies. Astronomers, using a new type of telescope made by stitching together telephoto lenses, recently discovered seven celestial surprises while probing a nearby spiral galaxy. The previously unseen galaxies may yield important insights into dark matter and galaxy evolution, while possibly signaling the discovery of a new class of objects in space.

Hunger for vegetable oil means trouble for Africa's great apes Posted: 10 Jul 2014 10:08 AM PDT The vegetable oil found in your popcorn or soap might not be ape friendly, and the situation appears likely to get even worse, according to an analysis. The growing demand for vegetable oil has already led to the conversion of Southeast Asian forest into oil palm plantations, bringing trouble for orangutans in particular. If guidelines are not put in place very soon, researchers say the spread of those large-scale industrial plantations from Asia into Africa will be bad news for great apes there as well.

Radio-burst discovery deepens astrophysics mystery Posted: 10 Jul 2014 08:15 AM PDT The discovery of a split-second burst of radio waves by scientists using the Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico provides important new evidence of mysterious pulses that appear to come from deep in outer space. Exactly what may be causing such radio bursts represents a major new enigma for astrophysicists.

Decreasing font size enhances reading comprehension among children who have already developed proficient reading skills Posted: 10 Jul 2014 06:43 AM PDT Decreasing the font size helps to improve reading comprehension among fifth graders who have mastered the technical skills of reading, a new study has demonstrated. "This study demonstrates the difference between children at different stages of reading proficiency, and it is important to understand that difficulty impairs comprehension at one stage, while at another it actually facilitates comprehension. After mastering reading skills, an effective way to improve comprehension could be to decrease the text's font size," said an author.

Food imagery ideal for teaching doctors -- but they must have strong stomachs Posted: 10 Jul 2014 05:14 AM PDT From 'beer belly' to 'port wine stain,' food imagery has a long history of being used in medicine to identify the diagnostic features of a wide range of conditions and ailments, says a pathologist. In a gastronomic tour of some of the many food descriptors used in medicine, the author highlights imagery such as 'anchovy sauce' to describe the pus from a liver abscess, through 'sago spleen' to indicate protein (amyloid) deposits, to 'oat cell carcinoma,' which describes the appearance of a highly aggressive form of lung cancer.

Climate change may bring more kidney stones Posted: 10 Jul 2014 05:10 AM PDT As daily temperatures increase, so does the number of patients seeking treatment for kidney stones. In a study that may both reflect and foretell a warming planet's impact on human health, a research team found a link between hot days and kidney stones in 60,000 patients in several U.S. cities with varying climates.

Men's hot flashes: Hypnotic relaxation therapy may ease the discomfort that guys don't talk about Posted: 10 Jul 2014 05:10 AM PDT Men who experience hot flashes are unlikely to talk much about it, but they may find relief from their silent suffering if they are willing to try an unusual treatment, according to new research. After seven weeks of hypnotic relaxation therapy, a 69-year-old man who had uncontrolled hot flashes following prostate cancer surgery showed a drastic decrease not only in hot flashes but also an impressive improvement in sleep quality, according to the study.

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