ScienceDaily: Strange Science News

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• Do women talk more than men? It's all about context
• For bees and flowers, tongue size matters
• Mutation stops worms from getting drunk
• Do daughters really cause divorce? Maybe not
• Mormon pioneer mortality rate calculated at 3.5 percent
• Protein's 'hands' enable bacteria to establish infection, research finds
• Does cat poop parasite play a role in curing cancer?
• Little too late: Pathogenic bacterium in 700-year-old skeleton identified
• Ötzi's non-human DNA: Opportunistic pathogen discovered in Iceman tissue biopsy
• Smallest Swiss cross: Made of 20 single atoms

Do women talk more than men? It's all about context Posted: 15 Jul 2014 06:43 PM PDT A new study has been able to tease out a more accurate picture of the talkative-woman stereotype we're so familiar with -- and they found that context plays a large role. Using so-​​called "sociometers" -- wearable devices roughly the size of smart­phones that col­lect real-​​time data about the user's social interactions -- the research team was able to tease out a more accu­rate pic­ture of the stereo­type.

For bees and flowers, tongue size matters Posted: 15 Jul 2014 06:43 PM PDT When it comes to bee tongues, length is proportional to the size of the bee, but heritage sets the proportion. Estimating this hard to measure trait helps scientists understand bee species' resiliency to change.

Mutation stops worms from getting drunk Posted: 15 Jul 2014 06:43 PM PDT Neuroscientists have generated mutant worms that do not get intoxicated by alcohol, a result that could lead to new drugs to treat the symptoms of people going through alcohol withdrawal. The scientists accomplished this feat by inserting a modified human alcohol target into the worms.

Do daughters really cause divorce? Maybe not Posted: 15 Jul 2014 01:59 PM PDT Couples with daughters are somewhat more likely to divorce than couples with sons. But do daughters really cause divorce, as some scholars have claimed? Maybe not. New research suggests a different potential explanation: the female survival advantage. Girls may be hardier than boys, even in the womb. And because they are more able to survive stressful pregnancies, more girl babies may be born into troubled marriages that are headed for divorce.

Mormon pioneer mortality rate calculated at 3.5 percent Posted: 15 Jul 2014 11:28 AM PDT A team of statisticians and a historian have calculated the mortality rate of Mormon pioneers. The pioneer mortality rate of 3.5 percent was only slighly higher than national averages at the time. The data suggest the emigration was a success despite perceptions of widespread tragedy. This may come as a surprise to modern Mormon youth who've participated in handcart treks.

Protein's 'hands' enable bacteria to establish infection, research finds Posted: 15 Jul 2014 11:27 AM PDT Biochemists have discovered how protein's 'hands' enable bacteria to establish infection. "These structures are like small hands on the surface of bacterial cells," said the study's principal investigator. "They make the bacteria capable of recognizing something and grabbing it from the environment. It's amazing that such a tiny molecule can do that." The research may help scientists develop targeted treatment and intervention methods.

Does cat poop parasite play a role in curing cancer? Posted: 15 Jul 2014 06:55 AM PDT From the litter box to the laboratory, a microscopic organism native to cats shows promise in treating cancer. Researchers' mutated strain of T. gondii has been found to reprogram the natural power of the immune system to kill cells. Found worldwide, T. gondii affects about one-third of the world's population, 60 million of which are Americans.

Little too late: Pathogenic bacterium in 700-year-old skeleton identified Posted: 15 Jul 2014 05:51 AM PDT Researchers have recovered a genome of the bacterium Brucella melitensis from a 700-year-old skeleton found in the ruins of a Medieval Italian village. Researchers used a technique called shotgun metagenomics to sequence DNA from a calcified nodule from the pelvic region of a middle-aged male skeleton excavated from the settlement of Geridu in Sardinia, an island off the coast of Italy. Geridu is thought to have been abandoned in the late 14th century.

Ötzi's non-human DNA: Opportunistic pathogen discovered in Iceman tissue biopsy Posted: 15 Jul 2014 05:50 AM PDT Ötzi's human genome was decoded from a hip bone sample taken from the 5,300 year old mummy. However the tiny sample weighing no more than 0.1 g provides so much more information. A team of scientists analyzed the non-human DNA in the sample. They found evidence for the presence of Treponema denticola, an opportunistic pathogen involved in the development of periodontal disease.

Smallest Swiss cross: Made of 20 single atoms Posted: 15 Jul 2014 05:50 AM PDT The manipulation of atoms has reached a new level: Physicists were able to place 20 single atoms on a fully insulated surface at room temperature to form the smallest "Swiss cross", thus taking a big step towards next generation atomic-scale storage devices.

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