ScienceDaily: Quirky - April 30, 2025
Top quirky research news
What happens in the brain when your mind blanks
Mind blanking is a common experience with a wide variety of definitions ranging from feeling 'drowsy' to 'a complete absence of conscious awareness.' Neuroscientists and philosophers compile what we know about mind blanking, including insights from their own work observing people's brain activity.
A vast molecular cloud, long invisible, is discovered near solar system
Astrophysicists have discovered a potentially star-forming cloud that is one of the largest single structures in the sky and among the closest to the sun and Earth ever to be detected. The scientists have named the molecular hydrogen cloud 'Eos,' after the Greek goddess of mythology who is the personification of dawn.
Elephant instead of wild boar? What could have been in Europe
Even under today's climatic conditions, the long-extinct straight-tusked elephant could still live in Europe. This is the conclusion of a recent study. For this finding, the research group combined fossil finds with reconstructions of past climates.
Family first: Scientists reveal long-tailed tits' remarkable family bonds
Forget fleeting friendships the social secrets of the long-tailed tit has revealed an extraordinary level of family commitment even during migratory journeys. Birds that babysit: scientists reveal long-tailed tits' remarkable family bonds.
High-wire act: Soft robot can carry cargo up and down steep aerial wires
Researchers have created a light-powered soft robot that can carry loads through the air along established tracks, similar to cable cars or aerial trams. The soft robot operates autonomously, can climb slopes at angles of up to 80 degrees, and can carry loads up to 12 times its weight.
Geoengineering technique could cool planet using existing aircraft
A technique to cool the planet, in which particles are added to the atmosphere to reflect sunlight, would not require developing special aircraft but could be achieved using existing large planes, according to a new modelling study.
Scientists observe how blobs form crystals and discover a new crystal type
Crystals -- from sugar and table salt to snowflakes and diamonds -- don't always grow in a straightforward way. Researchers have now captured this journey from amorphous blob to orderly structures. In exploring how crystals form, the researchers also came across an unusual, rod-shaped crystal that hadn't been identified before, naming it 'Zangenite' for the graduate student who discovered it.
New look at galactic region surrounding our solar system: Lyman-alpha emissions
The NASA New Horizons spacecraft's extensive observations of Lyman-alpha emissions have resulted in the first-ever map from the galaxy at this important ultraviolet wavelength, providing a new look at the galactic region surrounding our solar system.
New research shatters long-held beliefs about asteroid Vesta
For decades, scientists believed Vesta, one of the largest objects in our solar system's asteroid belt, wasn't just an asteroid and eventually concluded it was more like a planet with a crust, mantle and core. Now, new research flips this notion on its head. Astronomers reveals Vesta doesn't have a core. These findings startled researchers who, until that point, assumed Vesta was a protoplanet that never grew to a full planet.
Anatomy of a 'zombie' volcano: Investigating the cause of unrest inside Uturuncu
Scientists have collaborated to analyze the inner workings of Bolivia's 'zombie' volcano, Uturuncu. By combining seismology, physics models and analysis of rock composition, researchers identify the causes of Uturuncu's unrest, alleviating fears of an imminent eruption.
Evolution of pugs and Persians converges on cuteness
Through intensive breeding, humans have pushed breeds such as pug dogs and Persian cats to evolve with very similar skulls and 'smushed' faces, so they're more similar to each other than they are to other dogs or cats.
Physicists uncover hidden order in the quantum world through deconfined quantum critical points
A recent study has unraveled some of the secrets concealed within the entangled web of quantum systems.
Study on the reproducibility of behavioral experiments with insects now published
A recent study provides evidence that some results of behavioral experiments with insects cannot be fully reproduced. So far, possible reproducibility problems have been little discussed in this context.
Astronomers find Earth-like exoplanets common across the cosmos
Astronomers have discovered that super-Earth exoplanets are more common across the universe than previously thought. While it can be relatively easy to locate worlds that orbit close to their star, planets with wider paths can be difficult to detect. Still, researchers estimated that for every three stars, there should be at least one super-Earth present with a Jupiter-like orbital period, suggesting these massive worlds are extremely prevalent across the universe.
Nanophotonic platform boosts efficiency of nonlinear-optical quantum teleportation
Researchers have long recognized that quantum communication systems would transmit quantum information more faithfully and be impervious to certain forms of error if nonlinear optical processes were used. However, past efforts at incorporating such processes could not operate with the extremely low light levels required for quantum communication.
Scientists use James Webb Space Telescope to better understand solar system's origins
Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), scientists analyzed far-away bodies -- known as Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs) -- and found varying traces of methanol. The discoveries are helping them better classify different TNOs and understand the complex chemical reactions in space that may relate to the formation of our solar system and the origin of life.
Making AI-generated code more accurate in any language
Researchers developed a more efficient way to control the outputs of a large language model, guiding it to generate text that adheres to a certain structure, like a programming language, and remains error free.
Evidence blasted into space: Mystery why some meteorites look less shocked solved
Carbon-containing meteorites look like they had less severe impacts than those without carbon because the evidence was blasted into space by gases produced during the impact. The discovery not only solves a 30-year-old mystery, but also provides guidelines for a future sampling mission to Ceres.
Flying robots unlock new horizons in construction
An international team has explored how in future aerial robots could process construction materials precisely in the air -- an approach with great potential for difficult-to-access locations or work at great heights. The flying robots are not intended to replace existing systems on the ground, but rather to complement them in a targeted manner for repairs or in disaster areas, for instance.
Tiny new species of snail named after Picasso
An international team of malacologists discovered a new snail species, Anauchen picasso, in Southeast Asia that exhibits a highly complex and rectangularly angled shell shape, resembling a cubist-style painting. A. picasso is among 46 new species of microsnails discovered in Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Female bonobos keep males in check -- not with strength, but with solidarity
Female bonobos team up to suppress male aggression against them -- the first evidence of animals deploying this strategy. In 85% of observed coalitions, females collectively targeted males, forcing them into submission and shaping the group's dominance hierarchy. This is the first study to test drivers of female dominance in wild bonobos. The study examined 30 years of demographic and behavioral data across six wild bonobo communities. The study suggests that power isn't solely determined by physical strength. It can be driven by social intelligence and coalition-building by females.
The oldest ant ever discovered found fossilized in Brazil
A 113-million-year-old hell ant that once lived in northeastern Brazil is now the oldest ant specimen known to science, finds a new report. The hell ant, which was preserved in limestone, is a member of Haidomyrmecinae -- an extinct subfamily that only lived during the Cretaceous period. These ants had highly specialized, scythe-like jaws that they likely used to pin or impale prey.
Strong shaking at fault stepover has rocks--briefly--defying gravity
When a seismologist visited the site of the 2019 Ridgecrest earthquakes two days after the event, he noticed something strange. Pebble- to boulder-sized rocks clearly had been moved by the earthquakes -- but there were no signs of dragging or shearing on the desert ground.
Scientists trick the eye into seeing new color 'olo'
Scientists have created a new platform called 'Oz' that uses laser light to control up to 1,000 photoreceptors in the eye at once. Using Oz, the researchers showed people images, videos and a new, ultra-saturated shade of green that they have named 'olo.' The platform could be used to probe the nature of color vision and provide new insight into human sight and vision loss.
New and surprising traction trait in sculpin fish
Researchers discovered tiny features on sculpins' fins which may enable them to cling firmly in harsh underwater environments.
Skeletal evidence of Roman gladiator bitten by lion in combat
Bite marks found on a skeleton discovered in a Roman cemetery in York have revealed the first archaeological evidence of gladiatorial combat between a human and a lion.
Engineering a robot that can jump 10 feet high -- without legs
Inspired by the movements of a tiny parasitic worm, engineers have created a 5-inch soft robot that can jump as high as a basketball hoop. Their device, a silicone rod with a carbon-fiber spine, can leap 10 feet high even though it doesn't have legs. The researchers made it after watching high-speed video of nematodes pinching themselves into odd shapes to fling themselves forward and backward.
'Periodic table of machine learning' could fuel AI discovery
After uncovering a unifying algorithm that links more than 20 common machine-learning approaches, researchers organized them into a 'periodic table of machine learning' that can help scientists combine elements of different methods to improve algorithms or create new ones.
Generative AI masters the art of scent creation
Addressing the challenges of fragrance design, researchers have developed an AI model that can automate the creation of new fragrances based on user-defined scent descriptors. The model uses mass spectrometry profiles of essential oils and corresponding odor descriptors to generate essential oil blends for new scents. This breakthrough is a game-changer for the fragrance industry, moving beyond trial-and-error, enabling rapid and scalable fragrance production.
Innovative approaches advance search for ice on the moon
Scientists and space explorers have been on the hunt to determine where and how much ice is present on the Moon. Water ice would be an important resource at a future lunar base, as it could be used to support humans or be broken down to hydrogen and oxygen, key components of rocket fuel. Researchers are now using two innovative approaches to advance the search for ice on the Moon.
Current AI risks more alarming than apocalyptic future scenarios
Most people generally are more concerned about the immediate risks of artificial intelligence than they are about a theoretical future in which AI threatens humanity. A new study reveals that respondents draw clear distinctions between abstract scenarios and specific tangible problems and particularly take the latter very seriously.
Scientists have found a way to 'tattoo' tardigrades
If you haven't heard of a tardigrade before, prepare to be wowed. These clumsy, eight-legged creatures, nicknamed water bears, are about half a millimeter long and can survive practically anything: freezing temperatures, near starvation, high pressure, radiation exposure, outer space and more. Researchers took advantage of the tardigrade's nearly indestructible nature and gave the critters tiny 'tattoos' to test a microfabrication technique to build microscopic, biocompatible devices.
New electronic 'skin' could enable lightweight night-vision glasses
Engineers developed a technique to grow and peel ultrathin 'skins' of electronic material that could be used in applications such as night-vision eyewear and autonomous driving in foggy conditions.
Material? Robot? It's a metabot
The invention is a metamaterial, which is a material engineered to feature new and unusual properties that depend on the material's physical structure rather than its chemical composition. In this case, the researchers built their metamaterial using a combination of simple plastics and custom-made magnetic composites. Using a magnetic field, the researchers changed the metamaterial's structure, causing it to expand, move and deform in different directions, all remotely without touching the metamaterial.
Light fields with extraordinary structure: Plasmonic skyrmion bags
A research group has manipulated light through its interaction with a metal surface so that it exhibits entirely new properties.
In the April 30, 2025 edition of ScienceDaily: Quirky, astrophysicists unveiled a discovery that stirs both wonder and humility: a vast, star-forming cloud—among the largest known structures in our sky, and remarkably close to Earth. This cosmic revelation invites us to reflect on the silent, ongoing birth of stars, echoing the ancient rhythms of creation that continue to unfold beyond our immediate perception.
Such findings remind us of our place within the grand tapestry of the universe, where immense structures evolve over eons, yet remain intimately connected to our own existence. They beckon us to ponder the mysteries that lie just beyond our reach, encouraging a sense of curiosity and reverence for the cosmos. What emotions or thoughts arise in you when considering the vastness and proximity of such celestial phenomena? ♾️