ScienceDaily: Quirky - March 05, 2025
Top quirky research news
NASA's Hubble finds Kuiper Belt duo may be trio
The puzzle of predicting how three gravitationally bound bodies move in space has challenged mathematicians for centuries, and has most recently been popularized in the novel and television show '3 Body Problem.' There's no problem, however, with what a team of researchers say is likely a stable trio of icy space rocks in the solar system's Kuiper Belt.
Beyond our solar system: scientists identify a new exoplanet candidate
The discovery of new exoplanets can help scientists understand how planets form and evolve.
Study shines headlights on consumer driverless vehicle safety deficiencies
Researchers have demonstrated that multicolored stickers applied to stop or speed limit signs on the roadside can 'confuse' self-driving vehicles, causing unpredictable and possibly hazardous operations.
Giant clone of seaweed in the Baltic Sea
Researchers have discovered that what was previously thought to be a unique seaweed species of bladderwrack for the Baltic Sea is in fact a giant clone of common bladderwrack, perhaps the world's largest clone overall. The discovery has implications for predicting the future of seaweed in a changing ocean.
Heat from the sun affects seismic activity on Earth
Researchers explore the likelihood that Earth's climate, as affected by solar heat, plays a role in seismic activity. Using mathematical and computational methods, they analyzed earthquake data alongside solar activity records and surface temperatures on Earth and observed that when they included Earth surface temperatures into their model, the forecasting became more accurate, especially for shallow earthquakes.
Quantum properties in atom-thick semiconductors offer new way to detect electrical signals in cells
For decades, scientists have relied on electrodes and dyes to track the electrical activity of living cells. Now, engineers have discovered that quantum materials just a single atom thick can do the job with high speed and resolution -- using only light.
ChatGPT on the couch? How to calm a stressed-out AI
Distressing news and traumatic stories can cause stress and anxiety -- not only in humans, but these stories can also affect AI language models, such as ChatGPT. Researchers have now shown that these models, like humans, respond to therapy: an elevated 'anxiety level' in GPT-4 can be 'calmed down' using mindfulness-based relaxation techniques.
New device could allow you to taste a cake in virtual reality
Novel technology intends to redefine the virtual reality experience by expanding to incorporate a new sensory connection: taste.
Physicists provide a viable and testable explanation for how UHECRs are created.
Drone captures narwhals using their tusks to explore, forage and play
Using drones, 17 distinct behaviors of narwhals were captured in the wild. Findings reveal complex behaviors of the Arctic's iconic whale never seen before. This highly gregarious whale uses its tusk to investigate, manipulate and influence the behavior of a fish, the Arctic char. The study also provides the first evidence of play, specifically exploratory-object play, and the first reports of kleptoparasitism, a 'food thief' situation, among narwhals and glaucous gulls.
Self-driving cars learn to share road knowledge through digital word-of-mouth
A research team has developed a way for self-driving vehicles to share their knowledge about road conditions indirectly, making it possible for each vehicle to learn from the experiences of others even when they rarely meet on the road.
Sometimes, when competitors collaborate, everybody wins
A framework helps rail system operators or other planners identify the best joint infrastructure projects to collaborate on with other firms. Their tool can tell an operator how much to invest, the proper time to collaborate, and how the shared profits should be distributed.
Can we find floating vegetation on ocean planets?
Recent advances in astronomical observations have found a significant number of extrasolar planets that can sustain surface water, and the search for extraterrestrial life on such planets is gaining momentum. A team of astrobiologists has proposed a novel approach for detecting life on ocean planets. By conducting laboratory measurements and satellite remote sensing analyses, they have demonstrated that the reflectance spectrum of floating vegetation could serve as a promising biosignature. Seasonal variations in floating vegetation may provide a particularly effective means for remote detection.
Young star clusters give birth to rogue planetary-mass objects
How do rogue planetary-mass objects -- celestial bodies with masses between stars and planets -- form? An international team of astronomers has used advanced simulations to show that these enigmatic objects are linked to the chaotic dynamics of young star clusters.
Astronauts often experience immune dysfunction, skin rashes, and other inflammatory conditions while traveling in space. A new study suggests that these issues could be due to the excessively sterile nature of spacecraft. The study showed that the International Space Station (ISS) has a much lower diversity of microbes compared to human-built environments on Earth, and the microbes that are present are mostly species carried by humans onto the ISS, suggesting that the presence of more microbes from nature could help improve human health in the space station.
When birds lose the ability to fly, their bodies change faster than their feathers
Researchers examined dozens of bird species in museum collections looking for differences in the feathers and bodies between birds that can fly and birds that can't. They found that when birds evolve from a flying ancestor to a new flightless form, the birds' bodies, including the ratio of their wings and tails, change before the feathers do. Insights from this research could help scientists trying to determine whether a fossil bird, or a feathered dinosaur that isn't part of the bird family, was able to fly.
NASA's Hubble provides bird's-eye view of Andromeda galaxy's ecosystem
Located 2.5 million light-years away, the majestic Andromeda galaxy appears to the naked eye as a faint, spindle-shaped object roughly the angular size of the full Moon. What backyard observers don't see is a swarm of nearly three dozen small satellite galaxies circling the Andromeda galaxy, like bees around a hive.
'Fluorescent phoenix' discovered with persistence rivaling Marie Curie's
A research team has successfully developed a super-photostable organic dye after two years of dedicated research demonstrating perseverance akin to that of Marie Curie, who painstakingly extracted just 0.1 grams of radium from eight tons of ore to earn her Nobel Prize.
Material's 'incipient' property could jumpstart fast, low-power electronics
Scientists have harnessed a unique property called incipient ferroelectricity to create a new type of computer memory that could revolutionize how electronic devices work, such as using much less energy and operating in extreme environments like outer space.
A springtail-like jumping robot
Springtails, small bugs often found crawling through leaf litter and garden soil, are expert jumpers. Inspired by these hopping hexapods, roboticists have made a walking, jumping robot that pushes the boundaries of what small robots can do. The research glimpses a future where nimble microrobots can crawl through tiny spaces, skitter across dangerous ground, and sense their environments without human intervention.
Morphing robot turns challenging terrain to its advantage
A bioinspired robot can change shape to alter its own physical properties in response to its environment, resulting in a robust and efficient autonomous vehicle as well as a fresh approach to robotic locomotion.
Researchers create the world's smallest shooting video game using nanoscale technology
A research team demonstrated the 'world's smallest shooting game,' a unique nanoscale game inspired by classic arcade games. This achievement was made possible by real-time control of the force fields between nanoparticles using focused electron beams. This research has practical applications, as the manipulation of nanoscale objects could revolutionize biomedical engineering and nanotechnology.
Adsorptive regolith on Mars soaks up water, researchers reveal
Researchers are looking underfoot to uncover the mysterious past of Mars: Martian regoliths in the soil. Their water storage capabilities may help us understand the change in water on Mars over time.
New low-cost challenger to quantum computer: Ising machine
A low-energy challenger to the quantum computer also works at room temperature. The researchers have shown that information can be transmitted using magnetic wave motion in complex networks.
Feeding anemone: Symbiote fish actively feed hosts in wild
A research team observing anemonefish in the field found they engage in interesting feeding behavior with their host sea anemones.
AI generates playful, human-like games
A team of scientists has now created a computer model that can represent and generate human-like goals by learning from how people create games. The work could lead to AI systems that better understand human intentions and more faithfully model and align with our goals. It may also lead to AI systems that can help us design more human-like games.
Novel photochromic glass can store rewritable 3D patterns long term
For decades researchers have been exploring how to store data in glass because of its potential to hold information for a long time -- eons -- without applying power. A special type of glass that changes color in different wavelengths of light, called photochromic glass, holds promise for stable, reusable data storage. Now, researchers have developed a doped photochromic glass that has the potential to store rewritable data indefinitely.
Fish teeth show how ease of innovation enables rapid evolution
It's not what you do, it's how readily you do it. Rapid evolutionary change might have more to do with how easily a key innovation can be gained or lost rather than with the innovation itself, according to new work.
What can theoretical physics teach us about knitting?
Physicists bring unprecedented levels of predictability to the ancient practice of knitting by developing a mathematical model that could be used to create a new class of lightweight, ultra-strong materials.
Lunar Trailblazer blasts off to map water on the moon
On Wednesday 26 February, a thermal imaging camera blasted off to the Moon as part of NASA's Lunar Trailblazer mission. This aims to map sources of water on the Moon to shed light on the lunar water cycle and to guide future robotic and human missions.
Bite-size clue may help rediscover the missing desert rat-kangaroo
An intriguing native Australian rat-kangaroo, thought to be probably extinct, may still be running around in the inhospitable remote Sturt Stony Desert -- and researchers have discovered new details about its feeding habits that might help to find it. The experts in marsupial evolution and ecology have compared the biting ability of different small animal skulls to understand the kinds of food the desert rat-kangaroo (Caloprymnus campestris) ate, thus narrowing down the best areas to monitor for the little animal.