ScienceDaily: Quirky - September 27, 2023
Top quirky research news
New insights into the atmosphere and star of an exoplanet
A new study of the intriguing TRAPPIST-1 exoplanetary system has demonstrated the complex interaction between the activity of the system's star and its planetary features.
Lukasz Pawel Szczepanski/shutterstock.com
Hidden supermassive black holes reveal their secrets through radio signals
Astronomers have found a striking link between the amount of dust surrounding a supermassive black hole and the strength of the radio emission produced in extremely bright galaxies.
Jellyfish, with no central brain, shown to learn from past experience
Even without a central brain, jellyfish can learn from past experiences like humans, mice, and flies, scientists report for the first time. They trained Caribbean box jellyfish (Tripedalia cystophora) to learn to spot and dodge obstacles. The study challenges previous notions that advanced learning requires a centralized brain and sheds light on the evolutionary roots of learning and memory.
Conversations with plants: Can we provide plants with advance warning of impending dangers?
Plant scientists have engineered a light-controlled gene expression system (optogenetics system) from a prokaryotic system into a eukaryotic system that is tailored for plants.
Balanophora shed one third of its genes as it evolved into a streamlined parasitic plant -- an extreme degree of genome shrinkage even among parasites. Along the way this subtropical plant developed the ability to induce the host plant to grow into the parasite's own flesh -- forming chimeric organs that mix host and parasite tissues.
Dinosaur feathers reveal traces of ancient proteins
Palaeontologists have discovered X-ray evidence of proteins in fossil feathers that sheds new light on feather evolution.
Ritual use of human remains dating from the Neolithic
An international study has documented post-mortem bone modifications not linked to consumption.
Scientists successfully maneuver robot through living lung tissue
Scientists have shown that their steerable lung robot can autonomously maneuver the intricacies of the lung, while avoiding important lung structures.
New Mars gravity analysis improves understanding of possible ancient ocean
The first use of a novel method of analyzing Mars' gravitational force supports the idea that the planet once had an extensive northern ocean. In doing so, the method defines the scope of what scientists refer to as the northern Martian paleo-ocean in more detail.
Researchers make sand that flows uphill
Engineering researchers have discovered that sand can actually flow uphill. A corresponding video shows what happens when torque and an attractive force is applied to each grain -- the grains flow uphill, up walls, and up and down stairs.
Archaeologists discover world's oldest wooden structure
Half a million years ago, earlier than was previously thought possible, humans were building structures made of wood, according to new research.
An international research team has used the James Webb Space Telescope and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array to observe the most distant galaxy protocluster to date, 13.14 billion light-years away. The team has successfully captured the 'core region' of the galaxy protocluster, which corresponds to a metropolitan area with a particularly high number density of galaxies. The team has revealed that many galaxies are concentrated in a small area and that the growth of galaxies is accelerated. Furthermore, the team used simulations to predict the future of the metropolitan area and found that the region will merge into one larger galaxy within tens of millions of years. These results are expected to provide important clues regarding the birth and growth of galaxies.
Slow growth in crocodile ancestors pre-dated their semi-aquatic lifestyle
A groundbreaking study is reshaping our understanding of crocodile evolution by pinpointing the onset of slow growth rates to the Late Triassic period, much earlier than the previously assumed Early Jurassic timeline. The research highlights newly discovered fossil crocodile ancestors (known as crocodylomorphs) that exhibited slow growth rates, similar to modern-day crocodilians. Intriguingly, these early crocodylomorphs were not the lethargic, semi-aquatic creatures we are familiar with today; they were small, active, and fully terrestrial. The study also suggests that this slow-growth strategy was not a mere evolutionary quirk but a survival mechanism, as only the slow-growing crocodylomorphs managed to survive the End-Triassic mass extinction. This stands in stark contrast to the fast-growing dinosaurs of the same era, setting the stage for the divergent evolutionary paths that would later define their modern descendants.
A newly identified virus emerges from the deep
Marine virologists analyzed sediment from the Mariana Trench, the deepest place on Earth, and identified a new bacteriophage.
Scientists have synthesized spider silk from genetically modified silkworms, producing fibers six times tougher than the Kevlar used in bulletproof vests. The study is the first to successfully produce full-length spider silk proteins using silkworms. The findings demonstrate a technique that could be used to manufacture an environmentally friendly alternative to synthetic commercial fibers such as nylon.
Prehistoric fish fills 100 million year gap in evolution of the skull
X-rays of an ancient jawless fish shows earliest-known example of internal cartilage skull, unlike that of any other known vertebrate.
Researchers issue urgent call to save the world's largest flower -Rafflesia -- from extinction
A new study finds that most Rafflesia species, which produce the world's largest flowers, face extinction. Lack of protection at local, national, and international levels means that remaining populations are under critical threat.
New recipes for origin of life may point way to distant, inhabited planets
Life on a faraway planet -- if it's out there -- might not look anything like life on Earth. But there are only so many chemical ingredients in the universe's pantry, and only so many ways to mix them. Scientists have now exploited those limitations to write a cookbook of hundreds of chemical recipes with the potential to give rise to life. Their ingredient list could focus the search for life elsewhere in the universe by pointing out the most likely conditions -- planetary versions of mixing techniques, oven temperatures and baking times -- for the recipes to come together.
16 strange new parasitoid wasp species discovered in Vietnam
Researchers have discovered 16 new species of strange-looking parasitoid wasps from the Loboscelidia group. The study also revealed for the first time the unique parasitic behavior of a captive female from one species, who after parasitizing her host egg, buried the egg in a hole in the soil.
Combustion powers bug-sized robots to leap, lift and race
Researchers combined soft microactuators with high-energy-density chemical fuel to create an insect-scale quadrupedal robot that is powered by combustion and can outrace, outlift, outflex and outleap its electric-driven competitors.
