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Quirky stories from all of ScienceDaily's health, technology, environment, and society sections.
Stellar collisions produce strange, zombie-like survivors
Densely packed, fast-moving stars at the Milky Way's center can collide with each other. New research uses simulations to explore the outcomes of these collisions. Some collisions are more like 'violent high fives' while others are full-on mergers.
'Smart swarms' of tiny robots inspired by natural herd mentality
Researchers gave nanorobots a trait called adaptive time delay, which allows them to better work together.
Giant phage holds promise as treatment for lung infections
Researchers have discovered a new bacterial killer that can target common lung infection caused by Burkholderia bacteria that has exciting potential for biotechnological applications.
Plastic-free vegan leather that dyes itself grown from bacteria
Researchers have genetically engineered bacteria to grow animal- and plastic-free leather that dyes itself.
Intelligent liquid
Researchers have developed a programmable meta-fluid with tunable springiness, optical properties, viscosity and even the ability to transition between a Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluid. The first-of-its-kind meta-fluid uses a suspension of small, elastomer spheres -- between 50 to 500 microns -- that buckle under pressure, radically changing the characteristics of the fluid. The meta-fluid could be used in everything from hydraulic actuators to program robots, to intelligent shock absorbers th...
First results from BREAD experiment demonstrate a new approach to searching for dark matter
One of the great mysteries of modern science is dark matter. We know dark matter exists thanks to its effects on other objects in the cosmos, but we have never been able to directly see it. And it s no minor thing currently, scientists think it makes up about 85% of all the mass in the universe.
Elastocaloric cooling: Refrigerator cools by flexing artificial muscles
There is room for just one small bottle in the world's first refrigerator that is cooled with artificial muscles made of nitinol, a nickel-titanium alloy. But the mini-prototype is groundbreaking: it shows that elastocalorics is becoming a viable solution for practical applications. This climate-friendly cooling and heating technology is far more energy-efficient and sustainable than current methods.
Last chance to record archaic Greek language 'heading for extinction'
A new data crowdsourcing platform aims to preserve the sound of Romeyka, an endangered millennia-old variety of Greek. Experts consider the language to be a linguistic goldmine and a living bridge to the ancient world.
AI writing, illustration emits hundreds of times less carbon than humans, study finds
A group of scholars calculated the amount of energy used by AI tools for the tasks of writing and illustrating and compared it to the average amount of energy humans use for the same processes. Their results showed artificial intelligence results in hundreds of times less carbon emissions than humans. This does not mean, however, that AI can or should replace humans in those tasks, simply that its energy usage is less. The better approach is a partnership between humans and AI, the authors write.
We've had bird evolution all wrong
Genomic anamolies dating back to the time of the dinosaurs misled scientists about the evolutionary history of birds.
Study uses artificial intelligence to show how personality influences the expression of our genes
An international study using artificial intelligence has shown that our personalities alter the expression of our genes. The findings shed new light on the long-standing mystery of how the mind and body interact.
Universal brain-computer interface lets people play games with just their thoughts
Engineers have created a brain-computer interface that doesn't require calibration for each user, paving the way for widespread clinical applicability.
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