Science – Page 24 – The Fount of Useless Information

Prions might actually have a survival characteristic

Yeast find use for misfolded proteins
Clumps might help single-celled organisms adapt to hardship
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/338486/title/Yeast_find_use_for_misfolded_proteins

I have talked about prions before and until I had read the article above I thought they were an evolutionary dead end since they only …

Here is one that is really off the wall

Crystals may be possible in time as well as space
Theory proposes objects in their lowest energy state can loop in the fourth dimension forever
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/338500/title/Crystals_may_be_possible_in_time_as_well_as_space

Can’t add much to this other than it is a pretty weird idea.…

It ain’t the cows or the termites!

Natural gas wells leakier than believed
Measurements at Colorado site show methane release higher than previous estimates
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/338505/title/Natural_gas_wells_leakier_than_believed

I wonder if they will stop blaming cows and termites for the methane that might be the more proximal cause for the …

Still more we didn’t know about DNA

All genes aren’t indispensable
Even with about 20 that are utterly inactivated, individuals can do just fine
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/338526/title/All_genes_arent_indispensable

I have talked a time or twain about DNA before, how the relatively simple theory I learned back in school (more than …

This is really cool!

Flying robot made cheap, easy enough to buy from vending machines
Harvard lab builds inexpensive, fold-out flying-bee micro robot UAV
http://www.itworld.com/mobile-wireless/251020/flying-robot-made-cheap-easy-enough-buy-vending-machines

Like the author says, if these are cheap enough I don’t care if they are useful, I want some …

The new death calculus

The Cost of Living Longer — Much Longer
Number crunchers are dead set on figuring out how long you will live. For those saving for retirement, it’s the $27 trillion question.
http://www.smartmoney.com/retirement/planning/the-cost-of-living-longer–much-longer-1328897162395/?mg=com-sm

While this is a long article (by web …

Evidence for the hygiene hypothesis

In a Squeaky-Clean World, a Worm Might Help Fight Disease
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204795304577220993641557460.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

I have been following this theory for a number of years and it seems to be gaining ground. There is increasing evidence that we have mutualistically co-evolved along with …

Why, oh why, the zebra stripe?

Zebra stripes evolved to keep biting flies at bay
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/16944753

And now, for something completely different: a man with three buttocks. (Monty Python didn’t always fire on all cylinders, but they did provide some highly memorable lines!)

While the conclusion …