ScienceDaily: Strange Science News

Engineered, autonomous machines combined with artificial intelligence have long been a staple of science fiction, and often in the role of villain like the Cylons in the 'Battlestar Galactica' reboot, creatures composed of biological and engineered materials. But what if these autonomous soft machines were ... helpful?

A real-life forensic puzzle inspired researchers to explore the physics involved, and in Physics of Fluids, they present theoretical results revealing an interaction of the incoming vortex ring of propellant muzzle gases with backward blood spatter. A detailed analytical theory of such turbulent self-similar vortex rings was given by this group in earlier work and is linked mathematically to the theory of quantum oscillators.

Scientists reveal several key factors that influence the number of bounces a skipping stone will undergo when hitting the water. The study involved theoretical modeling and an experimental setup using a model stone to gather data in real time and that allowed a motor to apply a controlled spin to the disk prior to launch. The investigators found that vertical acceleration and the spin direction influence the result.

The fearsome tyrannosaur dinosaurs may not have been solitary predators as popularly envisioned, but social carnivores with complex hunting strategies like wolves.

The fossil provides the oldest, most intact example of the shoulder of a human ancestor ever found. The bones provide telltale clues of how the individual moved and was adapted to climbing, a research team reports.

Because COVID-19 has been detected in urine and stool samples, public restrooms can be cause for concern. Researchers measured droplets generated from flushing a toilet and a urinal in a public restroom and found a substantial increase in the measured aerosol levels in the ambient environment with the total number of droplets generated in each flushing test ranging up to the tens of thousands. Due to their small size, these droplets can remain suspended for a long time.

Various beetle species have gobbled through grain stores and weakened food production worldwide since ancient times. Now, researchers seek to exploit beetles' greatest strength against them -- their precisely regulated mechanism of balancing fluids.