10 April, 2014 – Episode 459 – This Week in Science

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Ocean On Enceladus, Hubble Sees Farther, Spinal Electrification, Vagina Lab, Organ Regeneration, Liquored Up And In The Mood, Lonely Death, Brave Stupid Fish, Neander Parenting, AntiBac Soap Smackdown, Cloudy Coughs, World Robot Domination, And Much More…

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Oceans on Enceladus!
A big old ocean has been found under the frozen surface of Saturn’s moon.

Hubble Sees Farther
Using a distant galaxy and the mathematical concept of trigonometric parallax, astronomers have developed a method to allow Hubble to see up to 10 times further away.

Spinal Movements!
Four paralyzed individuals were able to make limited movements at various joints when physical therapy was paired with electric stimulation to the spine suggesting that recovery from paralysis might be possible.

Vajayay farm?
Vaginas constructed from a structural lattice and patients’ tissues were shown to be fully functional when implanted.

First Animal Organ Regeneration
The thymus gland was fully regenerated using chemical signals for growth in mice.

Prarie Voles get in the mood with the aid of liquid courage
Prarie Voles are monogamous, as opposed to their cousin, the montane vole. This appears to be due to oxytocin and vasopressin receptors in the brain. However, when they imbibe alcohol, men get more promiscuous, and women get more faithful. What’s more, they have peer pressure!

Being lonely could shorten your lifespan
African grey parrots housed in isolation had significantly shorter telomeres, potentially leading to a shorter lifespan. Maybe it’s time to go speed dating?

Fish that use both sides of their brain are more brave
Fish that had lateralization of the brain (like right or left handedness) were more hesitant in ominous circumstances, whereas the fish without a brain side preference were bolder. Usually lateralization is related to a higher IQ, so is the bravery actually just stupidity?

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We did it… and Neander parenting
Research shows more and more definitively that humans interbred with neandertals. Also, the neanderthal race were surprisingly doting parents.

Antibac Soap Suds
Triclosan found in hand soaps promoted bacterial growth in the noses of some individuals, and might contribute to infection.

Cough And Cloud
Cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze. The cloud of vapor and microbes that results sticks around and travels further than we thought.

A Robot’s Gaze
Eye-contact is found to be important in making people like robots. Staring or inappropriately timed eye movements make people uncomfortable when dealing with humanoid robots.

Bots and Roaches
Harvard University scientists created nanobots made of DNA and injected them into cockroaches as drug delivery tools.

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