Women's preference for hairless men, a lone eyeball and a spider attack frozen in time, Science has brought us some pretty awesome stories. Check these out.
Even without a brain, a slime mold can essentially remember where it's been, helping it navigate past complex obstacles, much like modern robots, researchers say.<br><br> These findings reveal how ancient organisms could solve certain problems well before complex brains evolved, scientists added. <br><br> [Full Story: <a href=http://www.livescience.com/23797-brainless-slime-mold-memories.html>Puddles of Goo? Brainless Slime Molds Have Memories</a>]
Around 2,100 years ago, at a time when Egypt was ruled by a dynasty of Greek kings, a young wealthy man from Thebes was nearing the end of his life.<br><br> Rather than age, he may have succumbed to a sinus infection caused by a mouthful of cavities and other tooth ailments, according to new research on the man's odd dental filling.<br><br> [Full Story: <a href=http://www.livescience.com/23840-egyptian-mummy-cavities-death.html>Mummy with Mouthful of Cavities Discovered</a>]
Humans are not nearly as furry as our closest primate relatives, a fact that has puzzled evolutionary biologists for more than a century. One common theory for our relative hairlessness suggests that women long ago adopted a preference for less hairy guys as a way to avoid lice and other nasty bloodsuckers that might call a pelt home.<br><br> But new research suggests that this so-called "ectoparasite avoidance hypothesis" may not explain the evolution of human hairlessness. In fact, women prefer relatively hair-free guys across the board, according to new research published online Sept. 13 in the journal Archives of Sexual Behavior. This preference for smooth skin holds whether or not parasite risk is high.<br><br> [Full Story: <a href=http://www.livescience.com/23810-women-male-body-hair.html>Why Women Don't Fall for Hairy Guys Remains a Scientific Mystery</a>]
Wildlife officials in Florida are examining a lone blue eye the size of a softball that washed ashore on Pompano Beach this week. While test results are pending, some researchers have speculated that the mysterious eye belonged to a large swordfish.<br><br> Though some had also suggested it came from a deep-sea squid, experts contacted by LiveScience lean toward a swordfish as the likely eyeball owner.<br><br> [Full Story: <a href=http://www.livescience.com/23934-mystery-eyeball-in-florida-may-belong-to-squid.html>Big Blue Eye on Beach Likely from Swordfish, Experts Say</a>]
An eBay auction for an original letter handwritten by Albert Einstein in which he expresses his views on the existence of God opened tonight (Oct. 8), and in about 10 minutes an anonymous bidder named o***h had placed the first offer at the opening price of $3 million.<br><br> In the letter, Einstein calls belief in religion and God "pretty childish" and ridicules the idea that the Jews are a chosen people. <br><br> [Full Story: <a href=http://www.livescience.com/23816-ebay-einstein-god-letter-3-million-bid.html>Auction for Einstein 'God Letter' Opens with Anonymous $3 Million Bid</a>]
Researchers have found trapped in amber a rare dinosaur-age scene of a spider attacking a wasp caught in its web.<br><br> The piece of amber, which contains 15 intact strands of spider silk, provides the first fossil evidence of such an assault, the researchers said. It was excavated in a Burmese mine and dates back to the Early Cretaceous, between 97 million and 110 million years ago.<br><br> [Full Story: <a href=http://www.livescience.com/23796-spider-attack-found-in-amber.html>100-Million-Year-Old Spider Attack Found in Amber</a>]
A huge geoglyph in the shape of an elk or deer discovered in Russia may predate Peru's famous Nazca Lines by thousands of years. <br><br> The animal-shaped stone structure, located near Lake Zjuratkul in the Ural Mountains, north of Kazakhstan, has an elongated muzzle, four legs and two antlers. A historical Google Earth satellite image from 2007 shows what may be a tail, but this is less clear in more recent imagery.<br><br> [Full Story: <a href=http://www.livescience.com/23910-russian-nazca-lines-discovered.html>Mysterious Elk-Shaped Structure Discovered in Russia</a>]
Soft-shelled turtles from China can essentially expel pee from their mouths, researchers say. <br><br> This odd ability may have helped them invade salty environments, researchers explained.<br><br> Scientists investigated the Chinese soft-shelled turtle (Pelodiscus sinensis). These turtles are often found in brackish swamps and marshes. Intriguingly, these reptiles submerge their heads in puddles on dry land, even though they are air-breathers that mainly depend on their lungs for oxygen, making them unlikely to breathe underwater. <br><br> [Full Story: <a href=http://www.livescience.com/23893-turtle-pees-from-mouth.html>Potty Mouth! Turtle Dips Head in Puddles to Pee</a>]
Contrary to the reassuring catchphrase "size doesn't matter," penis size may matter in bed — but only for some women, and for certain types of orgasms.<br><br> A new study finds that women who have frequent vaginal orgasms are more likely than other women to say they climax more easily with men with larger penises. Women who tend to prefer penile-vaginal intercourse over other types of sex also say the same, researchers reported online Sept. 24 in The Journal of Sexual Medicine.<br><br> [Full Story: <a href=http://www.livescience.com/23785-penis-size-matters-orgasms.html>Penis Size Matters in Bed, Study Finds</a>]
The oldest brain ever found in an arthropod — a group of invertebrates that includes insects and crustaceans — is surprisingly complex for its 520-million-year age, researchers report today (Oct. 10).<br><br> The fossilized brain, found in an extinct arthropod from China, looks very similar to the brains of today's modern insects, said study researcher Nicholas Strausfeld, the director of the Center for Insect Science at the University of Arizona.<br><br> [Full Story: <a href=http://www.livescience.com/23862-oldest-arthropod-brain-complex.html>Oldest Arthropod Brain Found in Buglike Creature</a>]
