Let's look back at the weirdest science stories of 2006:
1st up:
Whales found to speak in dialects
We could blame our accents and different dialects on self-imposed borders -- but that doesn’t explain why animals from different regions speak in dialects. Using underwater microphones, scientists eavesdropped on whale talk and found that the blue whales off the Pacific Northwest sound different than those living in the western Pacific Ocean or near Chile. The reason? Still unknown.
2nd in line:
The Red Sea parts again
It parted once. It parted twice. And this time scientists are watching the whole thing. Satellite images show the Arabian tectonic plate and the African Plate are moving away from each other and parting the southern end of the Red Sea. This growing rift, which is tearing the northeast of Ethiopia and Eritrea from the rest of Africa, could eventually create a whole new sea.
the 3rd:
A new wave: Scientists write on water
Using wave generators, scientists were able to write on water. The Advanced Multiple Organized Experimental Basin (AMOEBA)-- a circular tank created by researchers -- can form the Roman alphabets and some Japanese characters. The device could soon find its way to your nearest amusement park.
4th:
Spider cries out while mating
When mating, female Physocylus globosus squeak to tell their men what they should be doing. The cries are in response to being excited by males rhythmically squeezing their genitalia inside the female. The more a male squeezes, the greater the chance that it will be his sperm that sires her offspring.
5th:
Rats born to mice
Scientists produced healthy offspring from the cells of another species for the first time by taking rat stem cells involved in sperm production and implanting them in mice testicles. In the future, researchers hope to grow sperm of livestock or endangered species in mice or other lab animals.
6th:
Stingray kills 'Crocodile Hunter' Steve Irwin
In a tragic and unusual accident, the much loved and popular Australian television personality and conservationist,Steve Irwin, was killed by a stingray while filming off the Great Barrier Reef. Stingrays sport a tail with an 8-inch spear that stiffens when faced with a threat. Although the spear packs venom that alters heart rate and respiration, it rarely kills humans. The Crocodile Hunter was probably killed because the stingray's spear pierced his heart.
7th:
Scientists create cloak of partial invisibility
Writer H.G. Wells imagined it in his writing in the late 1800’s, and this year scientists inched closer to creating an invisible man. Duke University researchers created a cloaking device that can make objects invisible to microwave light. The device works by rerouting microwaves beam around it the way boulders in a stream divert flowing water.
8th:
Penis transplant removed
Chinese doctors removed the transplanted penis of a 44-year-old man who had lost his own in an accident. The organ was removed two weeks after the transplant because of psychological problems encountered by the man and his wife.
9th (quite interesting):
Coins don't smell -- you do
That metallic odor you smell after handling change? It's created by the breakdown of oils in skin after touching objects that contain iron. The chemical reaction has most of us running to wash our hands to get that musty scent out
last one:
Amazon River flowed backwards
The Amazon River apparently changed its mind a few times in history. South America’s majestic waterway currently flows east into the Atlantic Ocean. But scientists found this year that millions of years ago, the great river flowed east to west and at one time went in both directions at once.
[Acknowledgement: LiveScience and msnbc ]Some of these are quite interesting so hope it ends 2006..weirdly enough. lol.
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