Skulls in the Stars

ResearchBlogging editor’s selections: Sleepwalking, dark energy — and urine!

August 24, 2009 11:00 am

Did sleepwalking once serve as an adaptive function? For most people, sleepwalking seems like an annoying — if not downright dangerous — disorder. William at The Quantum Lobe Chronicles explores whether or not this behavior might have served an important survival role.

Why we’re stuck with dark energy. In astronomy, “dark energy” is one of those ideas which at first seems to have been proposed to explain away problems, rather than explain them. However, Greg Fish at World of Weird Things describes why the idea of dark energy isn’t going away any time soon.

Unique urine fingerprints. With recent arguments that false DNA evidence can be manufactured in a lab, it is natural to wonder where forensic science can go next. David Bradley at sciencebase describes research that suggests that we all have a unique metabolic fingerprint — which can be detected through our urine!

Posted by skullsinthestars

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I’m not surprised our pee is unique. Most animals use it to mark their territory and it must be unique so that other animals can identify who owns it. Makes sense ours should too.

By The Wife on August 24, 2009 at 11:15 am
I like these cross-posts. They’re helping me get my week off to a less-than-completely miserable start.

By Blake Stacey on August 24, 2009 at 11:31 am
1. Blake: I wish my week were off to a less-than-completely miserable start. *Sigh*
  
  By skullsinthestars on August 25, 2009 at 1:57 pm

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