A dog wagging its tail has long been associated with an expression of happiness and joy on part of the dog. Apparently there is more to the wag of its tail than its owner knew about. At least that’s what the researchers at the University of Trento claim to have found under the guidance of neuro-scientist Giorgio Vallortigara.

In an experiment conducted at the University the research team was astonished to find that when viewed in slow motion the wagging of a dog’s tail leans more to one side or the other of the body. Closer examination of the back and forth wagging brought the fact into attention that when a dog is simply excited to see its owner, or a friendly dog teh tail was likely to lean more to the right side of the body.

If the dog was wagging with its tail leaning more towards the left side of the body he was often nervous, and was perceiving the person before him or strange dog as a potential threat. Vallortigara said that the change in movements were a result of cognitive asymmetry, where one side of the brain controls the other side of the body.  One thing this science project brought to the fore was that by watching a dog carefully you can decipher its mood based on a few flicks of its tail.

If you have been having nightmares about your home being crushed by wild dinosaurs that have over run the world, relax. One of the most fascinating science fictions stories, Jurassic Park was written by Michael Crichton. He spelled out bringing back extinct creatures to life using DNA trapped in fossilized blood sucking insects. While it is true that insects get preserved rather well in amber, it is also not possible for DNA molecules to be obtained for use in research to recreate the dinosaurs.

This is because even with a well preserved insect fossil the DNA molecule would still have been breaking down and becoming unreadable. The fragile DNA complex has a half life of 521 years. So every 521 years half the useful DNA will become unreadable, keeping up at this pace in about a million and half years the DNA would be rendered absolutely useless. And a team at Manchester University also verified that DNA within insect fossils actually tends to degrade at an even faster pace.

While it may seem like a great story, unfortunately at present the dream of bringing back extinct animals is going to remain unfulfilled. You never know what science project in the future may make it possible, but for now you are safe from rampaging dinosaurs tearing up your home town.

For those of you who watched Madagascar, King Julian is that adorable lemur who considers himself the self proclaimed King of the World. Well it seems that the lemur may not even be kings of their own homes as they actually live in matriarchal societies. Apparently fifty five million years of evolution combined with adopting beneficial behaviours and refining the society has led them to having the females in charge.

Female dominance is not the norm in primates. Usually its the alpha male who keeps the power centre in the pack, but in lemurs its a different story. Researchers studying their behaviour have found that even younger females can bully the males over food and the best place to rest. Apparently if the female wants the food she gets it, and if the male is resting in a spot of sunshine and she wants to lie down there, the resting site is hers as well.

All the female lemur does is move towards the male and he will make a submissive sound and move right out of her way. Those cheering for the females, here’s another sobering thought. Lemurs are struggling to survive as more than ninety percent of their habitat has been lost to slash and burn agricultural practices of the humans. So what does this science project teach you?

The oceans of the planet are still a mystery to us the primary land dwellers. Some researchers say that it is actually just one large connected global ocean, while others prefer to refer to individual seas as first recognized formally in 1928 with political connotations. The truth is that even today we have barely scratched the surface of the oceans even as studies into its depths continue.

At the Australian University of New South Wales there is a study being undertaken to propose a new map of the oceans set apart from the geopolitical boundaries which are today considered the norm. Professor Gary Froyland, a mathematician and Oceanographer Erik van Sebille are also considering the pollution in the oceans a major problem.

They have records to show the plastic and other debris in different parts of the global ocean is growing at an alarming rate. They also have a way to analyse how the litter ended up where it did following ocean currents. Guess how this science project helps? It allows you to pinpoint the origin of the litter and thereby identify the polluting country from where it comes.

Now that we finally have a viable means of identifying which country is responsible for dumping plastic and debris into the oceans, perhaps we can prevail on them to not pollute the ocean anymore.

Koala bears are often synonymous with the regions Down Under, the symbol of a region which has its own unique flora and fauna. For a bear with fur the region can get pretty heated up and despite the thin fur on the body of the Koala, it has to feel the heat waves that frequently hit the area. So what does the Koala bear do to ensure that it doesn’t lose its cool?

Most observing researchers will tell you that the Koala bears will immediately begin to climb trees when a heat wave strikes. A team at the University of Melbourne was trying to figure out why they did this and just how it helped? Apparently each tree has its own micro climate and as the temperatures soar to 104 degrees Fahrenheit the Koala will often take advantage of this mirco climate.

By climbing up and hugging the tree  the Koala is actually opening up its own personal fridge door and letting the cool air in. Thermal images of how temperature is distributed allowed the researchers conducting the science experiment to see that the tree limbs on which the Koala would press down were usually cooler than the surrounding areas by several degrees allowing them to escape the heat wave on the ground.

Going to the beach without sunscreen is never going to happen with any sensible soul. You don’t want to expose your delicate skin to harmful rays from the sun which can damage it. So lathering on the sunscreen is a must. However that sunscreen you applied is not going to stay on your skin when you go for a swim in the coastal waters. Even if the label reads water-proof the lotion is going to come off the skin and provide inadequate cover from the sun.

For the human being the good news is that you can easily apply yet another layer of sunscreen and sit down on the beach to soak up the rays. For the fish in the water the bad news is that the main ingredient of sunscreen is titanium dioxide. Add the water and the sun and you get a smoking chemical reaction creating hydrogen peroxide which unfortunately wipes out the phytoplankton right away.

With the harsh chemical taking out the phytoplankton, the fish are gradually going to starve and the whole food chain will be affected. The solution to this dilemma? No, its not using no sunscreen, rather its encouraging sun screen producers to manufacture a lotion which is more eco friendly and leaves less of a trace in the water. Now that’s a science project worth pursuing.

If you ever wonder about all the unusual animals that make up a part of our world, you will love to read the “Weird and Wild”  blog that Christine Dell ‘Amore writes. This writer and editor began her association with the wilder side of life as a National Geographic writer and editor before she decided to start her blog about strange and fascinating creatures.

The one woman blog, which was begun in 2011, showcases a variety of cool, unusual and just plain weird animals all of whom Christine has had personal experiences with. Some interesting discoveries include information such as the existence of a millipede that emits cyanide which stains the skin for several weeks, the fact that within ant hills there are areas designated as toilets, or even how a porcupine can fend off a group of lions and protect itself.

Pink sea slugs, loggerhead sea turtles, long necked dinosaurs and a whole lot more weird and wild animals find their way into this informative and interesting blog making it rather fun to read. Look out for her viral videos explaining stuff that makes for an interesting biology lesson. This is one personal science project that will help you understand your wild world better.

Long before the James Bond movie which declared diamonds to be a girls best friend, the value of the crystal was known and appreciated by many ancient civilizations. A diamond formed from coal over millions of years and excruciating levels of pressure is today the perfect gift for your better half, but they can literally cost the earth to purchase.

Buying a diamond engagement ring can be akin to declaring bankruptcy for the next couple of months till you can recover from the high costs. However in place of natural diamond if you were to go in for a lab grown stone named a microwave diamond, the costs substantially diminish.

These stones have the same physical appearance as a real diamond. they even share their chemical make up with the real deal. The only difference is that they have been produced artificially in a matter of months rather than in the cradle of mother nature over a couple of thousand years.

They have become immensely popular over the last few years. These 10 week miracles seem to be very popular with people who are looking for something smart, but at the right price. Now this is one science project that is pushing an unusual subject – romance!

Alien technology in science fiction movies always has that magical material that space crafts are made of which tend to seal themselves up even as the bullets split it apart. The gaping hole slowly but surely begins to close on itself and soon there is no evidence left of the damage done by the bullets that were showered on it.

Well, it seems that scientists today have managed to figure out some of the secrets that would make it possible to become a reality on future space crafts we build. A self healing material has been developed by researchers that can prevent structural penetration from becoming a catastrophic event.

With the air supply that is required for astronauts to survive in space being a premium, this new self healing substance is obviously going to be a very important development. The material was created by sandwiching a reactive liquid between two layers of a solid polymer.

During experiments conducted by the researchers when the material was shot at with a bullet, the liquid quickly reacted with the oxygen to form a solid plug for the hole in a second. Needless to say this science experiment is going to be a closely watched one.

There have been a number of catalogued fears in the history of psychology, but as technology comes into play, new fears arise. Like for instance Nomophobia, a fear of being without your mobile phone. You may think that’s funny but as per PhD students in Iowa State University its quite a serious problem.

Caglar Yildirim and Ana-Paula Correia have identified four dimensions for this fear.  They used a questionnaire to test people’s reactions to statements that were given. The scale ran from 1 where the participant strongly disagreed to 7 where they strongly agreed. The higher they scored the more severe form of Nomophobia did they suffer from.

In the section of the questionnaire where people were asked to answer how they would react if they did not have their smartphone with them, a number of statements were made about how uncomfortable and anxious they would feel. Some were concerned about not being able to contact family, while others would miss keeping up to date with social websites. Someone even mentioned that they would not know what to do.

The truth is that mobile phones have become an integral part of our lives. Smartphones act not merely as phone but as cameras, internet access points, communication hub and a personal assistant as well. All this science experiment pointed out is the importance that we give to this little gadget in our lives.