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cars
I used to want a car just like KITT when I was a kid, though perhaps without that slightly annoying nasal voice. And now a Stanford scientist is looking at whether nattering to your vehicle may be good for you, the car, other road users and even (darnit) your insurers or advertising execs.
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Scientist Studies Cars That Speak and Listen Like KITT
I used to want a car just like KITT when I was a kid, though perhaps without that slightly annoying nasal voice. And now a Stanford scientist is looking at whether nattering to your vehicle may be good for you, the car, other road users and even (darnit) your insurers or advertising execs. More »
science
Robot Mouth, Because Chewing Is for Luddites
In the face of a global food crisis, it's good to know that we have newly-developed robotic mouths around. Composed of teeth-like protrusions, variable speed motors, artificial saliva and a helium flow to quarantine-released compounds, this artificial mouth can masticate with the best of 'em. More »
science
Good news, America! Your faithful scientific elite have isolated a brain enzyme that, when blocked, decreases appetite, promotes weight loss and improves the body's ability to handle blood sugar levels. You'll be fat and diabetic no longer!
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Blocked Enzyme Curbs Appetite, Promotes Weight Loss, Probably Causes Cancer or Something
Good news, America! Your faithful scientific elite have isolated a brain enzyme that, when blocked, decreases appetite, promotes weight loss and improves the body's ability to handle blood sugar levels. You'll be fat and diabetic no longer!
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zap
The Best Way To Cook Hot Dogs: by Tesla Coil
The most exiting way to cook hot dogs: connect a chain of 12 of them up and send bolts of multi-thousand-volt electricity through them. Awesome, and all thanks to the Nevada Lightning Lab and their 10-foot Tesla coil at Maker Faire '08. And amazingly, the coil they used is just a prototype for a 122-foot version they want to build for lightning experiments. Imagine the light show and cookability you'd get from that! [Lightning Lab via Oh Gizmo]
aliens
Far more serious than beaming a salted snack advert into space, scientists at Pennsylvania State University in State College suggest that if we really want to catch the attention of aliens, then we should cover half the moon in mirrors, and send coded flashes of light into space. Always assuming ET's not too bored by us, that is.
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Scientists Propose Flashing Mirrors on Moon to Catch ET's Eye
Far more serious than beaming a salted snack advert into space, scientists at Pennsylvania State University in State College suggest that if we really want to catch the attention of aliens, then we should cover half the moon in mirrors, and send coded flashes of light into space. Always assuming ET's not too bored by us, that is.
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science
Researchers at USC's Information Sciences Institute produced this amazing pyramid, around 30 microns across, which may one day be used to deliver precise micro- or nano-doses of medication. The structures, dubbed "voxels" are made of silicon, cut into flats and then folded up and sealed to enclose tiny volumes of space inside. The team hasn't stopped at pyramids either— they've tried flat envelopes, cubes and partial dodecahedra, but these don't close together the way the pyramid does.
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Scientists Do Micro-Origami, Make Tiny Drug-Delivery Package
Researchers at USC's Information Sciences Institute produced this amazing pyramid, around 30 microns across, which may one day be used to deliver precise micro- or nano-doses of medication. The structures, dubbed "voxels" are made of silicon, cut into flats and then folded up and sealed to enclose tiny volumes of space inside. The team hasn't stopped at pyramids either— they've tried flat envelopes, cubes and partial dodecahedra, but these don't close together the way the pyramid does.
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synthetic web
Glass Micromachine Makes Silk the Same Way Spiders Do
A team at the Technical University of Munich in Germany has designed a glass chip pierced with micro-sized tubes that act the same way as spider silk glands, and can be used to replicate the initial stages of natural silk production. It's an interesting development since production of artificial spider silk has proven difficult in industrial quantities and qualities, and its tensile strength to density ratio is five times that of steel, making it potentially very useful as armor and in medical applications. More »
mistakes
Here's a tip for next time you're emptying a sealed storage tank on a train or a truck: make sure you properly vent it! If you don't, it'll implode in an amazing fashion, which might make for an entertaining video but will probably get you yelled at and fired. But hot damn, who knew tanks could crumple themselves up like a soda can like that? [Neatorama]
How to Implode a Tanker Car in Under a Second
Here's a tip for next time you're emptying a sealed storage tank on a train or a truck: make sure you properly vent it! If you don't, it'll implode in an amazing fashion, which might make for an entertaining video but will probably get you yelled at and fired. But hot damn, who knew tanks could crumple themselves up like a soda can like that? [Neatorama]
science
Department of Defense Invests $250 Million in Regrowing Body Parts
The military is serious about regrowing body parts. So serious that the Department of Defense just announced the creation of the Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine, or AFIRM. The goal of AFIRM? To "use a patient's natural cellular structure to reconstruct new skin, muscles and tendons, and even ears, noses and fingers." Sounds pretty great to us. More »
science
A Round of Applause for the Gonorrhea-Based Molecular Machine
Gonorrhea isn't just an STD known for causing burning sensations when you pee; it's the strongest organism known to man. Able to pull 100,000 times its body weight, the clap may soon serve a purpose greater than painfully reminding you of nights spent cruising the Red Light District. Scientists hope to use gonorrhea bacteria in nanotech devices because of the strong forces they can exert on nearby objects. In the clip above, gonorrhea is using pili filaments it produces, which are 10 times longer than the bacterium itself, to pull tiny columns. More »
science
Flowers Grow In Moon Soil Simulation
The moon is a nice place to visit, but you'd never want to live there. Because of the lack of breathable air? Nah. There are no flowers. But now, scientists have successfully grown marigolds in crushed anorthosite, a rocky Earth-based soil that is quite similar to the stuff we see on the moon. More »
science
Restricting yourself to a super-low calorie diet has been discovered as a way to extend your lifespan by a noticeable number of years, but it comes with a pretty lousy side effect: you don't get to eat anything. Not worth it! I'd rather die at 70 knowing the sweet taste of ham and cheese Hot Pockets than live to 90 and always be hungry. But there's good news: it looks like scientists have figured out why calorie-restricted diets increase lifespans, and they're going to put that magic in pill form.
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Scientists Discover How to Extend Lifespans without Starving Yourself
Restricting yourself to a super-low calorie diet has been discovered as a way to extend your lifespan by a noticeable number of years, but it comes with a pretty lousy side effect: you don't get to eat anything. Not worth it! I'd rather die at 70 knowing the sweet taste of ham and cheese Hot Pockets than live to 90 and always be hungry. But there's good news: it looks like scientists have figured out why calorie-restricted diets increase lifespans, and they're going to put that magic in pill form.
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science
You think China inducing rain to prevent a washed-out Olympics is impressive? Whatever. Check this out: a group of scientists has just shot a laser into some clouds and triggered lightning.
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Scientists Use Lasers to Create Lightning; Using Lightning to Zap Your Enemies Still Pretty Far Off
You think China inducing rain to prevent a washed-out Olympics is impressive? Whatever. Check this out: a group of scientists has just shot a laser into some clouds and triggered lightning.
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beer
Are there any tragedies greater than really wanting a cold beer and only having warm beers on hand? Without thinking too long about it, I'm going to go ahead and say no, there aren't. That's why I'm excited to see this method of chilling a warm can of beer down to a frosty, drinkable temperature in about 20 seconds. Sure, it's much more expensive and stupid than just planning ahead and using a fridge, but when you're in a bind you're in a bind. [Book of Joe]
Chill a Can of Warm Beer in 20 Seconds
Are there any tragedies greater than really wanting a cold beer and only having warm beers on hand? Without thinking too long about it, I'm going to go ahead and say no, there aren't. That's why I'm excited to see this method of chilling a warm can of beer down to a frosty, drinkable temperature in about 20 seconds. Sure, it's much more expensive and stupid than just planning ahead and using a fridge, but when you're in a bind you're in a bind. [Book of Joe]
science
Cornell researchers are working on a way to make hovering vehicles a reality. By pairing superconductors with permanent magnets, they've figured out a way to get objects to hover with complete stability without any power necessary.
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Scientists Use Superconductors to Get Spacecrafts Hovering
Cornell researchers are working on a way to make hovering vehicles a reality. By pairing superconductors with permanent magnets, they've figured out a way to get objects to hover with complete stability without any power necessary.
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medicine
Are you one of the millions of Americans living without health insurance? If so, then you know how expensive hospital visits are, especially for fancy tests like MRIs. But hey, don't worry. If you need an MRI, you can always just use this makeshift MRI that was built using a cardboard tube, coils of wire, and other items that you can pick up at your local hardware store. The thing is, it really works.
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Cheap, Homemade MRI Does a Better Job Imaging Lungs Than the Real Thing
Are you one of the millions of Americans living without health insurance? If so, then you know how expensive hospital visits are, especially for fancy tests like MRIs. But hey, don't worry. If you need an MRI, you can always just use this makeshift MRI that was built using a cardboard tube, coils of wire, and other items that you can pick up at your local hardware store. The thing is, it really works.
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gadgets
