Researchers have now found a way to paralyse tiny worms when they expose them to ultraviolet light. Even when the ultraviolet light was turned off the animals stayed stunned. However, if they were subsequently exposed to a different form of light they recovered again and were able to move.

The researchers claim that this is the first time that such an effect has been demonstrated in an animal. Although some of the worms died, most of them lived through the process.

The effect is caused by using a molecule which changes its shape when exposed to ultraviolet light.

Well, it's a start I suppose. [Telegraph via The Daily What]

Yes, I think That Speers is such a horrid person that I had to learn how to say so in Klingon from our intern Don. It just baffles me that Speers actually sounds genuinely proud of his personal pseudo-academic project:

I was interested in the question of whether my son, going through his first language acquisition process, would acquire it like any human language. He was definitely starting to learn it."

It's great that he wanted to see how languages are picked up, but did he not think that there's potential that he hindered his son's social development by keeping focus away from a real language? I'm all for teaching foreign languages early on, but lets make it ones that are spoken on this planet, please. [Citypages viaGeekologie]

Photo by Star Wars Blog, probably not d'Armond Speers.

Updated: Turns out that d'Armond Speers is a daily Gizmodo reader and not too excited about what I or some of you have said. To his credit though, he wrote me a very polite email and at no point called me any number of foul words that I might not understand.

Among other things, in his email Speers explained that his son is 15 now and has turned into a great kid. While he didn't remark about which languages his son speaks or studies now (or about how the boy feels about his childhood language experiment), the general implication is simply that he's a happy camper without any social scars.

As far as the main issue went, Speers told me that the only time he spoke Klingon around his son during those three years was when the two were interacting directly. His son was primarily exposed to English in his environment and also observed Speers speaking the language to others, which was why this whole thing didn't work as planned:

This ultimately was the reason the attempt failed, because it was an extra effort for him to speak Klingon to me, that was obviously not necessary because I obviously spoke English.

Clever kid. Why should he be speaking in tongue-twisters to dad when he doesn't have to? Sounds like a slightly-too-early example of teenage rebellion and no reason it shouldn't, because according to Speers, aside from the Star Trek influence, his son had a pretty normal childhood:

Second, just because I spoke Klingon does not mean that I was teaching him to wield a bat'leth or drink black ale. It was a language, and we did normal things that other parents do.

While even after Speers' email (and his unexpected sense of humor), I still don't think that Klingon (or any constructed language) is the best language to teach a child who's still barely grasping his mother tongue, the man behind the story seems a lot more human now. And while I or some of you may not agree with his methodologies or that his child was his subject for study, Speers didn't seem to let his academic curiosities overpower his primary prerogative as a parent. So, final disagreement or not, I take back the petaQ.

Click on the image to see the high resolution version

Can you see him floating there, on the left, right below the huge arrow that I also missed when I saw the movie? That's obviously him, a fact that has been confirmed to me by one of the movie's sequence supervisors at Industrial Light & Magic—the same guy who said this previous sighting was just the shuttle.

I don't know about you but, right now, I feel like what I imagine my dog Jones feels every time I take his collar off to scratch his neck. Oh yesyeyeyeyes. YES. Harf. Woof. [Image capture from Science Fiction Stuff—Thanks ILM tipster]

Basically you're cramming a Bluetooth module and a microcontroller into a toy Communicator and then pairing everything with your phone. As long as you've got voice dialing, you can leave your phone out of sight and be the snazziest Trekkie on the streets. Just don't come crying to me if someone stuffs you into a locker, trashcan, or wormhole. [Make]

Confirmed exclusively for the UK at the moment, the packages include an Xbox Elite, an extra controller and the related movie on USB (not DVD). You may also score some extra Microsoft points.

The offer is strange, not just because of the Hollywood branding or the lack of optical media. The offer is strange because Microsoft isn't promoting the free download of either movie through Xbox Live. USB sticks? Really? [MCV and VideoGamer via Kotaku]

Needless to say, the drive is also loaded up with DRM—but you are allowed to run it on 5 registered devices and burn it to DVD, so it's not unreasonable. And since it has been deemed as a "collectible", fans will surely line up to fork over their $29. [Play via OhGizmo]

Over the last year and a half, Patria Aviation Oy has worked on developing a flexible-yet-durable, functional-yet-adaptable antenna. The best part? Based on a successful call to the "Netherlands from their headquarters in Finland by using the prototype antenna," they've succeeded.

How do they work? Apparently the flexible antennas connect "to Iridium satellites (whose low-altitude operations do not require large antennas)" for outgoing calls. As it stands, they can't take incoming calls. This leaves me a bit baffled, since if I'd only want to call people with other patch communicators, if I had one. Also a bit confusing is exactly where the actual phone and GPS portion of this device is kept (the patch is only the antenna, after all).

Aside from those oddities, these flexible antennas sound fantastic: They're supposedly able to "maintain a strong radio signal, even when the patch is bent vertically, horizontally or diagonally" and "send location information to a remote user" (great because a device in your pocket or wherever might have trouble sending a GPS signal). All that seems to be missing is the option to get beamed up.

And in case you're wondering: no, I won't share my number one Star Trek fantasy (though you're free to guess). [Network World via Slashdot via PopSci]

Spaceship-like setups include a 135-inch viewscreen, huge multi-touchscreen desks and fancy equipment and screens being scattered all over the damned place. Essentially, it looks like the future.

All this stuff is designed to tackle things like network-enabled warfare and management and systems designs, somewhat boring stuff compared to laser guns and the like, but probably way more important in future conflicts. In any case, I look forward to the time when they put all this stuff on a spaceship.

[CNET via Fast Company]

Strangely enough, the eccentric urn does not seem to have been a request of the deceased, but an earnest and loving gesture by family. From brother/flickr user sam 3.14:

His friends and family were able to leave their final good-byes on post-notes. Anyone who wanted to keep their words private could just slip their note into the case through the floppy slot. All notes will be sealed in plastic and placed within the case. There has been one complication. His daughters like the look of it so much they aren't now sure if they want to bury him.

Apparently "Beam Me Up Scotty. I'm done here" were among the departed's final words.
And while years of browsing the internet has forced me to question the validity of this tale, that same experience has also convinced me that, yes, this probably actually happened. [flickr via Slashdot]

If your name were Gene Roddenberry, however, that would have been a piece of cake. Still, if you are an Star Trek fan, you may be interested in bidding for this original Macintosh 128 with serial number F4200NUM0001, owned by the sci-fi genius himself. According to that number, it was the 776th Mac 128, manufactured during the 20th week of 1984 in Fremont, California.

It's exactly like the one I have—including the Macintosh team signatures etching inside—except mine was manufactured on the 28th week of 1984.

Profiles in History—who got all their facts wrong in their press release, hopefully not the bit about this being Roddenberry's computer—is going to auction the computer and the extra floppy drive at the beginning of October. It has an estimated sale price of $800 to $1200, which seems quite cheap, knowing who the owner was. [Dvice]

Gizmodo Gallery 2009
Groupe
267 Elizabeth Street
New York, NY 10012

Gallery Dates:
September 23rd-27th

Times:

9/22 Tuesday
Media Day by appointment only. For info please contact gallery@gizmodo.com.

9/23 Wednesday
12-8

9/24 Thursday
12-8

9/25 Friday
12-8

9/26 Saturday
11-8
9-? - Live KCRW Show

9/27 Sunday
11-6

Read more about our Giz Gallery 09 here, follow @gizgallery on Twitter and see what else we'll be playing with at the event. And special thanks to Toyota's Prius — without their sponsorship, there would be no Gizmodo Gallery.

Mesa , AZ – Gateway 12 + IMAX Theatre
Phoenix , AZ – Deer Valley 30 with IMAX
Aliso Viejo , CA – Aliso Viejo Stadium 20 with IMAX
Camarillo , CA – Camarillo 12 with IMAX
El Dorado Hills , CA – El Dorado Hills Stadium 14 with IMAX
Emeryville , CA – Bay Street 16 with IMAX
Escondido , CA – Escondido Stadium 16 with IMAX
Fairfield , CA – Fairfield Stadium 16 + IMAX
Fresno , CA – Fresno Stadium 21 + IMAX
Ontario , CA – Ontario Palace Stadium 22 + IMAX
San Diego , CA – Palm Promenade 24 with IMAX
Santa Clara , CA – Mercado 20 with IMAX
Simi Valley , CA – Civic Center Stadium 16 + IMAX
South Gate , CA – South Gate Stadium 20 with IMAX
Stockton , CA – Downtown Stockton 16 + IMAX
Universal City , CA – Citywalk Stadium 19 with IMAX
Westchester , CA – Bridge De Lux 18 + IMAX
Altamonte Springs , FL – Altamonte Mall 18 with IMAX
Aventura , FL – Aventura Mall 24 with IMAX
Cape Canaveral , FL – IMAX Theater
Fort Myers , FL – Gulf Coast Town Center Stadium 16 + IMAX
Jacksonville , FL – Regency 24 with IMAX
Orange Park , FL – Orange Park 24 with IMAX
Orlando , FL – Pointe Orlando Stadium 20 + IMAX
Orlando , FL – Waterford Lakes Stadium 20 with IMAX
St Petersberg , FL – Baywalk 19 + IMAX
Tallahassee , FL – IMAX Theatre Tallahassee
Tampa , FL – Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI)
Tampa , FL – Veterans 24 with IMAX
Tampa , FL – Channelside Cinemas Stadium 9 + IMAX
Augusta , GA – Augusta Exchange Stadium 20 + IMAX
Kennesaw , GA – Barrett Commons 24 with IMAX
Morrow , GA – Southlake Pavilion 24 with IMAX Honolulu , HI – Dole Cannery 18 with IMAX
Boise , ID – Boise Stadium 21 + IMAX
Batavia , IL – Randall 14 + IMAX
Lincolnshire , IL – Lincolnshire Stadium 20 + IMAX
Woodridge , IL – Cinemark 16 + IMAX
Noblesville , IN – Hamilton 16 IMAX
Portage , IN – Portage 15 + IMAX
Louisville , KY – Stoney Brook IMAX
Newport , KY – Newport Levee 20 with IMAX
Harahan , LA – Elmwood Palace 20 with IMAX
Boston , MA – New England Aquarium
Saco , ME – Cinemagic Saco 12 with IMAX
Detroit , MI – Detroit Science Center IMAX Theatre
Grand Blanc , MI – NCG Trillium Cinema + IMAX
Lansing , MI – Celebration – Lansing 19 + IMAX
Sterling Heights , MI – Forum 30 with IMAX
Ypsilanti , MI – Showcase Ann Arbor 20 + IMAX
Roseville , MN – Rosedale 14 with IMAX
Saint Louis , MO – Ronnies Cinemas 19 + IMAX
Charlotte , NC – Stonecrest At Piper Glen Stadium 22 with IMAX
Concord , NC – Concord Mills 24 with IMAX
Council Bluffs , IA – Star Cinema 16 with IMAX
Henderson , NV – Sunset Station Stadium 13 with IMAX
Las Vegas , NV – Brenden Palms 13 + IMAX
Las Vegas , NV – Red Rock Stadium 15 + IMAX
North Las Vegas , NV – Aliante Station 16 with IMAX
Brooklyn , NY – Sheepshead Bay 14 with IMAX
Deer Park , NY – Deer Park Stadium 16 and IMAX
New Rochelle , NY – New Roc City Stadium 18 + IMAX
Williamsville , NY – Transit Center Stadium 18 +IMAX
Columbus , OH – Easton Town Center 30 with IMAX
Springdale , OH – Showcase Springdale 18 IMAX
Bensalem , PA – Neshaminy 24 with IMAX
Homestead , PA – Waterfront 22 with IMAX
Philadelphia , PA – Tuttleman IMAX – Franklin Institute
Tarentum , PA – Pittsburgh Mills Mall 17 + IMAX
Myrtle Beach , SC – IMAX Discovery Theatre
Chattanooga , TN – Tennessee Aquarium
Knoxville , TN – Pinnacle Stadium Cinemas 17 + IMAX
Colleyville , TX – Colleyville Cinema Grille & IMAX
Garland , TX – Firewheel 18 with IMAX
Houston , TX – Gulf Pointe 30 with IMAX
Mesquite , TX – Mesquite 30 with IMAX
Sugarland , TX – First Colony 24 with IMAX
Sandy , UT – Jordan Commons 16 + IMAX
Midlothian , VA – Commonwealth Stadium 20 with IMAX
Virginia Beach , VA – Lynnhaven 18 with IMAX
Woodbridge , VA – Potomac Mills 18 with IMAX
Kent , WA – Kent Station 14 with IMAX
Lacey , WA – Martin Village Stadium 16 + IMAX
Hull , QC – Canadian Museum Of Civilization
Victoria , BC – National Geographic Theater

I'm not going to pretend that anyone reading this story would be seeing JJ Abrams' Star Trek for the first time. Or even the second. But in case you didn't get to see Star Trek 3-?? times in the theater, this is probably your best, last chance...ever. Starting September 18th, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs will most likely replace Star Trek. So like we said up top, you have two weeks to see it until the film is rereleased as a Disney classic in 2050. [Trek Movie via SlashFilm via CrunchGear]

Fatal Farm made these for the MTV Movie Awards, but they were apparently a bit too insane for their tastes. I guess I can see why, but these are just so good.

And if you haven't yet, be sure to check out the other stuff on Fatal Farm's site, such as the alternate TV themes (Designing Women is my favorite). [Fatal Farm]

It has 12 different Star Trek LCARS (Library Computer Access/Retrieval System) interface themes, and the site says more will be available for download. File format support is listed as MP3, MP4, AVI JPG, BMP, and WAV.

What gave me goosebumps: Seeing that beyond the TR-590 Tricorder X-style design, there are also Medical, Borg, Marine, Workbee and Troi-styled models available. The starting price of $349 might bring you back down to earth, though. [AmeralisGrafx — Thanks Junior!]

Verna Rockets has a full debrief on its own builds, complete with links to several sites with parts and instructions. You'll find everything you need to build a flying model rocket that looks like a Recon Viper, the U.S.S. Enterprise, even The Black Hole Space Probe from "The Black Hole"

Confession: I always get psyched by rocket kits. Have any pics of your own launches that you'd like to share? [Verna Rockets via Hobby Media]

Named after the brave red-shirted men to appear on one episode of Star Trek only to take a vaporizer in the chest for Captain Kirk, ThinkGeek describes the new cologne's scent as "bright, clean and direct with top notes of green mandarin, bergamot and a hint of lavender, finishing with base notes of leather and grey musk." The 100ml bottle runs $30. And we're guessing it could be somewhat effective in your dating life should you wear it in substitute of your typical Star Trek uniform. [ThinkGeek via CrunchGear]

Gizmodo '79 is a week-long celebration of gadgets and geekdom 30 years ago, as the analog age gave way to the digital, and most of our favorite toys were just being born.

The plot could be described in one sentence: "The new Enterprise goes out to investigate an alien being that's threatening to destroy the Earth." That's it. But how Roddenberry executed such a simple premise shows why this man was a visionary that George Lucas couldn't even dream of comparing himself to.

Since it's been years since you've last seen the movie—about 15 years for me—I'll give a short recap. Admiral Kirk comes back to take command of the Enterprise, a ship that's spent the last 18 months being retrofitted, in order to intercept a giant gas cloud that demolished three Klingon Warbirds with ease. The film spends the first half of the movie assembling the cast, showing off the Enterprise exterior, and basically letting everyone settle in to their roles. It then spends the entire second half of the movie journeying from the outer edge of the gas cloud into the center. What's there? The Voyager 6 space probe. (There's no actual Voyager 6 probe in our reality, in case you're wondering.)

Turns out V'ger (Voyager 6 with space dirt on its nameplate) was lost after it hit a black hole, which dumped it in the vicinity of a "machine planet". That planet? The Borg fucking homeworld circa 300 years ago. (The Borg aren't mentioned by name, but material deemed canon claims Roddenberry designated the species as the Borg.) The Borg fitted V'ger with "advanced" technology and sent it back to Earth to fulfill its mission of relaying information back to its creator.

Kirk manages to stop this thing by connecting V'ger with Voyager 6, recognizing that the now-sentient machine is looking for HUMANS as its creator, and tries to send the proper codes for V'ger to finish its mission instead of killing everyone on Earth. Kirk fails until the handsome Captain Decker, who was demoted to Commander because both he, Kirk and Kirk's ego couldn't fit into the same chair, merged with V'ger and created a new advanced life form. The life form explodes into another dimension and the movie ends.

So what the hell is this movie about? Quite a lot of things, but none of these plot lines or themes are satisfactorily concluded. Besides the obvious religious analogies that involve the creator and God and meeting the maker and somehow finding a purpose to life, there are a few weird subplots that all end as abruptly as V'ger does.

There was the Decker/Ilia relationship, which symbolized a man finally being able to "physically" be with a woman—the avowed celibate woman—who tormented him years before by not allowing his photon torpedoes anywhere near her docking bay. Then there's Spock's journey to find out the meaning of life, trying to decide whether he's going to go with Logic or Emotion (big L, big E). A mindmeld with a sentient machine that has the entire knowledge of the universe makes the decision for him, and it's the latter. No real explanation of this either; Spock just wakes up from swapping minds with a robot to realize that he's not one.

And of course, there's the theme of growing old and obsolete. Everyone's 10 years older than when the series ended, carrying around a little more paunch and a little less muscle. Even Kirk has been replaced by a younger, better looking version of himself. Only by strongarming his way back into the hot seat does he manage to prove that yes, he IS out of touch, and needs someone younger to save his ass repeatedly.

All of this is buried under $49 million of special effects. That's $139 million in today's money. In comparison, the similarly effects-laden Star Trek 2009 movie cost $150 million. Both were pretty good LOOKING for their time, with Star Trek 1979 spending (what seemed like) a larger percentage of the film just flying around and looking at stuff. The influence of 2001: A Space Odyssey weighs heavily on the way the movie-makers did things, even 11 years later.

But what's the point of this movie? Like I said, it was in part a big thank-you to long time fans, as evidenced by old characters popping up to say hello. Nurse (now Dr.) Chapel, played by Roddenberry's wife, who also was the voice of the computer in TNG and JJ Abram's Star Trek movie, makes a few appearances. Yeoman Rand, the blonde sexpot from the first season of the series, also pops up in order to screw up a transportation sequence and kill two people. She may hold the record for longest time without a promotion in Star Trek history.

That was half the reason. The other half was because Roddenberry had more to say, and now he had the money to say it with. Gone were the cheap purple sets and cardboard rocks of the '60s series; in are the clean, sterile lines we've seen in many "traditional" space operas of the last 30 years. You may think that the only reason why the movie eschewed the lived-in, half-assed quality of the original was because they finally had money, but you'd only be half right. They also did this for a reason; because space needs orderliness. Why? Because space is fucking scary.

The movie is littered with reasons why space is "the final frontier". Kirk rushes a jump to warp—normally an everyday occurence in the Star Trek universe—before Scotty says it's ready and creates a temporal wormhole where the ship almost eats it in a near-hit with an asteroid. The villain is a piece of technology we sent out, basically telling us that even benign actions like the search for information may come back (by way of the Borg) to shoot us up the ass. Transporting, a relatively safe way of traveling, won't just kill you, it'll turn you into a disgusting, screaming blob of tissue if there's just ONE circuit board malfunctioning. Hell, the seductively bald female Lieutenant that V'ger abducts, kills, and machine-clones was doing nothing more than just standing there. In order to combat all the chaos out there, outside your raised shields, you need to make sure your system in here runs with military precision.

The Next Generation, arguably the best iteration of Star Trek, continues the train of thought started by Star Trek: The Motion Picture. There wouldn't be that without this. No Picard, Data, Riker or Geordi without a movie that basically amounts to as a dealer test drive of the new Enterprise. No more romping around the galaxy having your way with this or that alien. It's judgement time; time to prove that Humanity actually belongs in space and is capable of handling what's out there. Encounter at Farpoint, here we come.

So go back and watch the movie again, this time on Blu-ray in the comfort of your own home. Hell, if you've put a little bit of money into your home theater it may be better than the actual theater you saw this in in 1979. But this time, watch with the knowledge of the last three decades of Star Trek with you. [Star Trek Movie Collection]

Gizmodo '79 is a week-long celebration of gadgets and geekdom 30 years ago, as the analog age gave way to the digital, and most of our favorite toys were just being born.

Iimage credit Wikipedia, Trekcore