James Baker, Author at Gizmodo

Computers are now automatically selecting the best embryos for life

These time lapses are captured by a computer that automatically tracks embryo growth from the moment the sperm enters the egg during in vitro fertilization. It selects the best candidates for implantation in mothers, using special algorithms that look for some key markers during the cell division process. SPLOID is a new blog about awesome…

Sploid James Baker Jun 23

Crazy pilot scoops objects off the ground with his airplane’s wing tip

Watch Cesar Falistocco of the Escuadrilla Argentina aerial acrobatic team prove he is an ace with this display of control—he swoops in low and picks up a pair of flags lying flat on the ground with just a wing tip. Incredible flying. SPLOID is a new blog about awesome stuff. Join us on Facebook

Sploid James Baker Jun 23

This horror version of Bugs Bunny will haunt my dreams tonight

Rafael “Rafahu” Aguilar is a very talented Mexican animator, illustrator and designer with a wonderfully twisted mind and a classic style worth of Creepy or any of the Warren comic magazines during the 70s. This horror reinterpretation of classic Warner Bros. imagery seems designed to make kids cry. And anything that makes kids cry is…

Sploid James Baker Jun 20

Magic Budapest trams jumping into hyperspace

Budapest trams don’t travel through the space-time fabric like the starship Entreprise, but in these long-exposure photos they look like they do. They were taken by Viktor Varga (top) and Krisztian Birinyi (middle and bottom) last Christmas. Here’s a video of the trams in action: SPLOID is a new blog about awesome stuff. Join us…

Sploid James Baker Jun 19

Six jets fly in formation while another does barrel rolls around them

Photographer Sherilal Mohanan captured this spectacular image of the United Arab Emirates’ Al Fursan national air display team performing for Abu Dhabi, flying Italian-built Aermacchi MB-339NAT jets. Beautiful shot. Sherilal Mohanan is a photographer based in the United Arab Emirates. You can follow him on Flickr, 500PX and Facebook. His prints are available for purchase…

Sploid James Baker Jun 19

First ever 360-degree time-lapse bends space and mind

I’ve never seen anything like this stunning 360-degree time-lapse videos by photographer Vincent Brady. I think it’s the first one ever. He made them using a multiple camera 360-degree time-lapse panorama after years spent experimenting and customizing his kit. Incredible. The video was made with a four camera rig fitted with fish eye lenses and…

Sploid James Baker Jun 19

NASA unearths fascinating film of early experimental planes

NASA’s Neil A. Armstrong Flight Research Center has unearthed original footage of experimental aircraft from as far back as the 1940s. It shows really cool views of airplanes, like the Douglas D-558-II Skyrocket and the X-15 space plane. At the time, the recently rechristened Neil A. Armstrong Flight Research Center was a facility controlled by…

Sploid James Baker Jun 19

World’s northernmost big city is a brutal mosaic of color and pollution

Welcome to Norilsk, Russia. With 175,365 citizens, it’s the northernmost big city in the world. The architecture is brutal, it’s highly polluted, and it’s freezing cold all year round. Yet its geometric and colorful shapes make it an oddly pleasing sight—at least as captured from the air by photographer Slava Stepanov. Norilsk has polar days…

Sploid James Baker Jun 18

New York’s Central Park never looked so beautiful as in these photos

Michael Massaia started this series of beautiful night photographs of New York’s Central Park as a way of coping with severe insomnia. He’d walk alone with up to 50 pounds of kit and no interruptions—except for an occasional attempted mugging, solicitation or dog attack. All of the images were shot using an 8″x10″, 5″x7″, and…

Sploid James Baker Jun 18

This is Phil Fish—or why hate makes some celebrities even more famous

Using indie video game designer Phil Fish as an example, this video explains the cycle of fame and hate, and how it generates more and more fame. Why do we hate some famous people so much? Why does hate generate even more attention and fame? It’s a fascinating process. SPLOID is a new blog about…

Sploid James Baker Jun 18

How they made the gore effects in the last season of Game of Thrones

This visual effects reel from digital compositor Calvin Romeyn showcases some of the best shots in the most exciting and bloody scenes from Game of Thrones season four. It is fascinating to see which gruesome bits were added in post production. Warning: Major spoilers ahead. SPLOID is a new blog about awesome stuff. Join us…

Sploid James Baker Jun 17

Extreme biker rides through the narrowest mountain edge I’ve ever seen

Watch extreme athlete Jaws Szczęki tackle this very narrow and difficult mountain bike route in the French Alps. Zero room for error. SPLOID is a new blog about awesome stuff. Join us on Facebook

Sploid James Baker Jun 16

Enormous river of ducks flood an entire road

I don’t know how they herd the ducks in Thailand but I have never seen such an enormous flock that seemed quite so animated. Motorists had better just stay out of the way because it must be feeding time. SPLOID is a new blog about awesome stuff. Join us on Facebook

Sploid James Baker Jun 16

Lady dances on a tightrope 300 feet above NY without any safety—in 1931!

Hey MustangWanted, you got nothing on this insane 1930s NY lady, man. Way, way before you crazy Ukranian and Russian daredevils started acting like lunatics, this woman danced on a tightrope 300-foot above New York City without any safety whatsoever. Or maaaaaaaybe it could be the camera angle and she could just be standing above…

Sploid James Baker Jun 13

Nine-year time-lapse video shows how to make a nuclear fusion reactor

This time-lapse video shows the assembly of the most modern nuclear rector of its kind by the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics in Germany. Work on the Wendelstein 7-X fusion device has taken nearly ten years so far—here it is condensed down to just three minutes. The final module seen being lifted into place…

Sploid James Baker Jun 13

How spiders tune and play their webs like strings on a guitar

This short animation explains how spiders detect and distinguish between the vibrations and pitches traveling up and down their webs. This helps them find prey and identify potential mates. Scientists say some spiders tighten or loosen strands to fine tune this ability and that amazingly they will even pluck their webs—listening to the echoes to…

Sploid James Baker Jun 12

The 600,000 asteroids that we’ve discovered so far is one scary view

Looking at this animation—which shows the discovery locations of around 600,000 asteroids spotted in the inner solar system since 1980—I seems like a miracle that we’re still around. It’s incredible to see how the number detected has increased so rapidly in recent years thanks to new tracking technology. Some estimates suggest this figure is still…

Sploid James Baker Jun 12

Infinite loop marble machines

These beautiful machines serve no purpose apart from conveying marbles around a closed loop and being an absolute pleasure to watch—and they excel at both. SPLOID is a new blog about awesome stuff. Join us on Facebook

Sploid James Baker Jun 11

It is scary how fast this drain cleaner can dissolve household objects

Watch the rapid effects of pouring sulfuric acid—sold as drain cleaner!—on to a sponge. It dissolves in seconds and some really acrid fumes are produced. You might think it would be hard to get hold of something so corrosive but similar products are available off the shelf in Walmart. Buyer beware: this stuff can eat…

Sploid James Baker Jun 11

This is how a 3,000-car race would look like if the Earth were the Moon

Professional video maker Rickard Rick produces renderings of games in his spare time and this 3,000 car race-cum-epic-pile-up is one of his best. The physics are a bit crazy, as if the Earth had the Moon’s gravity, but the results have a dream like quality that makes it fun and hypnotic to watch. SPLOID is…

Sploid James Baker Jun 11

James Baker

Computers are now automatically selecting the best embryos for life

Crazy pilot scoops objects off the ground with his airplane’s wing tip

This horror version of Bugs Bunny will haunt my dreams tonight

Magic Budapest trams jumping into hyperspace

Six jets fly in formation while another does barrel rolls around them

First ever 360-degree time-lapse bends space and mind

NASA unearths fascinating film of early experimental planes

World’s northernmost big city is a brutal mosaic of color and pollution

New York’s Central Park never looked so beautiful as in these photos

This is Phil Fish—or why hate makes some celebrities even more famous

How they made the gore effects in the last season of Game of Thrones

Extreme biker rides through the narrowest mountain edge I’ve ever seen

Enormous river of ducks flood an entire road

Lady dances on a tightrope 300 feet above NY without any safety—in 1931!

Nine-year time-lapse video shows how to make a nuclear fusion reactor

How spiders tune and play their webs like strings on a guitar

The 600,000 asteroids that we’ve discovered so far is one scary view

Infinite loop marble machines

It is scary how fast this drain cleaner can dissolve household objects

This is how a 3,000-car race would look like if the Earth were the Moon

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