Mark Strauss

Why Are Countries Still Using Fake Bomb Detectors?

Earlier this week, a group of 10 militants armed with guns and grenades entered Karachi’s Jinnah international airport, where they killed 28 people and themselves. Reports suggest they managed to get past security because the airport continues to use a bomb detector exposed as a fraud in 2010. The so-called bomb detector, the “ADE 651,”…

The CIA’s drone strike program in Pakistan, once the mainstay of the Obama administration’s counterterrorism effort, is winding down. One reason: the targeted killing operation relies on drones flown from — and intelligence gathered by — bases in Afghanistan, which will be closing down as the U.S. withdraws.

What Is The Worst Example Of A Show Violating Its Own Rules?

A truly believable fictional universe is one that abides by the rules of its own creators. And the surest way to ruin a TV show’s continuity is to suddenly change those rules—or ignore them entirely. What science fiction or fantasy show is the worst offender in this regard? The most egregious example for me is…

Distort Geography in Amusing Ways with This Mercator Map Generator

The Mercator map, created in 1596 to help sailors navigate, is also why so many people think Greenland is larger than China. Now you can better appreciate how two-dimensional maps mess with geography, thanks to a site that lets you move the poles to anywhere in the world. The Mercator belongs to a family of…

​​​​This 3D-Printed Dress Reveals More Skin As You Reveal More Data

Two NYU students have created a “wearable sculpture” that uses a mobile app to adjust the fabric’s opacity based upon how much information you share about yourself — knowingly and unknowingly — on sites such as Google and Facebook. The more transparent you are, the more “transparent” you become. It’s a project that brings new…

How Cuts in the Pentagon Science Budget Will Hurt Basic Research

Despite military downsizing, the White House has previously shielded science research at the Department of Defense from budget cuts. But this year, the administration requested a 6.9% reduction. That has universities worried since they receive 10% of their federal research funding from the Pentagon. In testimony before Congress this past March, Alan Shaffer, the Principal…

Violent crime is down in Denver since Colorado legalized marijuana. Data shows murders, assaults and burglaries declined during the first three months of the year, compared with the same period for 2013. Some opponents, however, say the criminal effect of decriminalizing marijuana won’t be felt for several years

Here’s ​​Why The U.S. Is Worried About A Major Conflict at Sea

Is America’s next war going to be in the Pacific? This new map suggests it will — and highlights the locations where it’s most likely to break out. As U.S. foreign policy increasingly pivots toward the Pacific, Washington finds itself potentially mired in escalating territorial disputes between China and its neighbors, including Japan, Vietnam and…

That Time When People Thought Playing Chess Would Make You Violent

Although chess has been played for centuries, it wasn’t until the 19th century that the game really took off in Europe and the U.S. Yet not everyone had a favorable view of this crazy new fad. Several critics decried chess as a source of intellectual laziness and anti-social behavior that could even provoke violence. I…

​Developing Nations Deal with Climate Change More Successfully

More than a dozen tropical developing countries have implemented policies to reduce rates of deforestation and cut their net emissions of global warming pollution. According to recent studies, it’s working. In fact, these countries may have already accomplished more for the climate than many developed nations. In the 1990s, an average of 16 million hectares…

This Map Shows How Often U.S. Couples Are Having Sex To Get Pregnant

Across this great land, there are couples trying to conceive a child. And some are trying a bit harder than others. This map was created by a company called Ovia, based upon data compiled from its fertility app: 4.35 million instances of sex and tens of millions of data points from hundreds of thousands users.…

The Chinese Tea Study that the Tea Party Wants to Suppress

Rep. Matt Salmon (R-AZ) just cut funding to a science program that he says “didn’t pass the laugh test” — a long-term study on how climate change is affecting Chinese tea crops. But this study isn’t funny. Instead, it offers the darkest picture yet of how our crops will change in the years ahead. The…

A Lunar Discovery Reveals The Secret To Building Deflector Shields

Radiation in space is one of the major obstacles to human exploration of the solar system. Astronauts on a round-trip to Mars could be exposed to radiation doses 66,000 times higher than on Earth. But recent research into magnetic fields on the Moon could help us design effective radiation shields. A new study written by…

A Size Chart Of The Cold Worlds That Orbit Our Sun Beyond Neptune

As many as 1,400 icy objects inhabit a region of our solar system some 2.9 to 4.7 billion miles from the sun. The European Space Agency’s Herschel Space Observatory has studied 132 of them, revealing a striking diversity of shapes, sizes and colors. These trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs )— which include worlds such as Pluto, Eris,…

Can I Interest You In A Comfy London Apartment At 221B Baker St.?

It’s hard to imagine Sherlock Holmes giving up his flat. Who else but Mrs. Hudson would be willing to put up with the noise, tobacco smoke, violin music and the occasional evil nemesis dropping by? But, if it does go up for sale, someone has calculated the market price. Natalie Grigson at Movoto Blog (“The…

It’s the 30th Birthday of Tetris, the World’s First Electronic Drug

Happy Birthday, Tetris! Alexey Pajitnov released the block-stacking, productivity-killer on June 6, 1984—and it has been available on nearly every gaming device since. Why has this simple game endured while so many others ended up in 8-bit heaven? A psychologist explains what makes it uniquely addicting. As Engineering and Technology Magazine reports, Dr. Tom Stafford…

Failed Nuclear Weapons Recycling Program Could Put Us All in Danger

Some government screw-ups are so epic that they require decades of effort. Such was the case for the recently cancelled plan to convert surplus weapons-grade plutonium into nuclear fuel. Not only did the U.S. waste $4 billion dollars, it increased the likelihood that terrorists could obtain bomb-making materials. It sounded like a good idea at…

​This Scientific Paper On Mermaids Is Absolutely Brilliant

Karl Banse, an oceanographer and biologist, is one of the most esteemed scientists in the world. He’s written on everything from the use of satellites to detect phytoplankton concentrations to the transport of carbon into the deep oceans. But, perhaps his most overlooked research is his seminal paper on mermaids. Craig McClain, the Assistant Director…

Critics of the EPA’s emissions reduction plan say it lets many big polluting states off easy. For instance, coal-burning states like West Virginia and Kentucky will have to cut carbon pollution by 19.8% and 18.3%, while Washington state, one of the lowest carbon emitters, is supposed to cut its pollution output by 72%.

The success or failure of an upcoming U.S. ballistic missile defense test could affect when the Pentagon deploys 14 more ground-based interceptors to defend against possible missile threats from North Korea. The test— planned for June 22—will focus on the “kill vehicle,” which is supposed to destroy incoming missiles.