Robbie Gonzalez

Could Post-Apocalyptic Humans Reboot Civilization Without Fossil Fuels?

The scenario: Out of the ashes of some global catastrophe, humanity rises to re-establish civilization. The question: How far could such a society realistically rebuild without the aid of fossil fuels? Photo Credit: thierry ehrmann via flickr | CC BY 2.0. University of Leicester’s Lewis Dartnell, a UK Space Agency research fellow working in astrobiology…

This ‘Simple’ Puzzle Once Stumped 96% of America’s Top Math Students

Twenty years ago, this puzzle appeared on a test administered to top-tier math students from 16 countries around the world. Only 10% of test takers got it right. In the U.S., only 4% managed to provide a correct response. Can you find the “simple” solution that so many intelligent students missed? Earlier this week, a…

Sponges Are Surprisingly Good At Soaking Up Problem Chemical BPA

Scientists cleaning their labs have discovered that a plain old sponge is surprisingly well suited to removing bisphenol A (BPA) from surfaces and equipment. Photo Credit: Horia Varlan via flickr | CC BY 2.0 Via Chemistry World: ‘It was an accidental discovery,’ says Wei Qiu, from the University of Massachusetts, US, one of the researchers…

The Whys, Wherefores, and Wonders of Mathematics

Check out this delightful video of math teacher Paul Lockhart—author of Measurement, “a permanent solution to math phobia by introducing us to mathematics as an artful way of thinking and living”—waxing lyrical about the splendors of mathematics and mathematical thinking, and why “the mathematical question is always ‘why?'” H/t Aatish Bhatia Contact the author at…

Contributors at the excellent marine science blog Deep-Sea News have published an article in PLOS on how to conduct effective online science outreach. It is (appropriately? ironically? self-consciously?) presented in list format. Here are Ten Simple Rules for Effective Online Outreach.

Elon Musk: “Humans Need To Be A Multiplanet Species”

Bad Astronomy’s Phil Plait recently visited the SpaceX construction factory. His visit also included a chat with CEO Elon Musk. This should excite you. Plait is a consummate nerd, and Elon Musk is Elon Musk. Bring them together and you’re bound to get good things (the quote up top, for instance). Above: The SpaceX Falcon…

Dogs Exploit The Parent-Child Bonding Mechanism To Make You Love Them

Have you ever gazed into your dog’s eyes and sensed a remarkably strong connection – almost as if that little fur ball were your child? The results of a newly published study could help explain why this is — and how dogs evolved from wild wolves into the domesticated companions we know (and love) today.…

World’s Oldest Stone Tools Found, Predate Homo Genus By 500,000 Years

Researchers working in Kenya’s archaeologically prolific Lake Turkana region claim to have uncovered a set of 3.3-million-year-old stone tools. That’s 700,000 years older than the previous record, and predates evidence for the evolutionary origins of the genus Homo by half a million years. Above: A satellite image of Lake Turkana, where the stone tools –…

WHO Says Withholding Results From Clinical Trials Is Unethical

The World Health Organization (WHO) called for greater transparency in medical research this week, moving that results from clinical trials for medical products be disclosed in open, free-to-access publications within twelve months of studies’ completion, whatever their findings. https://gizmodo.com/7-things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-clinical-trials-1526639800 “Failure to publicly disclose trial results engenders misinformation, leading to skewed priorities for both R&D and…

Check Out Your Local Puzzled Pint–It’s Like Pub Trivia, But With Puzzles

Fans of io9’s Sunday Puzzle column would do well to check out Puzzled Pint, a social puzzle-solving event that takes place on the second Tuesday of every month at bars and restaurants around the world. https://gizmodo.com/can-you-solve-the-hardest-logic-puzzle-in-the-world-1642492269 Sez Wil Zambole, of the Chicago Game Control for Puzzled Pint: I thought it might be of interest to…

You Can Solve This Puzzle By Counting On Your Fingers

I’m on the road this week. Save for a couple of brief layovers, I’ve been doing a lot of driving. In light of this, I was inspired to feature a puzzle that could be solved without pen and paper. It was while glancing at my hands (which were, at the time, wrapped around a steering…

The number of postdocs is growing, but academic positions are scarce. What’s a recent graduate/PhD candidate/prospective grad student to do? Kendall Powell surveys the status of the postdoctoral landscape, in a feature for Nature that should be required reading for anyone in – or considering entering – academia. Image Credit: National Academies. Contact the author…

How Does A Guinea Worm Reproduce? HORRIBLY and INSIDE YOU.

“Gross Science” is a new science show from PBS Digital Studios that’s all about what show host Anna Rothschild calls science’s “slimy, smelly, creepy underbelly.” In this episode, Rothschild describes the utterly repulsive (but fascinating – really!) life cycle of the Guinea worm. The first three episodes of “Gross Science” dropped yesterday. Check all three…

This Image Is Why Everyone’s So Excited About A NASA Mission To Europa

NASA wants to visit Jupiter’s moon Europa. Why’s that exciting? In a word: Water. As this visualization shows, the icy moon may look tiny next to our own planet, but it’s got 2- to 3-times as much H2O as we have here on Earth. That “little” moon is packing quite the store of water —…

Oliver Sacks On His Treatment And “General Feeling Of Disorder”

In the April 23rd issue of the New York Review of Books, Oliver Sacks – who, in January of this year, learned that his liver was overrun by metastatic cancer – writes with characteristic skill on the shifts in constitution that frequently accompany illness, treatment, and convalescence. Photo Credit: Luigi Novi | CC BY 3.0.…

Isaac Newton’s Rainbow Gaze, As Imagined By Mana Morimoto

Fiber artist Mana Morimoto adds colorful embroidery to a diverse range of media, including sculptures and concert tickets. This augmented etching of Isaac Newton (hit the jump for the full image) is one of our favorites. See more of Morimoto’s work on Tumblr and Cargo Collective, or purchase prints on Society 6. H/t Colossal Contact…

NASA Invests In Ultra-Lightweight Tech For Missions To Mars And Beyond

For future deep-space missions, NASA wants to reduce the mass of its spacecraft by 40 percent. To do it, they’ll need ultra-lightweight (ULW) materials. Today, the Agency announced its selection of three proposals that will develop and manufacture these materials “for future aerospace vehicles and structures.” Image Credit: NASA “Lightweight and multifunctional materials and structures…

NASA Chief Scientist Predicts We’ll Find Signs Of Alien Life By 2025

Here’s the full quote, as delivered by NASA Chief scientist Ellen Stofan at Tuesday’s panel discussion on the Agency’s search for habitable worlds and alien life: “I think we’re going to have strong indications of life beyond Earth within a decade, and I think we’re going to have definitive evidence within 20 to 30 years.”…

#IAmaScientistBecause is currently trending on Twitter, and submissions thus far have been pretty wonderful. Check out the latest Tweets here, or peruse this collection of outstanding explanations, as curated on Storify by Michael Halpern. Contact the author at [email protected].

This Pregnant Rhino Is Part Of The ‘Largest Rhino Airlift Ever’

In an “admittedly desperate bid” to save about a hundred rhinos from the persistent threat of poachers in South Africa, conservationists are air lifting these endangered animals to safer parks in Botswana, where the danger posed by poaching is less severe. Photograph by Beverly Joubert, featured by permission of National Geographic. This pregnant rhino was…