Robbie Gonzalez

New Technique Reveals Where AIDS Hides In The Body – In Real Time

A new, noninvasive technique has been used to create a real-time map of the simian AIDS virus (SIV) in the entire body of a living monkey, researchers report today. The method is called immunoPET, and it’s already turning up unexpected “viral reservoirs” where AIDS may gain a purchase in the body. Borrowing a labeling strategy…

The Moral Philosophy of Calvin and Hobbes

Bill Watterson’s Calvin and Hobbes is one of the most widely revered comic strips of all time. Why? You could pin Calvin and Hobbes’ success to its humor, its artwork, its creativity, or – probably the most frequent commendation – its capacity to speak to the kid inside readers of all ages. Over at The…

How Many Of These Statements Are True?

This week’s puzzle poses an apparent paradox. Given ten self-referential statements, your task is to determine which of statements are true, and which are false. Sunday Puzzle #23: Statements of Truth This week’s puzzle is presented at the top of the post. I will repeat it here. Above, there are ten numbered statements. Which of…

The characters on House of Cards have terrible sleep hygiene. “I’ve been pretty appalled by the Underwoods’ poor sleep habits,” notes science writer Jordan Gaines Lewis on her blog. In observation of Sleep Awareness Week, she lists three simplesleep hygiene rulesthat Frank and Claire would be wise to follow.

Take A Moment To Marvel At These Unusually Intimate Owl Portraits

It is notoriously difficult to photograph an owl. The stately birds tend to be close-taloned with their trust, requiring several months to become comfortable with even one human handler – a fact that explains both the rareness of intimate owl portraiture, and the magnificence of these shots by photographer Brad Wilson. Above: A Western Screech…

10 Gemstones Much Rarer Than Diamond 

Many people know that diamond is actually pretty common when it comes to gemstones (you can find millions of them in your typical candle flame), but who among us can actually name any that are rarer? Here, we present to you a collection of ten of the rarest gemstones on Earth. Above: Benitoite, number 7…

A Map Of The First Proposed U.S. Highway Network

Looking for good schools, good health, good morals, and good times? Well, then you’d need to find good roads first, according to the National Highway Association. Which is why the NHA drew up the first proposed highway plan in 1913. In 1911, the National Highways Association (NHA) was established to promote the development of a…

New NASA Findings Suggest Mars Was Once Home To A Giant Ocean

A vast, ancient ocean reaching depths of more than one mile may have once occupied close to half of Mars’ northern hemisphere, NASA scientists reported today. Above: An artist’s impression of what Mars may have looked like four billion years ago, when a vast liquid ocean may have sprawled across Mars’ northern hemisphere | Credit:…

Here, Have Some Adorable Animal Humor

Rays and skates are members of a superorder of fishes called Batoidia (they’re also in the subclass Elasmonbranchii, to which sharks also belong). Batoids aresuper weird. You should read about them. But for the purposes of this comic, what you need to know is that batoid undersides look like funny little faces. In other news,…

The Top 10 Emerging Technologies Of 2015

Bernard Meyerson, chief innovation officer of IBM and chair of the World Economic Forum’s Meta-Council on Emerging Technologies, today published the Meta-Council’s list of the Top 10 Emerging Technologies of 2015. Above: In November 2014, the 3D printer aboard the International Space Station became operational, marking the orbital outpost’s first foray into additive manufacturing. Via…

You Can Play This Music For Your Cat (And Your Cat May Actually Like It)

Cats seem pretty apathetic about a lot of things. You might think music is one of them. But according to a new study, it’s not that cats don’t care about music – it’s that they don’t care about YOUR music. So what kind of music do cats appreciate? We’re so glad you asked. A recently…

Researchers have cross-referenced a 3D model of Sophie, the world’s most complete stegosaurus specimen, with data on the masses of living animals to calculate that the animal weighed approximately 1,600 kg (3527 pounds, about the weight of a small rhino) in life. Their findings are published today inBiology Letters.

The Ebola Outbreak Has Had Devastating Consequences For Maternal Health

In Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, the Ebola outbreak is having a horrifying impact on pregnant women, regardless of whether they have Ebola. Above: The Médecins Sans Frontières Ebola treatment centre in Freetown, Sierra Leon, where, in January, medical aid workers opened a clinic specializing in care for pregnant women with Ebola | Photo Credit:…

When was the last time you were flabbergasted by the real world? What about the first time – do you remember that? Science writer Ann Finkbeiner does, and her account the experience is probably the loveliest thing you’ll ever read involving disemboweled chickens.

Slug Slime Is A Liquid Crystal And It’s Actually Pretty Incredible

You do not become a forest-floor-creeping mollusk on good looks alone; to crawl effectively, you need something with which to lubricate your wriggling, slimy, slithering self. Mucus, secreted in abundance from your entire body, is just the ticket. But slug slime is good for a lot more than whole-body lubrication. In this installment of Deep…

Can You Guess The Subject Of This Photo?

Your instinct might be to guess something microscopic in size – but the subject of this photograph is actually quite large. All photos featured by kind permission of Alan Friedman The answer? You’re looking at a photo of the Sun – a closeup of active region 2177, to be exact, captured in October 2014. “The…

Jaw-Dropping Photographs Show The Villarica Volcano Erupting in Chile

The Villarica volcano near Pucón, Chile erupted early Tuesday morning, spewing a spectacular fountain of lava and ash that extended hundreds of meter into the air. Above: Villarica erupts | Photo Credit: Aton Chile/AP Photo According to Chile’s National Emergency Office, Villarica erupted around 3 a.m. local time, and has forced more than 3,000 people…

Yes, This Is A Photo Of A Weasel ‘Riding’ A Woodpecker In Flight

Pretty much what it says on the tin, folks. Although, the weasel is not so much riding the bird as it is, probably, trying to kill and eat it. In any case, the photo is amazing. And while we’re no photo-manipulation experts, we’re inclined to say it’s real. Photographer Martin Le-May told ITV News he…

Few Things Are As Captivating As Ink Billowing Through Water In Slow-Mo

The Slow Mo Guys squirted various colors of ink into a big tank of water and shot it on white seamless with a phantom 4K camera. The resulting footage, played back in suuuuuper slllllowwww moooootion, is utterly entrancing. It doesn’t take long for the ink to diffuse uniformly throughout the water. Filming it in slow…

Researchers Just Filled A Major Gap In HIV’s Evolutionary History

Researchers know that HIV jumped from apes and monkeys to humans on multiple occasions, in the form of HIV-like viruses called simian immunodeficiency viruses (SIV). To date, 11 out of 13 of these cross-species transmissions have been accounted for. On Monday, researchers identified the final two. Above: A western lowland gorilla, photographed by Heather Paul…