Robbie Gonzalez

Thom Yorke Demonstrates Why Facial Symmetry Isn’t Everything

While some studies have suggested that symmetrical faces are perceived as more attractive than others, the way we process facial features suggests that it is actually asymmetry that makes our mugs interesting, appealing and memorable. In a visually tantalizing piece for the latest issue of science magazine Nautilus, Simone M. Scully spoke with neurobiologists, psychologists…

All Together Now: DIMETRODON IS NOT A DINOSAUR

Like pterosaurs, ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs, Dimetrodon, while commonly mistaken for a dinosaur, isn’t actually a dinosaur. In fact, unlike pterosaurs, ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs, Dimetrodon isn’t even a reptile, but instead belongs to a diverse group of animals that includes all modern day mammals. Seriously. According to Emily Graslie – host of the outstanding YouTube science…

The last time anyone saw a Clarion nightsnake – the gorgeous, nocturnal snake pictured above – was in 1936. Now, after going missing for close to 80 years, researchers have rediscovered the species on the remote Mexican island of its namesake. Photo Credit: Daniel Mulcahy via BoingBoing

This Is What It Looks Like When A Mammal Hatches From An Egg

The echidna – aka the “spiny anteater” – is a mammal. But unlike almost every other mammal, baby echidnas (aka “puggles,” aka “baby Max Rebos” aka “the most adorable creatures on Earth with four-headed penises“) emerge into the world not from their mother’s wombs, but from eggs. This short clip from a 1974 film called…

Science. It Works (Occasionally), Bitches.

Via the delightful webcomic Twisted Doodles comes the perfect rebuttal to one of the most incessantly quoted XKCD comics of all time. For everyone who’s ever made a sacrifice to the PCR Gods (for they are angry, capricious gods) – this one’s for you. See more on the Twisted Doodles Tumblr and Facebook page. http://www.twisteddoodles.com/

A New Optical Illusion Demonstrates How Gullible Our Brains Really Are

Like all the best optical illusions, you’ll fall for this one even when you know how it works. The results of the Neural Correlate Society’s annual optical illusion contest have been posted online. Many of the illusions are unlike anything we’ve seen before – but 2014’s first place winner looks rather familiar. It’s a play…

Liftoff Is All The More Beautiful Over Alabaster Sands

We’re loving this image from NASA’s annual Student Launch rocketry competition, held this year atop the ivory expanse of Utah’s Bonneville Salt Flats. Image Credit: NASA/MSFC/Dusty Hood Via NASA: And lift off! A student-built rocket launched the brilliant white hardpan of the Bonneville Salt Flats in Tooele County, Utah, May 17, during the “launchfest” that…

A study published in the journalAddiction found e-cigarettes help smokers’ quit — better than patches, gum or willpower. But a research review just published in the journalCirculation finds e-cigs reduce the likelihood that people will quit. I wonder which study insurance companies will side with.

NASA’s Planet-Hunting Kepler Telescope Is Back From The Dead!

After an almost year-long hiatus, NASA’s prolific Kepler mission is back in business. The Agency announced today that the K2 mission to revive the defunct telescope has been approved! https://gizmodo.com/keplers-latest-exoplanet-hoard-graphed-1534690734 http://space.io9.com/kepler-is-a-planet-hunting-powerhouse-1543642014/+riamisra Above: Artist’s concept of the K2 mission, showing the telescope in two-wheel operation mode while observing in the ecliptic. Credit: NASA/W. Stenzel One year…

This Rube Goldberg Device Puts A Human Inside the Machine

Every year, students from across the U.S. compete in Purdue University’s Rube Goldberg Machine contest. This year’s winners were invited to Jimmy Kimmel Live to present their 75-step zipper-zipping contraption – the first Rube Goldberg Machine in the competition’s 31-year history to put a human inside the machine. [JKL]

NASA Chief Charles Bolden has been asked to weigh in on Russia’s decision to sever space-science ties with the U.S. “We will need to step back and evaluate the costs and benefits of maintaining” the ISS “without our Russian partners,” House Science Committee Chairman Lamar Smith said today in a letter today to Bolden.

Your Gluten Sensitivity May Be In Your Head

In 2011, gastroenterologist Peter Gibson published the results of a study that provided some of the strongest evidence to date that gluten can cause stomach problems in people without celiac disease. But Gibson has since called the results of his first study into question, with a rigorous followup investigation. Ross Pomeroy sets the scene over…

Russia Severs Space-Science Ties With U.S. In A Curt Breakup Tweet

Yesterday, Russian deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin told reporters that Russia would decline America’s request to work together on keeping the ISS operational through 2024, potentially dooming humanity’s orbital outpost. Following his press conference, Rogozin reiterated his country’s position over Twitter in more explicit terms. Statements from NASA claim the Agency has yet to receive…

This Doodle Is Actually Concept Art Of The World’s First Space Station

In 1966, George E. Mueller, NASA associate administrator for Manned Space Flight, produced a concept drawing of what would become “Skylab,” the world’s first space station. The first of three crewed Skylab mission launched May 14, 1973 – 41 years ago, today. According to NASA, the concept drawing was created at a meeting at the…

Vicious-Looking “Alien” Fish Defies Classification

Researchers have compared the mouth of Kryptoglanis shajii to the jaws of H.R. Giger’s xenomorphs, and with good reason: K. shajii is technically a catfish, but scientists say the bones of its face are so alien that they’ve “had a hard time fitting it into the family tree of catfishes.” Photo Credit: Mark L. Riccio,…

Celebrating Mother’s Day With The Trinity

“Trinity Mothers” is a piece by artist Yasmin Liang that explores the unmistakable role of maternal love, support, loss and remembrance in the shaping of Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman. “I’ve always been fascinated by the character archetypes placed upon the Trinity,” writes Liang on her DeviantART page. “I thought it’d be fun to take…

Watch This Octopus Unscrew The Lid Of A Jar (From Inside The Jar)

As though the case for octopus intelligence wasn’t strong enough already, check out the moves on this eight-limbed beastie. With a few deft turns of its tentacles, it manages to unscrew the lid of its enclosure from the inside. Pretty sure this octopus is just flexing its muscles, though. After removing the lid, he seems…

The First Trailer for Constantine Looks AMAZING

NBC just unveiled the first official trailer for Constantine, and holy crap is it fantastic. Seriously, though. Not only does Matt Ryan look just like John Constantine, his delivery – not to mention the rest of the action – is pretty on point. Can’t wait to see what producer David S. Goyer & crew have…

Here’s The First Promo Art (And Synopsis) For The Agent Carter TV Show!

On Friday, ABC said it would renew Agents of SHIELD for a second season, but more exciting still was the network’s half-season order of an Agent Carter TV series. Now that the pickup is official, Marvel has gone ahead and released the very first promo art for the series, along with an official synopsis. https://gizmodo.com/the-agents-of-shield-survive-for-a-second-season-1573968007…

Michael Fassbender Confirms Prometheus 2 Is A Go

Ridley Scott confirmed months ago that the script to Prometheus 2 was in the bag. Filming is slated to begin this fall, with a projected release date of March 2016. Now, in unsurprising but auspicious news, Michael Fassbender has confirmed he’s “doing a sequel,” presumable reprising his role as David (Davids?). https://gizmodo.com/prometheus-2-could-feature-a-lot-more-michael-fassbende-1550692998 Fassbender’s confirmation came…