Robbie Gonzalez

Cast Your Vote For the Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Stories of 2013

Every year, the science fiction and fantasy trade journal Locus asks the public to select from its editors’ picks for the best science fiction and fantasy of the previous year (or write in your own nominations). The ballot for the 43rd Annual Awards is now open online – go cast your vote! Here’s more info…

This App Could Help You Overcome Jetlag Faster

Entrain is an app designed by mathematicians at the University of Michigan and Yale University to minimize the effects of jetlag. They’ve released the app for free so that folks like us can try it out and help perfect it. When your circadian clock is out of sync with your specific location’s day and night…

New Hepatitis C ‘Cure’ Hailed as a Breakthrough, Costs $1000 a Day

An international study involving 380 patients has seen 90% of patients “cured” of Hepatitis C in the course of 12 weeks. Experts are calling the treatment a turning point in the treatment of the pernicious disease, which wreaks havoc on the livers of those it infects. Too bad it costs over $80,000 for a course…

And Now, A Giraffe Eating An Impala Skull

From time to time, wild giraffes have been known to nom on the bones of other animals. The behavior is called osteophagia, and it’s… well… actually kind of common among ruminants, as Jason Goldman explains below.

Did You… Did You Know That Baby Sloths Squeak?

Because we did not. Had we known, we might have been prepared for the high-octane adorableness you, yourself, are about to experience. Who are we kidding? There is exactly nothing that can prepare you for the noises in this video. I mean come on – DID YOU HEAR THE ONE IN THE BASKET? This montage…

Celebrate the Birth of Human Spaceflight, with Yuri’s Night!

Fifty three years ago today, cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human in history to venture into outer space. Below, Mika McKinnon talks about Gagarin’s incredible journey to Earth orbit (and how to best commemorate that journey: by finding the Yuri’s Night party nearest you!)

Who Wins In A Fight: A Na’vi, The Alien Queen, Or The T-800 Terminator?

James Cameron hosted an AMA on reddit earlier today. Some blessed soul had the good sense to ask him the only question that really matters. “Mr. Cameron,” queried redditor ContinuumGuy. “A Na’vi, the Alien Queen and the T-800 Terminator get in a fight. Who wins?” To which Cameron responded: Is the T-800 armed or not…

Daytime Napping Linked to Increased Risk of Death

Today in unsettling news: Results published in a recent issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology suggest a correlation between daytime napping and increased mortality risk. Photo Credit: Ernesto De Quesada // CC BY 2.0 The study, led by University of Cambridge epidemiologist Yue Leng, looked at the associations between daytime napping and mortality in…

COVER YOUR MOUTH, YOU FILTHY ANIMAL

Here for sharing far and wide is an animation that shows just how propulsive (repulsive?) a sneeze can be. The footage was acquired by MIT researchers Lydia Bourouiba and John Bush. The pair collaborated with Eline Dehandschoewercker, a graduate student at ESPCI ParisTech, and used high speed imaging, lab simulations and mathematical models to create…

Scientists Have Successfully Grown and Implanted Vaginas in Four Women

Four women born with abnormal or missing vaginas were recently implanted with lab-grown replacements created from their own cells. All four women are now sexually active and report normal vaginal function. Photo Credit: Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative MediciNE via Reuters Via U.S. News & World Report: The organs… were implanted between June 2005 and…

Why Do We Work Better Under Pressure?

Do you produce your best work if you wait until the last minute to do it, and are under the stress of an impending deadline? If you don’t, chances are you know someone who does. But why? What is it about the tension of putting things off that gets our creative juices flowing? Photo Credit:…

For These Five Scientists, The Deserts Of Utah Are Like Mars on Earth

In the 1960s, Apollo astronauts trained for their moon missions in Iceland. Today, members of the Mars Society’s Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) play Mars-colony in the striated deserts of Utah. In this video from National Geographic, photojournalist Jim Urquhart tags along with Mars Desert Research Station Crew 138. The crew’s five scientists are spending…

Help Find The Kid (Now Adult) Who Inspired Virgin Galactic [UPDATE]

Back in 1988, Richard Branson appeared on the BBC show “Going Live!” and fielded a call from a kid named Shihan Musafer. Shihan’s question: “Have you ever thought about going into space?” 26 years later, the commercial spaceline Shihan inspired is poised to launch its first flight – and Branson wants help tracking Shihan down.…

Did You Know UPS Trucks Only Make Right Turns?

Turns out left turns are not only riskier, they also waste gas. So UPS – optimization-obsessed logistics company that it is – got rid of them. Photo Credit: David Guo // CC BY 2.0 Via Priceonomics: UPS engineers found that left-hand turns were a major drag on efficiency. Turning against traffic resulted in long waits…

Watch the First Episode of James Cameron’s Global Warming Documentary

Years of Living Dangerously is an eight-part global warming documentary from James Cameron featuring celebrity correspondents like Harrison Ford, Olivia Munn and Matt Damon. It technically premieres April 13th, but you can already watch the first episode online. Via the series’ website: The series combines the blockbuster storytelling styles of Hollywood’s top movie makers, including…

We’re Only Just Starting To Understand The Miracle Of Hagfish Slime

The incredible properties of hagfish slime have fascinated scientists for decades, but researchers are only just beginning to make sense of this mucilaginous secretion. In doing so, they hope to create superfibers that could one day be used in everything from bullet-proof vests to artificial tendons. The hagfish is not a looker. The eel –…

Twenty years ago, only 1–2% of women with cancer in one breast opted for a double mastectomy. Today, that number can approach 25%. Why? According to surgical oncologist Todd Tuttle, the spike is largely explained by an inconsistency between real and perceived risk of developing cancer in the second breast.

The Science Behind Jack White’s Amazing New Music Video

The music video for “High Ball Stepper” – the first cut from Jack White’s forthcoming solo album “Lazaretto” – is basically four minutes of blazing guitar riffs set to visuals of two notoriously trippy scientific phenomena. The first: A non-newtonian fluid that leaps, freezes, pools and thickens in a vibrating speaker cone. The second: a…

Professional Violinists Can’t Tell a Stradivarius From a Modern Violin

The violins of 18th Century craftsman Antonio Stradivari are legendary. The most perfect violins ever made. They’re so perfect, in fact, that renowned violin soloists not only can’t tell the difference between a Stradivarius and a modern violin, they actually tend to prefer the latter. Wait, what? Crap. The Strad (“Essential Reading for the String…

America, Why Are You Naming All Your Boys Like This?

Are you a boy whose name ends in “n”? Congratulations, you are contributing to one of the weirdest naming trends in American history. The rise in popularity of boys’ names that end in “n” has been unprecedented. In 2009, baby name expert Laura Wattenberg told the New York Times that “n” has managed to achieve…