Human Bodies Glow, Proving That The World Is Weirder Than We Can Imagine

Human bodies emit photons. What’s more, they do so in a pattern that repeats itself every day. Find out why you’re shooting light from your face, at regular intervals. There are a few animals that we know glow in the dark. Fireflies, certain species of fish, and jellyfish are among the animals that have been…

An Astronaut Tells Us The Hardest Part About Coping With Gravity Again

When you leave the bounds of Earth behind, you’re also saying goodbye to gravity. So just what is it like to return from space and get gravity back all of sudden? Today, Astronaut Butch Wilmore, who until last week was stationed up on the International Space Station, stopped by to tell us all about it.…

Satanic Temple Seeks To Balance Out Message Of “In God We Trust” Sign

The media-savvy Satanic Temple — noted for its campaigns on behalf of equal religious representation in Florida, Michigan, and Oklahoma — has a new target: an “In God We Trust” sign hanging in a public-hearing room in Clark County, Washington. https://gizmodo.com/florida-agrees-that-satanists-must-have-equal-represent-1666410117 https://gizmodo.com/all-hail-this-majestically-satanic-holiday-display-1673355695 https://gizmodo.com/so-whats-satan-been-up-to-lately-1670504757 The sign was donated by a non-profit, according to a report by…

A Must-Read Visual Essay On Ethnicity, Color, And Colorism In Comics

If you read one comic today, make it “Lighten Up,” Ronald Wimberly’s short essay about an interaction with an editor who asked Wimberly to lighten the skin tone of a comic book character, which left him with a single, frustrating question: Why? Wimberly delivers a powerful message in “Lighten Up,” that we should consider how…

Could The Death Star Destroy A Planet?

And how much energy would it actually need? So there’s this classic scene (maybe you’ve seen it) where the “Death Star” sidles up to Alderaan, and it is all like “Hey Planetoid, you lookin’ fine tonight” and then it fires up the superlaser and destroys the entire orb in a single blast. “BOOM”. Shortly followed…

Stunning Timelapses Show The World’s Largest Cities From The Air

The greatest cities on Earth are always in motion. Their bustling activity forms a great collective organism, whose shape changes over time. So there’s a good reason why we’re all fascinated by timelapses of cities — and there’s nothing cooler than timelapses of aerial footage. See the world’s biggest cities in a whole new way.…

The Worst Taboo In Urban Fantasy

Urban fantasy often seems more open-minded than other fantasy subgenres. You can have more sex, more swearing, loads of blasphemy, and tons of gonzo violence. So what can’t you have in urban fantasy books? Apparently, an older female protagonist, as author Harry Connolly found out. Writing in Black Gate, Connolly describes why he wanted to…

Get Your Wood And Sheep Ready For A Whole New Settlers Of Catan

Yes, the beloved strategy board game is finally getting a new edition, thanks its its makers at Mayfair Games. Debuting at this year’s GAMA Trade Show and due out this year, there aren’t many details on the game’s new 5th edition, but here’s what we know so far. From the press release: Coming in 2015,…

Pride And Prejudice And Dragons? Naomi Novik won’t ever have Jane Austen show up as a character in the Temeraire books — but she is working on a story about “the adventures of Captain Elizabeth Bennet and her dragon Wollstonecraft.” HECK YEAH. Contact the author at [email protected].

Suck It, Haters: Why We’re Proud To Love Twister

Twister has it all: growling tornadoes, a battle of good vs. evil in the competitive world of meteorology, a young Philip Seymour Hoffman, and a megameta scene in which a funnel cloud decimates a drive-in just as Jack Nicholson hacks up a door at the Overlook. It’s corny, it’s scientifically iffy, and WE LOVE IT.…

Coming Soon: Beer Brewed With Space Yeast

Beginning April 13, you’ll have a chance to try Ninkasi Brewing Company’s “Ground Control,” an imperial stout brewed with yeast that, last year, traveled to space. Here are the details, via Eugene Oregon based Ninkasi Brewing Co.: In 2014, the brewery’s co-founders embarked on a new kind of mission – the Ninkasi Space Program (NSP),…

Subterranean Lava Tubes Should Be Stable Enough For Future Moon Bases

Scientists speculate that massive underground cavities may exist under the lunar surface. And it turns out these so-called “lava tubes” should also be safe enough for a future moon base, according researchers presenting at this week’s 46th Lunary and Planetary Conference in Texas. It’s going to be tough to keep a colony on the moon,…

Every Scientific Discipline Needs Its Own “Bare-Fronted Hoodwink”

In 1950, Maury Meiklejohn was an ornithologist, and he knew his profession was in need of something that didn’t yet exist. He heroically stepped up, and the bare-fronted hoodwink was unleashed on the world. Every discipline has its frustrations. Disciplines that deal with wild animals have more than their share. Throw in the fact that…

Holy Cow, The Latest Ninja Turtles Comic Has One Hell Of A Shock

Wow. If you’ve not been keeping up with IDW’s excellent Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic by Tom Waltz and Kevin Eastman, you might have just missed out on a jaw-dropping turn of events for everyone’s favorite mutant animal ninjas. Be warned: major spoilers beyond the cut! Seriously, if you’re not up to date with the…

Joseph Gordon-Levitt To Star In Fraggle Rock Film—THANK YOU MUPPET JESUS

The best of the Jim Henson Muppet line, the Fraggle Rock gang is getting its own movie and Joseph Gordon-Levitt will star. *Stands on desk and screams, “Dance Your Cares Away”* Variety is reporting that JGL will star in a Fraggle Rock movie. Little else is revealed besides this quote from JGL, where he says…

18 Perfect Short Stories That Pack More Of A Punch Than Most Novels

People sometimes mistake short stories for trifles, wee vignettes that are over before they start. But there’s a reason why many of the best movies are based on short fiction rather than novels: a short story is just the right length to blow your mind. Here are 18 science fiction and short stories that rock…

DARPA Wants To Solve Ebola With DNA, Money, And Institutional Knowhow

Colonel Dan Wattendorf is a program manager in DARPA’s Defense Sciences Office. His goal: To dramatically suppress Ebola, and infectious diseases like it, with a new, unconventional vaccine. And according to Wattendorf, the biggest hurdles he faces in accomplishing this mission “aren’t scientific, but institutional.” Above: Electron micrograph of an Ebola virus virion | Credit:…

See, This Is Why Cats Make Terrible Astronauts

In the fun short film Pasteurized, an alien scientist spends his days in quiet research in his lab — that is, until he attracts the attention of a feline astronaut on its way to the moon. Nicolás P. Villarreal made Pasteurized, and it has the feel of a very classic, very silly short film, with…

Why Whale Songs Are Still One Of Science’s Greatest Mysteries

Humpback whales are renowned for their ability to produce songs of remarkable beauty, complexity, and duration. But despite decades of research, scientists still aren’t sure why these whales engage in such elaborate acoustic displays. Here’s what we know — and have yet to learn — about the humpback whale’s song. Photo: Ethan Daniels/Shutterstock The first…

The Python Invasion Of The Everglades Is Even Worse Than We Thought

Invasive Burmese pythons, descended from former pets that were released into the wild, are doing an incredibly effective job of wiping out anything that’s small, furry, and native to the Everglades. And a new study published this week shows that the local wildlife basically has no defense… except As this webcomic giving a brief history…