The Mathematical Secret That Changed The Shape Of Fashion

Fields Medal-winning mathematician Bill Thurston’s mathematical influence can be seen in a number of places: Textbooks, journal articles, in university classrooms, and in one rather unusual place: On the runway. Top image: Issey Miyake (2010 Winter collection) Commenter xyzzy12345 popped into this post on a geometric principle that you could understand with a little help…

New Horizons’ Historic Pluto Encounter Has Officially Begun

We are 179 days away from New Horizon’s closest approach to Pluto, but that doesn’t mean the NASA spacecraft will be twiddling its robotic thumbs until then. As of today, it’s starting to record precious data about this mysterious dwarf planet and its surroundings. Top image: A computer generated map of Pluto based on Hubble…

Scientific Sushi Art Is The Best Sushi Art

Japanese chef Takayo “Tama-cha” Kiyota uses carefully arranged food to create cross-sectional sushi-roll art. Her subjects include everything from popular iconography to Japanese demons, but I’m particularly impressed by the rolls with some scientific flair. This single roll depicts different stages of embryological development, depending on where it’s cut. Other sciences represented in Kiyota’s sushi…

David Tennant Narrates A Nature Video About A Hamster’s Cheeks

Tenth Doctor David Tennant narrates the BBC One documentary Pets Wild At Heart, which means we get to listen to the man who once explained the timey-wimey nature of the universe explain the finer points of hamsters, dogs, and other pets. It’s about as delightful as it sounds. BBC has kindly put some of the…

The Most Inspiring Space-Themed Murals From Ex-Soviet Bloc Countries

Across Russia and the Eastern Bloc, the Soviet side of the space race was celebrated in massive, colorful murals. And while some of them are starting to crumble, they still stand as inspiring visions of human progress. https://gizmodo.com/the-melancholy-crumbling-remains-of-great-socialist-mu-1570875662 Weltall, Erde, Mensch (Space, Earth, People), by Otto Schmutzmeister, Eisenhüttenstadt, Germany, 1970 (via Kunst am Bau /…

First Footage From Philip K Dick’s Man In The High Castle Looks Good 

Amazon has released the pilot for their series translation of Philip K Dick’s novel Man In The High Castle, set in an alternate universe where Germany and Japan won World War II. We were nervous at first, but so far, it looks great. OK, the clips below are a little out of context and some…

A New Day at F&SF Charles Coleman Finlay became editor of theMagazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, after guest-editing a couple of issues over the past year. He’s the ninth editor of the magazine since 1949, and his tenure begins with the March-April issue. Top image: F&SF cover by Alex Schomburg.

How A Daily 20-Minute Walk Could Save Your Life

We know that exercise is important to our health, but a recent study of 334,161 European men and women shows that as little as 20 minutes of brisk walking a day could prevent us from dying prematurely. What this new Cambridge University study is essentially saying is that inactivity is bad. Real bad. And that…

The United States, Divided By The Booze They Drink

What if instead of 50 states, we divided the U.S. into principalities based around each area’s favorite booze? This fun infographic has the answer. Find out if you’re a resident of the Lone Shiner Republic or the Jeffersonian Democratic Commonwealth of the Grape below! Created by Vinepair, this reminds me of all the post-apocalyptic RPGs…

North America’s Rarest Wolves Are Deemed Endangered…ish

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has added the Mexican gray wolf, Canis lupus baileyi, to its list of endangered species, albeit with some odd caveats. Scientific American reports: Mexican gray wolves nearly went extinct 40 years ago. After decades of hunting and persecution the last five wild members of the subspecies were rounded up…

A Family in Spain Displayed Three Generations of the “Habsburg Jaw”

The Habsburgs were a dynasty that brought suffering, and eventual ruin, on themselves through inbreeding. Their most famous feature was the “Habsburg Jaw.” In the 1980s, a family in Spain with similar facial features gave scientists a better look at a very old genetics puzzle. In the 1660s, the Habsburg family was immensely powerful. They…

“Ye Olde” Is Fake Old English (And You’re Mispronouncing It Anyway)

You’ve probably seen phrases like “Ye Olde Tavern” or “Ye Olde Shoppe” scrawled across English-language signs, trying to evoke a sense of the medieval. But the practice of naming shops this way didn’t start until the late 19th century and it was done to make things sound, well, old. Photo by George Rex, CC-by-SA. “Olde”…

The Suicide Squad Movie Has Lost Its First Member

The Suicide Squad is known for losing members all the time, but they usually diie during missions. This time, however, it appears Tom Hardy’s Rick Flagg has taken off before their debut movie even began. The Hollywood Reporter has announced that Tom Hardy has dropped out of the film, which is less surprising to me…

Scientists Discover Two New Species of Lizard on the Black Market

A team of scientists has spent the last five years attempting to catalog the kinds of animals for sale on the black market in the Philippines. To their surprise, they couldn’t catalog two animals, because no researcher had ever seen them before. University of Kansas’ Biodiversity Institute has spent quite some time analyzing the genetics…

The Biggest Oscar Snubs Of 2015

The Academy Awards nominations for 2015 have dropped and we are kind of reeling from the snubs. No LEGO Movie, no Snowpiercer and no Birdman score. Here’s our list of the snubbed. Tilda Swinton – Snowpiercer, Only Lovers Left Alive, Grand Budapest Hotel Actress Tilda Swinton had a banner year. A BANNER FREAKIN’ YEAR. How…

What’s The Point Of A Shared Universe If Not Every Fan Can Access It?

So, Agent Carter. Pretty good! At least, I hear that. Like most of the UK and Europe, I’ve not seen it – and it’s unsure when or if we will. It sucks just as much as it usually does when we’re left waiting for a show, but in this case, it paints a worrying precedent…

Here’s What Would Happen If You Asked Ayn Rand To Loan You Money

In 1949, a 17-year-old girl named Connie Papurt wanted to buy a dress but needed $25. So she did what a lot of young women in her situation would do: asked a relative if she could borrow the money. The relative? Her aunt, author and economic philosopher Ayn Rand. Papurt is the daughter of Agnes…

California Would Need A Ridiculous Amount Of Rain To End Its Drought​

California has been having a bit of a rainy season lately, so much so that some people are asking if we’re finally coming to the end of its three-year long drought. The answer is almost certainly not. Here’s the numbers on how much water California would need to see the drought’s end — and, fair…

First Trailer For Syfy’s Expanse Has Zero-G Sex, And Hints Of Space War

Here it is: Your first look at The Expanse, Syfy’s huge adaptation of the book series by James S.A. Corey. Including a lot of insanely beautiful visuals, but also a ton of intense drama as the “Belters” at the edge of the solar system chafe under the control of Earth and Mars. What do you…

What The 12 Monkeys Showrunner Learned From Writing For Terminator: SCC

Creating a TV show based on 12 Monkeys is a daunting prospect. There’s the closed-ended movie storyline, plus all that twisty time-travel. Luckily, the showrunner of 12 Monkeys, Natalie Chaidez, was a writer for Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. She tells io9 what lessons from Terminator she brought to Monkeys. We’ve seen the first few…