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:…

Oklahoma Biology Teachers Don’t Understand Evolution

Much of the debate about evolution in public schools concerns the content of textbooks. But a new study points to another worrisome trend: teachers who have misconceptions about evolution might be passing those ideas along to their students. Researchers surveyed Oklahoma high school biology teachers, and found that 23 percent of them misunderstand several key…

Should The Government Pay For Your Fertility Treatments?

The government of Ontario recently announced that it’s going to start providing limited coverage for in vitro fertilization, making it the third Canadian province to do so. But is assisted reproduction something states should be paying for? The ruling Ontario Liberal party wants to start paying for one IVC cycle, a procedure that typically costs…

You Can’t Say No to Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton as Vampire Lovers

Sometimes two actors have such great chemistry that it almost doesn’t matter what kind of story has been wrapped around them. In Only Lovers Left Alive, stars Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton are utterly captivating as bohemian vampires who live like Renaissance artists in a world of rock stars. Written and directed by cult filmmaker…

Why Are So Many Bee Colonies Dying Off In Europe?

We know that honeybee dieoffs have been a problem in America, but what about their European cousins? A new report takes the first comprehensive look at just what is happening to the bee colonies in Europe — and the news is very bad indeed. A report from the European Union’s Reference Laboratory put together an…

First Fifteen Lives Of Harry August Is A Masterful Literary Thriller

It’s pretty rare to find a book likeThe First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North — a page-turning thriller that packs a ton of clever plot twists and world-building that you just want to lose yourself in, but also immerses you deeply in questions of what it means to be alive, and the…

Days of Future Past Photos Reveal The X-Men’s Dark History And Future

After a frighteningly terrible bit of marketing, the latest X-Men movie has stepped up their game and released a fantastic photo series that paints the entire alternate history and future for our mutant friends (including Baby Colossus!). Check out this gorgeous X-Men photo timeline! This collection of photos (and below video) were released on the…

Avatar Graphic Novels, The Frozen Soundtrack, Video Game Blowout

Amazon has a selection of 7 Avatar: The Last Airbender Graphic Novels for just $2/each, probably for today only. I finally got around to watching the show recently and I recommend everyone add this one to their must watch/read lists. [Amazon] Frozen has been wrecking the sales charts, and the blu-ray has been one of…

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…

What If The Muppets Existed In The DC And Marvel Universes?

Superhero comics are filled with aliens, talking animals, and parallel dimensions, but what if they were also filled with Muppets? Various artists imagine the meeting of Muppets and superhumans. This week, the artists at Comics Should Be Good’s The Line It Is Drawn are taking on Muppet mashups, picturing the felt performers in other comic…

Guardians Of The Galaxy Details Revealed, Including Link To Avengers 3

Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, director James Gunn revealed a mess o’ plot points about Marvel’s upcoming scifi flick, as well as how it leads into the third Avengers movie. Potential spoilers ahead! First of all, it probably won’t shock anyone to learn that Thanos will be the link between the two movies, in that he’s…

These Weird Jobs No Longer Exist

In the opening scene of Frozen, burly ice cutters sing a burly song about ice cutting. But, since the advent of refrigeration technology, ice cutters are no longer needed. An Imgur user has shared some amazing historical photos of other odd jobs that have gone extinct. Some of these jobs you can likely figure out…

14 Intriguing Ways We Could Detect Signs Of An Alien Civilization

For the past 50 years, our efforts to detect extraterrestrial civilizations have largely focused on the search for radio emissions. But this is hardly the only strategy at our disposal. Here are 14 intriguing ways we could prove that aliens really exist. Top image: Christian Lorenz Scheurer. If we’re going to find an extraterrestrial intelligence…

Divergent’s Final Book Allegiant Will Be Split Into Two Movies

There is no need for this. Deadline is reporting that Lionsgate will be slicing the final book in Veronica Roth’s Divergent series in half, and making it into two separate films. And if you’ve read the books, you know that’s a pretty big stretch. One can only assume that this is all about the dollar…

A do-it-yourself robot battle is being waged over the skies of Syria. The always-informative blog War is Boring reports that both sides of the civil war are now carrying out surveillance missions with the same off-the-shelf drones that consumers can buy for just a couple of thousand dollars.

There’s Less To Oculus Than Meets The Eye

The new horror movie Oculus has a lot going for it. There’s a neat concept: a cursed mirror destroyed a family years ago, and the kids want revenge. There are strong performances by genre stalwarts Karen Gillan and Katee Sackhoff, and arresting visuals. Unfortunately, as with any trick mirror, much of this depth is illusory.…

NASA Is Planting A Veggie Garden In Space

It’s spring planting season and NASA is getting in on the action with a vegetable garden bound for the International Space Station. The experimental garden will be grown in a sealed, expandable chamber which researchers are calling Veggie. Their first crop will be Outredgeous lettuce, a red romaine variety that we can confirm tastes pretty…

A Hilarious And Whimsical Short About A Taxidermist And His Dead Father

In this blackly comic short film, a taxidermist and his father are the best of friends—at least until dad dies. The taxidermist figures life can go on as always if he just keeps his father’s body in good shape. Written and directed by Charlotte Carden, The Taxidermist is quite sweet, a heartfelt take on its…

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.…

The Many Creepy Experiments That Involved Staring At People

Do you like being stared at? Neither does anyone else. We know that for sure, because psychologists have done many experiments on the subject — many, many creepy experiments. When Psychologists Stare Science is meant to test what we take for granted, but some tests are more glorious than others. While some interns get to…