Shocks to the brain temporarily rouse people from vegetative states

After undergoing transcranial direct current stimulation, patients in a minimally conscious state exhibited signs of increased awareness and even the ability to communicate. The effect didn’t last long — but the insights gleaned could lead to more effective interventions. Patients who are in a coma cannot move or respond to their environment. But a so-called…

Is it possible to build a city that doesn’t isolate people?

City life is famous for creating a paradox: you’re surrounded by thousands of people, but you feel utterly alone. One geographer says we’ve been trying to solve this problem the wrong way. Many things contribute to loneliness, but there are two basic causes of isolation in cities. One is that cities tend to grow into…

You should probably pay attention to Jake Gyllenhaal’s twisted Enemy

While we know very, very little about the Jake Gyllenhaal-starring movie adaptation of Jose Saramago’s novel The Double, we’re starting to see some seriously trippy things in this NSFW trailer. We admit we didn’t really understand just how twisted Enemy was until a few friends explained that we should probably give this flick a shot.…

The Best Science Fiction Romance Novels You’ve Probably Never Heard Of

Over at USA Today, there’s a new column about science fiction romance books, called Sci-Fi Encounters — and for the first installment, Veronica Scott is interviewing author S.E. Smith. And more importantly, compiling a reading list of great SF romances. Including clones, breeder slaves and time travelers. The books on Smith and Scott’s list all…

What is the universe made of?

In this newly released video from the folks at TED-Ed, educator Dennis Wildfogel teams up with animator Ash Barker to explain not only what the universe is made of, but what it took for those cosmological building blocks to get where they are today. Via TED-Ed: The atoms around you have existed for billions of…

Here’s where you can get your first look at Avengers: Age of Ultron

Specifically, it’ll be on Tuesday, March 18th, at 8:00 pm (EST). That’s when Marvel Studios will air a one-hour special on ABC, explaining its origins, going behind the scenes of itself, and discussing how awesome it is — none of which is at all important, except that it’ll also feature the first look at the…

The Most Disappointing Final Battles in All Science Fiction and Fantasy

It’s all been leading up to this. Hundreds of pages, or hours, of buildup, leading up to the final confrontation between the forces of excellent and the forces of not-excellent. And then… it’s kind of a bust. The bad guys kind of fold. Or the fight lasts 30 seconds. Or it’s just thumb-wrestling. Here are…

Game of Thrones‘ most brutal deaths remade as 8-bit animated GIFs

If the entire run of Game of Thrones were remade as a retro video game, we would play it just for the death scenes. Fortunately, someone has taken the time to create pixelated animations of the most grisly moments from the show. Spoilers below. Buzzfeed has 14 of these animated death scenes, and it’s hard…

First song from the new Muppets movie brings back that old-time magic

The very first song from the new Muppets movie will fill you with childlike glee. The one thing the Muppets know is self-aware charm, and the “Sequel Song” has buckets of it. These songs have (once again) been penned by the Oscar Award winning, Flight of the Conchord’s member Bret McKenzie. Muppets Most Wanted will…

The beginning and the end of scientific careers. MySciCareer is a fun, often inspirational repository of science-career origin stories. Elsewhere, MIT postdoc Lenny Teytelman has painted a brutally honest portrait of the state of scientific research, in a farewell blog post that explains why he – and so many others – are leaving academia.

Felicity gets her groove back on Arrow

Arrow’s most popular character takes center stage in a light and charming story during which everyone is nice to each other. It’s pretty cool. For those of you who like the heavy stuff? There’s plenty of that in the rest of the episode. “Time of Death,” despite the ominous title, is a light-hearted episode. And…

Surgeons shocked to find fully formed teeth in a baby’s brain tumor

Sometimes, when biology goes squirrely, it really goes squirrely. Case in point, a bizarre medical case in which a 4-month-old infant in Maryland was found to have several fully formed teeth embedded within a brain tumor. Warning: Graphic image to follow. The boy was admitted to hospital because his head was growing faster than normal.…

Are there some vegetables you can’t stand? It may be genetic.

Ever wonder why some people think cilantro tastes like detergent while others scatter it over everything? Or why brussels sprouts are delectable to some and disgusting to others? Part of that difference of opinion may lay in our genes. Is food preference genetic? To some extent. There is still a lot about human perceptions of…

First Look at James S.A. Corey’s New Star Wars Novel About Han Solo

Good news: There’s a Star Wars novel that focuses on Han Solo, everybody’s favorite interplanetary smuggler and vest-wearing rogue. Even more good news: Honor Among Thieves is written by James S.A. Corey, author of Leviathan Wakes. Final good news: We’ve got an exclusive sneak peek! Star Wars: Honor Among Thieves comes out next Tuesday, but…

This mesmerizing sculpture is built of hinging wooden cubes

Great art is often interactive, and captivating design is frequently dynamic. Such is the case with Ghostcube, a beautifully conceived study in topological transfiguration created by Swedish designer Erik Åberg out of interconnected wooden cubes. https://gizmodo.com/i-cant-stop-watching-this-door-open-close-1518382401 Åberg’s cubic creations can be expanded, twisted, shrunk and spun into a variety of configurations. His sculptures are manipulable…

New Yorkers, don’t miss this great event. One of the all-time great small-press magazines, Electric Velocipede, is ceasing publication. Tomorrow in New York, there’s a “funeral” for the magazine, featuring 10 contributors reading their work. Well worth showing up for.

Ask a paleontologist about the mystery behind this whale graveyard!

Over 5 million years ago, a mass stranding of whales created what is now a whale graveyard in modern day Chile. Just why those whales died was a mystery — until now. Nick Pyenson, the paleontologist who led the team that cracked the case, is here to answer your questions! He will be joining us…

8 Vampires Who Make Bloodsuckers Into Badass Monsters Again

Too long have vampires been portrayed as heroes, lovers, fops, and/or glitter-covered emotional disasters. We remember a time when vampires were monsters, and the only reason they were trying to get into your teenage daughter’s bedroom was to drink their blood and murder them. Here are eight vampires who refuse to be defanged by modern…

Spacesuit Leak: Why It Took NASA 23 Minutes to Send Astronaut to Safety

It took NASA almost the same amount of time as a sitcom episode to send Luca Parmitano back to the airlock when the Italian astronaut experienced a leak in his spacesuit last summer, a new report reveals. https://gizmodo.com/helmet-leak-forces-iss-astronauts-to-abort-spacewalk-801447474 https://gizmodo.com/heres-what-its-like-to-almost-drown-in-space-1178817340 Above: Self-portrait of Expedition 36/37 European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano during a July 2013 spacewalk.…

Watch the subversive version of spy tech conference RSA

Right now, downtown San Francisco is teeming with people attending RSA, the world’s biggest conference devoted to “cybersecurity.” But up the street, there’s another tech conference. It’s full of computer security analysts who want to stop the surveillance state. It’s called Trustycon, and you can watch it here, live. Trustycon isn’t the only protest that…