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New Material Can Fold From Full 3D to Flat All By Itself

Imagine being able to unfurl a huge tent that immediately pitched itself from a small bag. That’s what this material could provide, according to a a team of researchers from Harvard. The structure is actually built up from a series of extruded cubes, like the one below. With edges extended out from the central cube,…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe

This Is the First Ever Image of New Neurons Forming in a Live Brain

You aren’t born with all your brain cells: In some parts of your brain, new ones grow throughout your life. This image, taken from experiments with mice, is the first time we’ve ever seen new neurons growing in live brain. We used to think that our brain was fully formed at birth, but more recently…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe

Perfect Invisibility Cloaks May Actually Be Physically Impossible

We would all love to own an invisibility cloak. But new research suggests that if they do ever exist they won’t be perfect: They’ll be more like Predator, less like Harry Potter. A pair of researchers from the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, and the University of Otago have carried out theoretical modelling in an…

Physics & Chemistry Jamie Condliffe

Uber’s Been Testing a (Secret) Emergency Phone Line: 800-353-UBER

Something gone badly wrong with your Uber ride? Well, the ride-hailing company has been testing a new emergency phone line in 22 cities, that you can reach by dialling 800-353-8237 (that’s 800-353-UBER). The existence of the “Critical Safety Response Line” was confirmed by Uber on Wednesday, reports Inc. Apparently it’s been in testing since October,…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe

360 Video of the LHC Is an Amazing Reminder of How Big the Damn Thing Is

The Large Hadron Collider is impressive for a great many reasons. But forget about all that cutting-edge science for a moment and instead marvel at the scale of the engineering behind the project. This video by the BBC takes you on a 360 tour of the world’s largest scientific experiment. You’ve been able to explore…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe

Virtual Reality Will Make Fools of Us All

Virtual reality might be a transformative technology with untold potential across dozens of fields. But it’s also most definitely a great way to make young and old alike look dumb as hell. What you’re looking at is the “virtual desk” phenomenon, when someone in a VR headset (in this case, an HTC Vive) gets carried…

Tech News Chris Mills

How to Turn a Tin Can Into a Badass Cheese Grater

Turning a tin can into a grater might be a tedious process, but it offers the advantage of getting all those little food strips inside a vessel you can easily dump onto whatever you’re making. With a little plastic wrap it could even be used to store your pre-grated ingredients for later—and it comes at…

Sploid Avery Ellis

NASA’s Deep Space Rockets Pass Critical Test for Mars Mission

The Space Launch System that will one day take us to Mars is a serious beast made up of four leftover space shuttle engines. Of course, before the engines are strapped together and aimed into the sky, they have to be tested. And that involves some fireworks. The first RS-25 engine that will actually take…

Space & Spaceflight Chris Mills

Film Scenes and the Art Paintings That Inspire Them, Side-By-Side

Film takes inspiration from the world around us so it’s no surprise that directors mimic art paintings in their movies. Vugar Efendi put together famous art paintings next to movie scenes to show how film meets art. It’s like seeing the paintings come to life. Some of them are so picturesque that it actually looks…

Sploid Casey Chan

Here’s Our Best Look at Spider-Man’s Fabulous New Costume

Okay, so you’ve watched the Civil War trailer a bunch of times to see that Spider-Man shot. You’ve probably seen it in all its animated-gif glory in our trailer breakdown, too. But Disney and Marvel have released a high-resolution picture of Peter Parker’s grand debut in the Marvel Cinematic universe to give us all an…

Movies James Whitbrook

That Time BB-8 Visited the Robots at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab

Not so long ago, in our very own Milky Way galaxy, a plucky little droid named BB-8 roamed the hallowed halls of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, rubbing elbows with its robotic brethren. Happily, a photographer was on hand to capture this moment for posterity. Contact the author at [email protected]. Follow on Twitter…

Tech News Jennifer Ouellette

Apple: FBI’s Filing Is a ‘Cheap Shot’ Meant to ‘Vilify Apple’

Earlier today, the Department of Justice filed the latest in a long series of paperwork, this time telling Apple to stop being a baby and unlock the goddamn phone. Apple’s general counsel just responded, and he’s pissed. On a conference call to discuss the DoJ’s filing—itself a response to Apple’s response—Apple’s Bruce Sewell ratcheted up…

Tech News Chris Mills

Tonight’s Republican Debate Is Going to Be Brutal, Here’s How to Watch

Tonight is arguably the most important Republican debate yet. Hosted in Miami, Florida by CNN, it’s the last one before the critical March 15th primaries. We can expect Trump, Cruz, Rubio, and even Kasich to all come out swinging. March 15th is when Republicans in strategically crucial swing states like Florida and Ohio will decide…

Tech News Matt Novak

Beautiful Video Zooms All Over Vienna, Austria

I’ve never been to Vienna but I can tell you that it is beautiful because this video by FilmSpektakel basically takes you all over the capital of Austria through a fun zooming effect that teleports you to different landmarks. It’s sort of like traveling on a haze of drugs and booze. SPLOID is delicious brain…

Sploid Casey Chan

This Hilarious Story Lampooning Ludicrous Tech Company Decor Is Simply Perfect

Seriously, what other industry makes its most important decisions while sitting on fake hay bales at Pac-Man tables in pirate-ship themed treehouses? Yes, every tech company’s office is garbage. But thanks to design critic Chappell Ellison, we start to see how joyously embarrassing this type of man-child interior design actually is. Ellison took the time…

Tech News Alissa Walker

These Animated Riffs on 1870s Galloping Horse Footage Are Delightful

Animation students at Carnegie Mellon University were recently tasked with reimagining classic film footage of a galloping horse from the late 19th century. They did not disappoint, drawing on Burger King, space aliens, rainbow centaurs, and modern art for inspiration. The footage in question was taken by British photography pioneer Eadweard Muybridge. He was asked…

Tech News Jennifer Ouellette

The Tick Live-Action Show Is Returning, But it Will Lack One Important Element

Ben Edlund’s blue-suited hero the Tick, previously seen on TV in both animated and live-action form, is returning to the latter format thanks to Amazon, which just ordered a pilot for a new version. But original star Patrick Warburton, who’s got another full-time TV gig at the moment, won’t be a part of it. Creator…

io9 Cheryl Eddy

Orson Welles Hosted a NASA Documentary About Aliens in the ’70s and It Is Amazing

It is damn near impossible to explain the joy that comes from watching Who’s Out There, a documentary on aliens made by NASA in 1975 starring real scientists, regular people, and then Orson Welles, pontificating into the camera. I cannot emphasize this enough: Spend half an hour watching this. It starts off strong with its…

io9 Katharine Trendacosta

There’s a Bald Eagle Serial Killer on the Loose

In February, the bodies of 13 bald eagles were found in a Maryland field. Now, US Fish & Wildlife Services have announced that the deaths were “human caused” and are issuing a $25,000 reward for information that leads to the conviction of those responsible. Apparently the recent political debates aren’t enough of a metaphorical strike…

Biology Esther Inglis-Arkell

This Ball of Magic Instantly Extinguishes Any Fire

The Elide fire ball must be filled with magic potion because it can get thrown into any fire and put it out immediately. Watch this demo video of it as it gets tossed around and turns flame into smoke. Sorcery! SPLOID is delicious brain candy. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Contact the author…

Sploid Casey Chan

New Material Can Fold From Full 3D to Flat All By Itself

This Is the First Ever Image of New Neurons Forming in a Live Brain

Perfect Invisibility Cloaks May Actually Be Physically Impossible

Uber’s Been Testing a (Secret) Emergency Phone Line: 800-353-UBER

360 Video of the LHC Is an Amazing Reminder of How Big the Damn Thing Is

Virtual Reality Will Make Fools of Us All

How to Turn a Tin Can Into a Badass Cheese Grater

NASA’s Deep Space Rockets Pass Critical Test for Mars Mission

Film Scenes and the Art Paintings That Inspire Them, Side-By-Side

Here’s Our Best Look at Spider-Man’s Fabulous New Costume

That Time BB-8 Visited the Robots at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab

Apple: FBI’s Filing Is a ‘Cheap Shot’ Meant to ‘Vilify Apple’

Tonight’s Republican Debate Is Going to Be Brutal, Here’s How to Watch

Beautiful Video Zooms All Over Vienna, Austria

This Hilarious Story Lampooning Ludicrous Tech Company Decor Is Simply Perfect

These Animated Riffs on 1870s Galloping Horse Footage Are Delightful

The Tick Live-Action Show Is Returning, But it Will Lack One Important Element

Orson Welles Hosted a NASA Documentary About Aliens in the ’70s and It Is Amazing

There’s a Bald Eagle Serial Killer on the Loose

This Ball of Magic Instantly Extinguishes Any Fire

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