Latest

A Moody View of Titan and Saturn

Saturn and its moon Titan are a moody looking pair in this image. But despite the fact they look similar in a picture like this, they’re actually far from alike. As the European Space Agency points out, Saturn’s mass of swirling gas is a sharp contrast to Titan’s icy, solid body. Both do, however, have…

Video Explainer: How Image Filters Work

When it comes to image filters, these day’s it often a case of choosing between Instagram’s Hudson or Hefe. But in reality those filters are combination of several, simpler effects — and this video explains how they work. If you used Photoshop before the era of Instagram, you’ll have at least read the names of…

IBM Is Shrinking Transistors With Rows of Tiny Carbon Nanotubes

In the semiconductor industry, size matters — and people are worried that it won’t be able make transistors any smaller. But a team of IBM scientists has now published research showing how carbon nanotubes could help. The size problem is a simple one: continue shrinking down the circuity required by transistors, and the electrical resistance…

The ‘Prehistoric Beaver’ That Helped Mammals Inherit Earth

Sixty six million years ago the world changed in an instant. A huge asteroid, some ten kilometers in diameter, smashed into what is now Mexico. It arrived with the force of several million nuclear bombs, and unleashed a deadly cocktail of wildfires, tsunamis, earthquakes, and volcanoes. It wasn’t a good time to be alive. Scientists…

Open Channel: What’s Your Favorite Book About Mars? 

Yesterday, I asked you what your favorite movie set on Mars was. Now, I’d be interested in knowing what your favorite book (or short story, novella or other written word) is featuring the red planet. Mine? Kim Stanley Robinson’s Red Mars. It’s a fantastic look at colonization, politics and of course, Mars. So, what’s your…

So You Want To Join The Empire: Break A Leg!

When we last left off a couple of weeks ago, we were finishing up the legs, and it’s proving to be a bit more complicated than originally anticipated. The first problem was rectifying the screen-accuracy with something that’s practical to wear and regularly use. I’m not the same size or build as the actors who…

This is Why You Need a Flu Shot

If you’ve been debating whether to get a flu shot, you should watch this beautifully terrifying animation of a virus taking over a cell and sending millions of its progeny off to spread the infection. A single virus particle can turn an infected cell into a factory capable of producing millions more virus particles, which…

Mars has long been a destination for science fiction authors. As we’ve learned more and more about the Red Planet, our stories have changed along with it. Over on Clarkesworld Magazine, I wrote about Science Fiction’s history with Mars.

E-Books Will Never Replace Print, Because E-Books Are Stagnant and Poorly Designed

Welcome to this week’s Reading List, where you’ll find the best science and technology stories on the internet assembled in one delightful package. This week, we’ll ponder the place books have in our lives, explore urban history, see without realizing it, and remember the birth of online music streaming. We’ll probably never have the same…

Michigan Farmer Uncovers Rare, Near-Complete Woolly Mammoth Fossil In Field

While digging in his field on Monday, Michigan farmer James Bristle found what he thought was ordinary debris in his field. After digging further, he discovered that what he had found wasn’t a fence post, but bones from a Woolly Mammoth. After the discovery, Bristle contacted the University of Michigan, who arrived to excavate the…

Get Ready For Transformers 5. And 6. And 7. And 8. 

Yep, that’s right: more Transformers sequels are on the way. Stephen J. Davis of Hasbro noted during a Q&A that the company has recently planned out installments 5, 6, 7 and 8 for the franchise. Davis dropped the news during a keynote in which he spoke about how the company had put together a writer’s…

It Takes 30 Minutes To Run Through All Of Jean-Claude Van Damme’s Kills

Jean-Claude Van Damme is known for movies like Universal Soldier and Cyborg, as well as the awesomely ridiculous action scenes. Someone’s just gone through and counted up all of the people he’s killed on screen, and it takes a good half-hour to run through the list. Here’s the criteria the video uses: THE RULES 1.…

A Strike May Park San Francisco’s Tech Buses

San Francisco’s tech workers may be looking for a new ride to work if their shuttle bus drivers go on strike over contract negotiations. At a meeting yesterday in San Leandro, leaders of the Teamsters Local 853 advised members to be prepared for a strike if there’s no progress on the contract proposal that the…

Florida Sheriff’s Department Deputizes Boy To Fend Off Zombie Attack

Here’s your heartwarming story of the day: 7 year old Spencer Holt was deputized by the Pasco County Sheriff’s department to fend off a zombie horde in their jail cells. Holt is terminally ill with a Mitochondrial disease, and was a fan of both zombies and police officers. The Sheriff’s department decided to cheer him…

16 Searches You Can Run on Wolfram Alpha That Don’t Work on Google

There are all kinds of different ways to use Wolfram Alpha, and it’s often a better idea to load up the computational knowledge engine rather than your search portal of choice. Here are 16 of the most useful queries that Wolfram Alpha can handle but leave Google stumped. 1. Work out probabilities Enter “24 coin…

Barnes & Noble has been one of the world’s most successful booksellers since it was founded in 1873, and in that time, they’ve changed the bookstore market more than once. MentalFloss has a great list of 14 facts about the company that you might not have known about.

Past and Future Collide in This Gorgeous ISS Photo of Athens

This web of lights is one of the most ancient cities in the world, seen from 249 miles above the Earth. Athens, Greece, is the ancient home of Plato and Aristotle, but in this photo taken from the International Space Station, it’s a sprawling modern metropolis. Cosmonaut Sergey Volkov posted this image from his Twitter…

Lego’s Doctor Who Tardis Set Will Be Landing Soon

Lego posted an update to Facebook this morning with an exciting image: A Lego Tardis, with a message: Landing soon… Earlier this year, Lego announced that the Tardis would be part of the next wave of Lego Ideas, along with a Wall*E set. It’s looking like this set will be coming in the very near…

Jam Out In Orbit To Thomas Oliver’s If I Move To Mars

‘If I Move To Mars’ is the latest song from New Zealand artist Thomas Oliver, and it comes with a great video of an astronaut jamming out as he spins away in orbit. The world needs more Apollo-styled guitars. The video is a bit fun to watch, and it lands at the best week possible:…

All Hail Sputnik, the First Robotic Overlord to Orbit our Planet

October 4, 1957: Sputnik beeps out a cheerful declaration of survival in the harshest of environments as the first artificial satellite to successfully orbit the Earth. A 1957 newsreel cartoon introduced Americans to the first artificial satellite. Watch the entire reel here. On October 5, 1957 at 1:28am local time, an R-7 intercontinental ballistic missile…