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Scientists Urge Caution in Wake of “Transmittable” Alzheimer’s Claim

A provocative new paper published in Nature suggests that neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s may be transmissible through certain medical procedures. It’s an alarming claim—but one that will require more proof if it’s to be accepted by the scientific community. Protein Problems To understand how the researchers came to this conclusion it’s important…

When robots start acting like humans you can expect the worst

Corporations aren’t inherently evil, they’re only as greedy as the humans behind them. It’s the same thing with robots. Robots have no emotions—they’re just a pile of metal, screws and circuits—but they will be as mean, selfish, and avaricious as the people programming them. Wire Cutters is a brilliantly crafted student film directed and animated…

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Get Your Next Iron Bank Withdrawal in Quarters; Game of Thrones Pinball Is Here

Don’t act so surprised that pinball is still a thing, sometimes knocking around a steel ball can be just as satisfying as gunning down a room full of virtual zombies. And even moreso when the table features swords, dragons, and even the Iron Throne from Game of Thrones. The latest creation from Stern Pinball has…

New Apple TV Meta Hands-On: Touching and Talking Takes Some Practice

Apple wasn’t able to invite us to its homecoming dance in San Francisco this year, but we admired its dance moves from afar. We also tuned into the after party gossip when attendees told everyone how they really felt about the latest products. The new Apple TV, apparently, is pretty good. The new all-about-the-apps Apple…

Even Lunar Rovers Require a Touch of Personalizing Flair

What is the most important part of any off-planet exploration vehicle? A nice dash of flair in the form of a raccoon tail dangling from the tailgate. The Apollo 15 astronauts Jim Irwin and Dave Scott were the first off-planet drivers, taking a lunar rover for a spin around Hadley Rille in 1971. But before…

The Best Things George R.R. Martin Created (That Aren’t Game of Thrones)

Creating an epic, sprawling fantasy series like A Song of Ice and Fire seems like an author’s life’s work, but it’s certainly not the only thing George R.R. Martin has achieved. His short stories and novels were taking us to amazing worlds long before we visited Westeros. Here are some of his best non-Game of…

iPad Pro Meta Hands On: It’s Really, Really Big

Is it a laptop or a tablet? Apple’s newly announced iPad Pro seems to bring a bit of both. It’s got a fabric keyboard and glorified stylus (both sold separately), and a whopping 12.9 inch screen. It will run you at least $800—on par with some computers. Can it replace your laptop? Here’s what the…

Marvel’s Jessica Jones TV Series Has a Trippy New Trailer and a Premiere Date

I’m not exactly sure why Marvel and Netflix decided the first trailer for their Jessica Jones show needed to be a psychedelic drug trip in which the titular superhero-turned-private detective was seen solely as a tiny figure in the distance, but man, it sure is striking. I wonder if this is actually a version of…

T-Mobile Undercuts Apple’s iPhone Upgrade Plan With $20 Per Month Deal

T-Mobile will be offering a pretty sweet deal on the iPhone 6s: $20 per month on its Jump upgrade plan. That’s cheaper than Apple’s newly announced offer, but is it a better overall deal? Yesterday, Apple announced a new upgrade plan, which allows you to pay a starting rate $32/$37 per month for your iPhone…

The Sadly Typical Routine of Off-Duty Stormtroopers

Photographer Jorge Pérez Higuera’s latest series of work is called “The Other Side,” and it will remind you that the vast majority of Imperials we see in the movies are just everyday mooks. Higuera told Wired: The most important thing for me is to value everyday life, underlining the fun aspects in each tiny detail…

Diary of Soviet Ambassador to London Rewrites History of World War II

From 1932 to 1943, the Soviet ambassador to London kept a personal diary, the details of which were only recently revealed. It tells the exceptional story of a diplomat who tried to harmonize Soviet and British interests, while also demonstrating how events could have unfolded very differently. Stalin’s terror and purges of the 1930s discouraged…

Watch Elon Musk Describe Terraforming Mars to Stephen Colbert

Elon Musk has engineered a next-generation rocket and built an electric car empire. But on the Late Show last night Musk seemed very human, nervously chuckling as Stephen Colbert lobbed questions at him. Nerves aside, Musk made an interesting guest for Colbert’s second-ever Late Show—once Colbert got the requisite super-villain joke (to which Musk did…

Penguins With a “Same Time Next Year” Relationship

Southern rockhopper penguins mate for life, but when biologists used light-based geolocators to track their behavior they found that pairs only spent about 20 to 30 days together each year–just enough time to mate and lay eggs. The birds checked in with each other at night during the 2 months they were raising a chick,…

Does This AT-AT Costume Mean You Love or Hate Your Dog?

In just shy of a couple of months Halloween will be upon us and there’s no reason your pets can’t participate in the fun. However, you’re going to need an extra patient dog if you expect them to wear this humiliating AT-AT costume without instantly trying to shred it to pieces. Made from a mix…

Use Android’s Dialler App to Search for Nearby Places

If you’ve just upgraded to Android Lollipop you might be slightly overwhelmed by all the new features and options at your disposal: The deeper you dig, the more surprises you discover. Here’s a tip for finding phone numbers and information for local businesses and venues, using the stock Dialler app rather than Google Maps. You…

The Wonder Woman Movie Could Send Diana Back to World War I

Zack Snyder shoots down another Batman v Superman rumor. The new season of The X-Files will reveal the true nature of Dana Scully’s abductors. Star Wars: Episode VIII begins filming this month at a Force Awakens location. Plus, Candice Patton on Iris’ role in The Flash, and crazy Transformers 5 rumors. Spoilers! Wonder Woman Producer…

There’s Now a Compact Version of That Piano With Those Squishy Tube Keys

Seaboard’s Roli brought some genuine innovation to electronic keyboards (not just another Rick Astley remix demo mode) with soft touch-sensitive keys giving musicians new ways to play. And now there’s a compact version called the Rise for those who don’t have room for 88 keys—err, tubes. Why would a keyboardist want to tickle a continuous…

A New Stretchable Conductor Can Extend to Twice Its Length

Flexible, bendable and rollable electronics remain somewhat of a sci-fi dream: making circuitry that continues to conduct electricity while undergoing deformation is actually quite hard. But now there’s a metallic conductor that can stretch to twice its length — and it’s cheap to make, too. The new material, developed at Washington State University, bonds a…

What Happens If You Take Frozen Liquids Through Airport Security

Nobody enjoys going through airports. Despite the miracle of air travel for the masses and the systems for funnelling the right people into the right places being a magnificent example of engineering and system design, it is basically impossible to board a plane without being intensely frustrated. Modern security is just as torturous. Remove your…