Latest

The U.S. Built a Bizarre “Cuban Twitter” To Help Undermine Castro

In one of the oddest reports of spy games we’ve heard in years—and that’s saying something—the AP has uncovered a United States plot to create a “Cuban Twitter” that would lure in users with soccer scores and music news before evolving its message into anti-Castro rhetoric. If any part of that made you say what,…

Apple’s WWDC Will Kick Off June 2 in San Francisco

There are still plenty of questions about what Apple will unveil at WWDC this year, but at least we know when it will: The company announced today that its Worldwide Developer Conference will take place June 2 to June 6 this year, at San Francisco’s Moscone West. More details are coming—but in the meantime it’s…

What Happens When A Lonely Woman Meets A Cosmonaut On Chat Roulette?

In the short comedy Russian Roulette, Lucy is chatting online one night when she is paired up with a cosmonaut stationed alone on an orbiting telescope. And talking to him, she feels a little less alone in the universe. Director Ben Aston filmed Russian Roulette for less than £50 while on pre-production for another film.…

What If Game Of Thrones Was A Classic Sitcom?

The opening credits would probably look something like this. We’re so excited about the return of Game of Thrones on Sunday, we asked our friend Garrison Dean to imagine what the show would look like if it was a classic 1970s-1980s sitcom. But what he came up with was way more insane than we ever…

Report: “Android Silver” Could be Google’s New Premium User Experience

Online rumours claim Google is planning some sort of premium owner experience for future Android phone buyers, with the Android Silver scheme said to encourage networks to babysit owners of phones, guarantee the latest version of Android and show them how to buy stuff through Google Play. The news, which comes via documents seen by…

Six Featurettes = Loads Of New X-Men: Days Of Future Past Footage

Don’t worry, they’re not long; in fact, two of these new featurettes are just set tours given by director Bryan Singer. But four of them contain new footage from the movie, and the video above explains how Wolverine’s psyche is sent back in time! This answer is, oddly, that Kitty Pryde can send people’s minds…

Animal Planet Is Making A Moby Dick TV Movie From The Whale’s POV

Animal Planet is mostly known for reality TV series about hell cats who piss all over their owner’s furniture, but now the animal-centric station is getting into scripted TV, thanks to Moby Dick. Deadline is reporting that Animal Planet’s new slate includes a story that is all about Moby Dick, but from the whale’s point…

The Enemy Of Anti-Tobacco Campaigns? Population Growth

Globally, smoking prevalence —the percentage of the population that smokes every day — has decreased, but the number of cigarette smokers worldwide has increased due to substantial population growth between 1980 and 2012. That finding comes from a study published by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington, which…

Astronomers Discover Two More Dwarf Planets In Our Outer Solar System

It was just last week that we reported on a previously undiscovered dwarf planet located in the inner Oort Cloud. Now, astronomers have detected two more previously unseen celestial bodies, including one that could be as much as 932 miles (1,500 km) in diameter. Fresh off the heels of VP113 (a.k.a. “Biden” — and let’s…

This Is the First Detailed Map of a Mammal’s Neural Network

If this looks like an incredibly complex wiring diagram to you, it’s because it kinda is: you’re looking at the Allen Mouse Brain Connectivity Atlas, the first detailed map of any mammal’s neural network. It’s not a full connectome—the name given to maps of every single interconnection between neurons in a brain—but it’s the most…

The Avengers Should Have Been Rated “R” And Here’s The Proof

The fine folks at Unnecessary Censorship finally got their hands on the Avengers movie, and the results are predictably hilarious. If you can make it through Thor’s “He adopted” line without cackling madly, you’re a better man than I.

During a Transplant Does the Donor’s DNA Integrate Into the Host?

Depending on the type of donation, the DNA stays for a short time, a long while—or maybe even forever. Chimerism and Microchimerism Scientists have known for years that a single organism can have cells that are genetically distinct. Sometimes, this occurs because two sets of fertilized eggs fuse into a single organism that retains both…

Which Marvel Hero May Cameo In Guardians Of The Galaxy?

Dominic Monaghan reports on J.J. Abrams’ guiding vision for the Star Wars cast. Pretty much the whole cast previews season four of Game of Thrones. Plus, what historical figure may appear on Doctor Who next? Spoilers now! Star Wars Dominic Monaghan told Dweebcast that he’s been asking J.J. Abrams for a part in Episode VII,…

What’s Your Favorite Piece of Fitness Technology?

Often times, we only think of the technology that makes our lives more productive or entertaining. But what about the stuff that allows us to have the most fun outdoors? So, what’s your favorite piece of technology designed for sports, exercise or general fitness. It could be technical clothing, bullet-proof headphones, a GPS device or…

Canonical has announced that it’s going to axe its Dropbox competitor Ubuntu One and, as a result, its streaming music service. Subscribers can expect a refund.

Yahoo Is Finally Encrypting the Bulk of Its Data

We were thrilled to hear today that Yahoo is carrying through a concerted effort to protect users across its sites and services by rolling out routine encryption in several parts of its infrastructure. The company’s statement announced that, among other things, it now encrypts traffic between its data centers, makes secure HTTPS connections the default…

Nokia’s Adorable New Bluetooth Speaker Is Just $55

To match its new Lumias, Nokia has announced this cute little Bluetooth speaker, too—with 15 hours of playback and as asking price of just $55. Available in the same colorful palette as the new phones—including, obviously, this bright orange—the MD-12 (no idea either, sorry) measures about the size of a hockey puck. Nokia claims its…

There’s a woman in bodypaint hidden in this moth

A beautiful black and white rendering of a Pandora Sphinx moth. But look closer. Can you see her? There’s a woman hiding in it. Keep looking. It will appear to you soon and, when it does, it will you freak out. It’s a body paint demo video by Roustan Bodypaint. SPLOID is a new blog…

Watch a piece of aluminum levitate and melt at the same time

This is an induction heater, an electromagnetic thingamajig that can make metal to levitate and—with enough power—melt. In this case, the metal is a 2.6-gram piece of aluminum that reaches a temperature of 2192 F (1200 C) before the machine is turned off. You can learn more about this process (and how to build one…

Remixing the Weather

It’s arguable that the remix of my afternoon sounds more realistic than did the original. This week has seen some tremendous rainfall in San Francisco, where I live. I was sitting in my car on Monday, just after noon, when the power of the storm was so intense that it was remarkable — and by…