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When fossil fuels are illegal, biker gangs become the ultimate outlaws

In an energy-starved future, the authorities of America’s mega-cities strictly regulate transit, allowing only solar cars to roam the roads and mandating intercity travel by rail. But that hasn’t stopped warring motorcycle gangs from tearing through the streets—and stealing anything they can get their grease-stained hands on. The Outrunners, written by Jonathan Gelatt and drawn…

An Alien Cocoon? No, It’s an Alpine Shelter For Mountain Bikers

For a mountain biker, the place where you start your run shouldn’t really matter. But this transparent, fabric-enmeshed cycling pavilion is the kind of place you might find yourself wanting to hang around in. The 300-square-foot platform is perched above Chile’s Central Valley, a broad piece of verdant green that’s sandwiched on either side by…

Why Genius Strikes in Your Late Thirties

A new study out of the National Bureau of Economics Research examined the careers of eminent inventors and Nobel Prize winning scientists and found that – at least for history’s greatest minds – the genius and innovation required for “great scientific output” seem to peak in the late thirties. Authors Benjamin Jones, E.J. Reedy and…

A Bluetooth E-Cigarette That Doubles As a Speakerphone. Wait, What?

Electronic cigarettes have exploded in popularity over the past few years, probably because they let you smoke indoors again. And now there’s even more reason to keep an e-cig in hand all day long because Supersmoker has added Bluetooth capabilities to its latest model. It means you no longer have to fumble for the phone…

This runaway pulsar has produced the longest jet trail ever detected

See that purple stream at the bottom right? It’s the helical jet from a runaway pulsar that’s streaking across the Milky Way at speeds reaching five million mph. But more extraordinary than that is how freakishly long this thing is. A pulsar is a type of rapidly spinning neutron star, which is the small and…

An experiment that might let us control events millions of years ago

Most of us have heard of the famous double-slit experiment. Usually it’s played out in a lab in seconds. But there’s one version, dreamt up by physicist John Archibald Wheeler, that can be played out over much of the galaxy, over millions of years. His thought experiment suggests that we could retroactively determine the fate…

What Are GMO Foods, And Are They Okay To Eat?

The advent of genetically modified crops has promised heartier food and higher yields that could potentially reduce poverty and malnutrition rates the world over. Two decades later, they’re also broadly maligned and mistrusted. But is it finally time to put down the pitchforks? A Brief History of GMOs Humanity’s dominance over the natural world is…

The Best of Toy Fair 2014

Imagine walking into the world’s biggest toy store except that everything you see is completely brand new—and you can’t buy any of it just yet. That’s exactly what covering Toy Fair—the toy industry’s annual tradeshow—is like. It’s a tantalizing glimpse into what kids will be begging their parents for over the upcoming year, and we’ve…

This polar vortex graphic is the most upsetting map of the winter

Just how bad was this winter? Bad. Really, really bad as this terrifying visualization of global temperatures during these last few months shows. Top image: Visualization of the polar vortex this winter / NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center with video and images courtesy of NASA/JPL NASA put together this look at the record-breaking cold temperatures…

Step Inside A Giant Kaleidoscope in Iowa

Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson is a master of light and color, creating trippy experiential works that mess with our perception. The artist’s latest piece, recently installed at the John and Mary Pappajohn Sculpture Park in Des Moines, Iowa, is like walking inside a human-scaled spectrograph. Dubbed the panoramic awareness pavilion, the outdoor sculpture consists of…

[Fluxmachine]

Landmines Warmed By Chickens and Other Tales of Animal Warfare

During the Cold War, the British military proposed placing nuclear land mines throughout the North German Plain to ensnare Soviet troops if they invaded. But how could they keep the bombs at the right temperature underground? Enter the idea of live chickens, which, if supplied with feed, could warm mines for about a week at…

11 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Human Space Exploration

Space is a weird place, and the quest to explore its mysteries in person has been no small source of strangeness and surprise. Here are some lesser-known facts about humanity’s ongoing missions beyond Earth’s atmosphere. Above: Space Shuttle Endeavour lifts off on February 8, 2010, in the Shuttle Program’s final night launch | Credit: NASA…

Blu-ray Collection In A Box, JBL Lightning Docks, Kindle Fire [Deals]

The Best of Warner Bros. 50 Film Blu-ray Collection is one of the most popular entertainment items we’ve ever listed, and today it’s down to its lowest price of $179. This set includes digital copies in addition to the blu-rays, and features films like Inception, The Matrix, Lord of the Rings, and The Dark Knight,…

The new version of Google Maps for desktop that was introduced at last year’s I/O is finally coming out of preview and into just plain old “view” today. Welcome to the future.

The DohVinci Is the First Handheld 3D Play-Doh Printer For Kids

The 3Doodler was the first handheld 3D printer to hit the market, but its use of heating elements and hot plastic meant that it couldn’t be used by kids—arguably one of its main demographics—without parental supervision. So Hasbro’s come up with a much safer alernative called the DohVinci that uses a new kind of Play-Doh…

Google Wants to Bring Fiber to 34 More US Cities

It’s finally time! Google just announced that it’s “exploring” the idea of bringing Fiber to nine more metropolitan areas across the country—34 cities in total. And based on the map Google made to show what the expansion would look like, you’re in luck if you live in the South. Don’t get too excited, though. Google…

Acne is the first bacteria found to have hopped from humans to plants

Humans aren’t the only living things that play host to the bacteria that causes acne. A team of researchers believe that our ancestors passed the microbe to grapevines thousands of years ago, the first known bacterial transfer from human to crop. In a letter published in the latest issue of Molecular Biology and Evolution, a…

Redesigning New Orleans for flooding, new buildings in Williamsburg that don’t suck, and a skyscraper in L.A. that will soon be the tallest west of Chicago. Plus: Google’s urban expansion and dying department stores, all in this week’s Urban Reads. How New Orleans’ new water plan will dramatically reshape the city’s streets and canals to…

A Family of Singing Time-Travelers Drive the Highways of Tomorrow

Tired of sitting in traffic? Just take the completely automated, high-speed safety lane! At least that’s what the singing, time-traveling family of the 1950s did in this amazing film from General Motors. In 1956, over 2.2 million Americans visited the General Motor’s Motorama exhibit. It traveled from city to city showing off the latest and…