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Astronomers Discover Oldest Star in Known Universe

Well, here’s a superlative for you. With the help of Australia’s SkyMapper telescope, astronomers have discovered the oldest star in the known universe, some 6,000 light years away from Earth—and the star’s chemistry could change the way we understand the Big Bang. The star itself isn’t like our Sun and not just because it’s nearly…

Business Insider reports that Barnes and Noble has laid off its Nook hardware engineering team in a drastic effort to return the product and the company to some semblance of a competitive position in the ereader/tablet market. B&N confirmed layoffs but declined to comment on their nature.

This is the oldest star that astronomers have ever discovered

An international team of astronomers has identified the earliest known star in the Universe. Considered a “second generation star,” it formed shortly after the Big Bang — some 13.7 billion years ago. The star, SM0313, was discovered using the ANU SkyMapper telescope at the Siding Spring Observatory and later confirmed by the Magellan telescope in…

Orange Herald: The Bomb Behind Britain’s Worst Nuclear Disaster

In the aftermath of the Second World War, it quickly became evident to the British government that Americans had no intention of sharing their newly acquired nuclear weapons technology despite the UK’s assistance in the Manhattan Project. As such the British government set about building its own atomic arsenal which eventually led to the UK’s…

​The 11 Most Bizarre Frankenstein Monsters Ever Created

Since the beginning of time, man has sought the ability to create life by means other than hot, hot sex. Those who have achieved this goal have generally been named Frankenstein, and their experiments have mostly resulted in monsters (advantage: hot, hot sex). But sometimes these creations aren’t evil, they’re just bizarre — here are…

An RC Snowplow Lets You Shovel Your Driveway From Your Living Room

This six-wheel-drive remote control robot snow plow is the best thing to happen to snowy mornings since able-bodied kids desperate for an allowance. Powered by six 24-volt 127RPM electric motors, its 52-inch wide blade can clear a sidewalk in one pass, and your driveway in no time, all from the comfort of inside your toasty-warm…

Satellite image reveals the wreckage from a Martian disaster

What you’re seeing are the scars left on the surface of Mars after an enormous meteorite hit the planet’s surface and unleashed torrents of molten rock and boiling water. Captured by ESA’s Mars Express orbiter in 2007, these images show us perspective shots of a region of Mars known for its enormous, winding troughs that…

How the Jacket Zipper Was Perfected After 100 Years

You might’ve heard about Under Armour’s crazy new zipper that only requires one hand to zip. Though the futuristic magnetic clasp jigsaws nicely with the company’s high-performance standards, the zipper originally came from more humble origins: helping a sick man lead an easier life. The Quickzip story starts in upstate New York, hundreds of miles…

Time-lapse: The hypnotizing superstorms of the Great Plains

The Great Plains of the United States. Some of the most breathtaking landscapes on Earth happen over this vast land. Often, their beauty is on their skies, as these territories are the stage of some of the the most incredible thunderstorms and supercells in the world. This mesmerizing time-lapse—filmed in Wyoming and South Dakota—shows exactly…

Zita the Spacegirl faces her toughest challenge yet: Space Prison!

Check out an exclusive first look at the thrilling book trailer for the Return of Zita the Spacegirl, the triumphant conclusion to the graphic novel trilogy about Zita and her space-faring adventures. So much killer action. And below, writer/artist Ben Hatke explains what he’s learned from doing this series. Here’s the official description of The…

Insane installation transforms a cactus grove into an alien relic

There are no computer-generated digital effects added to this remarkable video—it’s just music and light projected on cacti. And yet it manages to thoroughly immerse us in its alien world. Artist Romain Tardy installed The Ark inside the Ethnobotanical Garden of Oaxaca, using the cacti the line the reservoir at the heart of the garden.…

​There were once plans for nuclear-powered planes

Presenting an all-new horror movie: Nuclear Reactors on a Plane! In the 1950s, when nuclear power was still full of promise and wonder, there were plans to make a nuclear-powered aircraft. In the 1950s, the world was still on the fence regarding nuclear technology. On the one hand, nuclear bombs were powerful weapons. On the…

Vampire Academy shows how terrible films happen to great filmmakers

Vampire Academy should have been a great film. It’s based on an addictively wonderful book by Richelle Mead. It was written and directed by the Waters brothers, who separately directed Mean Girls and wrote Heathers. So why is it such a terrible, inept piece of film-making? And what can we learn from it? Spoilers ahead……

This Fish Is Driving Its Own Motorized Aquarium

It’s always a good idea to give your pets lots of exercise and freedom. But how does that work with a fish who are reliant on a tank full of water to live? That’s easy; you just strap its aquarium to an RC car and rig up a device that lets the fish steer. Sound…

This Abandoned Nazi Bunker Just Reopened As a Clean Energy Plant

The last time Hamburg’s hulking air raid bunker saw use, it was 1945—and locals were taking cover from Allied bombs inside its six-foot-thick concrete walls. That was almost 70 years ago. This year, the bunker is serving a new purpose: Supplying the city with renewable energy. After the war—only two years after the bunker was…

Watch this goldfish steer its very own robotic tank around the room

This tiny goldfish is a long way from being able to work the gas and brake pedals, but with a little technological help, it can steer a robotic car simply by swimming around its tank. The Fish on Wheels was created by image recognition technology company Studio diip. A camera mounted above the car’s fish…

A Modular Boat You Can Reconfigure For Work or Play

You want a fishing boat, but the rest of your family wants a cabin cruiser. It’s a problem that’s been plaguing well-off families who can’t afford both for years. Thankfully, Italian boat builder Azure Embark has found a solution with its Ethos E30 that features a modular design that can be reconfigured for different types…

900-year-old Viking code cracked to reveal secret message: “Kiss me”

A 13th-century Viking code that has eluded scholars was finally cracked by a runologist working at the University of Oslo. So, what was the secret message? “Kiss me.” K. Jonas Nordby is the PhD student in Oslo who figured out the jötunvillur code inscribed on this plank: Image: Wooden plank inscribed in code via Medievalists.net.…

Fox Business slams The Lego Movie for being Anti-Business

Fox Business thinks the blockbuster, feature-length toy commercial The Lego Movie is anti-business. The mind boggles. Forget the fact that this film is essentially a very good toy commercial that just made $69 million at the box office (thus propelling the wheels of commerce forward); Fox Business host Charles Payne is accusing The Lego Movie…

This Week’s TV: The sport you won’t see in the Olympics? Cat Herding

Thanks to the Olympics, things are quiet in the land of TV this week, but there are a handful of new episodes to watch between speed skating heats. Jeri Ryan joins Helix; we find out who’s still alive on The Walking Dead; Almost Human zooms in on one of its female characters; and the Mythbusters…