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Mars’ Once Thick Atmosphere Now Kaput

At one time, Mars had a thick, protective atmosphere — possibly even cushier than Earth’s — but the bubble of gases mostly dissipated about 4 billion years ago and has never been replenished, new research shows. The findings come from NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity, which has been moonlighting as an atmospheric probe as it scours…

Sony Rumored to be Making Crazy New Camera System for Smartphones

This is one of the crazier camera rumors we’ve heard in a while. According to some “top sources” at Sony Alpha Rumors, Sony is developing a unique set of lenses that actually contain their own sensors and batteries. Whoa. The lenses are meant to be attached to a smartphone, with the only actual interfacing being…

Windows Phone 8 updates are quietly showing up on some unlocked HTC and Samsung phones. The update, which was announced without an arrival date, includes calendar and contact syncing for Gmail users, which Google has said it will cancel on July 31. [Verge]

6 Highly Dangerous Lifehacks From 100 Years Ago

People these dayslove shortcuts. The world moves at a terrifying pace, and you can either cheat your way to the top or get left behind with the “it’s not the destination, it’s the journey” crowd. No one wants that. Even a century ago, our ancestors were struggling with the very same problem. And their trusty…

The Conjuring proves horror movies don’t have to be heartless dreck

The Conjuring, out today, isn’t just a strong contender for scariest movie of the year — it’s also a surprisingly sweet, even dorky story about a husband-and-wife team of paranormal investigators, and how their love saves them. It’s a great antidote to your standard dehumanizing horror movie. Spoilers ahead… Director James Wan helped start the…

What 600 Billion Billion Kilometers of Quasar Light Looks Like

This might look like a strange microscopic image, or even an aerial view of a sprawling city late at night—but in fact it’s what a 600-billion-billion-kilometre-wide section of the universe looks like. Modelled by a team of scientists at the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey, the image shows the light thrown out of quasars as it…

An unexpected human talent that computers will soon understand

In computer scientist Leslie Valiant’s recent book, Probably Approximately Correct, we discover one human behavior that computers have a hard time emulating: our ability to cope in new environments. But Valiant believes one day computers will master our coping mechanisms. How? We’ve got an excerpt. PROBABLY APPROXIMATELY CORRECT By Leslie Valiant Excerpt from Chapter 1…

The crack team behind the invention of the parking meter

Nothing makes the heart swell with pride like a giant scientific collaborative effort, incorporating ideas from many different types of people, to produce a new invention. Unless it’s the parking meter. Read this, so you’ll know who to curse by name when you get a ticket. By the 1930s, cars had proliferated to such an…

The Space Battles in Ender’s Game Will Make Your Eyeballs Explode

Yesterday afternoon we saw a new trailer for Ender’s Game, during a panel at Comic-Con, and it showcased some seriously epic war scenes. Director Gavin Hood, with stars Harrison Ford and Asa Butterfield, discussed this long-awaited movie about a boy bred to lead Earth’s forces against a mysterious alien enemy. In the new trailer, we…

Meet the deadly droids of Elysium

We’ve seen the glories of Elysium and the ignominies of Earth, but here are the super-deadly robots who maintain order. This featurette reveals why these droids are the “special ops” of Elysium (I’d still rather deal with them than the civil service robot, though).

Horrible Histories Explains the Space Race in Four Minutes

Tuesday was a sad day for those of us who live at the intersection of the Venn diagram “Lovers of sketch comedy” and “history nerds” because CBBC’s Horrible Histories aired its very last episode. But before they went, they took the time to speed-talk their way through the Space Race. Horrible Histories always managed to…

The cow that proves you can’t be right accidentally

Two scientists hold two different beliefs. Both are supported by the available data, but when new information comes in, one scientist is shown to really know what happened, while the other just guessed. But is that knowledge? A theoretical cow says no. What’s the difference between believing something and knowing it? Some people would say…

A Movie of People in Movies Watching Movies

This supercut is a celebration of cinema appearing in the cinema. It’s so meta I think my head might explode—but it’s oddly compelling at the same time. Everything from Singin’ in the Rain and The Cider House Rules, through The Shawshank Redemption and An American Werewolf in London, to Notting Hill and High Fidelity. Turns…

The Most Astounding Cosplay We’ve Seen at Comic-Con (So Far)

Hot damn, there is some amazing cosplay in San Diego this weekend. In just the first two nights, we’ve seen dozens of eye-popping costumes and clever concepts. Here’s all of our favorite cosplay from Preview Night and the first night. Top image: Mike Rollerson. All photos by Lauren Davis, unless otherwise noted. Toy Story cosplay,…

Benedict Cumberbatch explains how Sherlock survived his season 2 fall

Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman couldn’t attend the Sherlock panel at Comic-Con, but they were able to send a video message in their place. Freeman just gives a pleasant hello, but Cumberbatch decides to reveal the secret of how Sherlock survived his seemingly deadly fall in the season 2 finale… kind of. Hilariously enough, I’m…

A Private Venture Wants to Build a Telescope on the Moon

There might not be a man on the moon right now—but there may soon be a gazing eye. A new private venture aims to build a long-range telescope on our planet’s little satellite, and it could happen as soon 2016. A partnership between Moon Express, Inc. and the International Lunar Observatory Association is all set…

After 69 years, Earth’s slowest-moving drop has been captured on video

You guys. YOU GUYS. HOLY CRAP YOU GUYS IT FINALLY HAPPENED. After decades of observation, the climax of one of the longest running experiments in history has finally been captured on video. The pitch! It has dropped! Tar pitch is the material used to coat roofs and pave roads. If you hit it with a…

Will the Next Batman Movie Really Be Based on Batman Beyond?

Could Amazing Spider-Man 4 be an Avengers-style team movie? Could a Sandman or Fables film be coming soon? Is Chronicle 2 in trouble, and is 20,000 Leagues dead? Plus Brad Bird’s Tomorrowland gets its female lead, Gina Carano joins Avengelyne, and Arrow finds a Black Canary. Plus updates on The Crow and Dead Space. Spoilers…

You’ve Never Seen Volcanoes Look This Colorful Before

It might look like a colorful oil painting, but you’re actually looking at an Envisat radar image of chain of volcanoes called the Virunga Mountains—home to Africa’s two most active volcanoes. The range stretches across the northern-eastern border of Rwanda, and is home to the volcanoes Nyamuragira and Nyiragongo. Nyamuragira, to the east, erupts every…

Why Doesn’t Skype Protect You Against Eavesdropping?

Skype has long claimed to be “end-to-end encrypted“, an architectural category that suggests conversations over the service would be difficult or impossible to eavesdrop upon, even given control of users’ Internet connections. But Skype’s 2005 independent security review admits a caveat to this protection: “defeat of the security mechanisms at the Skype Central Server” could…