Latest

The first great biography of Timothy Leary

Timothy Leary is one of the most famous 1960s icons, both for his advocacy of LSD, and his visions of a future where humanity is liberated from outdated morality. And now, you can learn about the man’s inner life in a fascinating new biography written by R.U. Sirius — free online. The short book is…

Why does music move us?

Ever wondered why OutKast’s “Hey Ya!” can put a manic grin on your face? Or why Adele’s “Someone Like You” makes you sob like a baby? In the latest episode of It’s Okay to be Smart, Joe Hanson takes to the streets of the live music capital of the world to test a recent hypothesis,…

Goddammit, We Still Can’t Cure Alzheimer’s Disease

Last summer, a promising trial of a new antibody treatment was shown to totally stop cognitive decline in four Alzheimer’s patients over the course of three years, giving researchers hope that the disease could be slowed or even cured. This year, it was expanded into a double blind placebo test and administered to nearly 100…

Why “Boob Plate” Armor Would Actually Kill You

Boob-shaped armor doesn’t just look utterly ridiculous — it would actually result in your immediate death, probably the first time you tried to wear it into a fight. Over at Tor.com, Emily Asher-Perrin has a great takedown of the “boob-plate armor” concept, pointing out that the purpose of armor is to deflect blows. Having that…

Pulling Your Parachute While You’re Still on the Plane Is Not Fun

Wait for it. Wait for ittttt. Waaaitttt forrr itttt. Waai… and then boom, there it is. This poor guy accidentally deployed his parachute too early. So early that he was still on the plane. As you can imagine, he immediately got sucked out of the plane. It’s like a scene from the movies, the parachute…

New AI uses the Internet to identify unfamiliar things

Researchers at Japan’s Tokyo Institute of Technology have updated their SOINN machine learning algorithm so that it can now use the Internet to identify items it’s never encountered before. SOINN has been in development for some time now. A few years ago, lead researcher Osamu Hasegawa and his team built a robot that can learn,…

When Earth is Scarred Forever

Our planet is covered in pockmarks so deep that they can be seen from space. Some were caused by asteroid strikes, but most are the result of human meddling. Here are some of the most incredible examples of the scarred Earth. Mir or Mirny Mine, Yakutia, Russia This open pit diamond mine was opened in…

ScoreCleaner Notes: Instantly Compose Whatever Tune Pops Into Your Head

Whether you’re a virtuoso musician or the tone-deaf bane of karaoke night, there’s probably been at least one point in your life where you’ve felt almost certain that the little ditty you just randomly hummed could be the song to end all songs. But just as quickly as these blasts of inspiration hit us, they’ll…

Robb Stark cast as Prince Charming in Cinderella because OBVIOUSLY

Perfect, just perfect. Disney has just announced that Richard Madden, owner of the Robb Stark perm and ruler of our hearts, will be their Prince in the Kenneth Branagh-directed live-action Cinderella. This is just perfect. He joins Cate Blanchett as the evil stepmother and Lily James as Cinderella. Still no word on who will play…

Crowdfund This: The Manos: The Hands of Fate puppet musical on DVD!

You probably haven’t seen Manos: The Hands of Felt, a theatrical puppet musical based on one of the most legendarily awful films ever made — it’s been performed around the U.S., but not often and not everywhere. But you have a chance to fix this egregious error by crowdfunding an official DVD release! This isn’t…

B&O H6 Headphones Are So Beautiful and Fancy They’ll Fool Your Brain

I thought I could never feel this way again: Oh hello, headphones! You cost $400, but I don’t care because you are so delicate and lovely and wonderful and beautiful. It turns out I’m not as jaded as I thought. You can’t help but admire the design of the new H6 headphones from B&O Play,…

This Lego Mashup of Volkswagen and Star Wars Works Surprisingly Well

Well, it was only a matter of time before someone mashed up an icon of German engineering with an icon of the Galactic Empire. Semiotically speaking, there’s something hilariously appropriate about this hack by Craig Callum, a Denmark-based LEGO design lead who gets to dream up new sets for a living. On the top, we’ve…

Get a close-up view of Doctor Who‘s brand new TARDIS control panels!

Knobs, buttons, levers and switches — get an intensely close look at the control panel of the latest TARDIS. What button does what? Which window is for communication? Is there a method to the Doctor’s TARDIS console-thwapping madness? Thanks to Doctor Who Magazine, we have a collection of amazing images from inside the 11th Doctor’s…

Who’s the most obsolete superhero of them all?

Superheroes have been around since the 1930s, and they’ve changed a lot in that time. Some of them have evolved and improved, while others have been stuck in the past. But which superhero is the most obsolete and in need of permanent retirement? Vote for your selection below — and please include an image to…

How Neil Gaiman did away with the “clanky clanky steampunk” Cybermen

This Saturday, renowned author Neil Gaiman returns to Doctor Who, with a brand new mission: make the Cyberman actually terrifying again. We talked to Gaiman, along with some other reporters, and he explained how he became the new Cyber-controller. Spoilers ahead… So we took part on a conference call with Gaiman and some other reporters,…

DIY Cleaning Products? All You Need Is This Bottle

There’s so much brain-melting, fish-mutating crap in the products we use every day to clean things. Natural products tend to be pretty expensive, but not if you make them yourself with this clever cleaning bottle. It’s $10 and it has everything you need—bottle, nozzle, lemon juicer, cloth, and a booklet of recipes for your own…

Michael Bay’s TMNT features Megan Fox on a trampoline, obviously

First the good news; Megan Fox, who plays April O’Neil in the Michael Bay-produced Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, was seen wearing April’s iconic yellow on set! Sure, it was only a jacket, and Megan Fox looks nothing like any April otherwise, and… sorry. That’s not good news. I was just trying to brace you.…

Chilling poster for Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity sets up a space nightmare

Here’s another look at Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity, showing the stark deadliness of outer space. The premise is simple: “Astronauts attempt to return to earth after debris crashes into their space shuttle, leaving them drifting alone in space.” But the actual action is horrifying. Which is even evident in this simple, but stunning new poster showcasing…

FBI Documents Suggest That Feds Read Your Emails Without a Warrant

New documents from the FBI and U.S. Attorneys’ offices paint a troubling picture of the government’s email surveillance practices. Not only does the FBI claim it can read emails and other electronic communications without a warrant—even after a federal appeals court ruled that doing so violates the Fourth Amendment—but the documents strongly suggest that different…

John Scalzi, Lois McMaster Bujold and Kim Stanley Robinson are just some of those whose novels are honored by this year’s list of Locus Award Finalists.