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See a nuclear explosion from 10 feet away

Ever wonder what a nuclear explosion looks like from far, far too close? Remarkably like candy. Writer Richard Miller has sent in an amazing photo taken in an underground test facility. The many tests of nuclear bombs over the past three-quarters of a century have been filmed in many ways. There are photos of the…

There’s Already a Google Glass App That Lets You Take Photos With a Wink

Last week we reported that the ability to control Google Glass with the wink of an eye was a very real possibility. Now, an enterprising chap by the name of Mike DiGiovanni has made that a reality. The developer has created an app called Winky, which lets you power up Glass from standby and take…

Why do humans kiss?

How did smooshing our faces together come to signify love and affection? As we’ve written about previously, one of the most compelling explanations hinges on the practice of mouth-feeding – the passing of pre-chewed or regurgitated food from the mouth of one animal to another. Lots of species, including humans, are known to mouth-feed. But…

Incredible new ISS photo shows the moon ushering in the dawn

Yet another extraordinary image from Chris Hadfield. This gorgeous shot shows a darkened Southeastern United States just before dawn, with the moon bringing the new day with it. In a new video, Hadfield explains how he takes these marvellous photos. From Hadfield’s Twitterfeed: This is how he does it:

The World’s Toughest Material Is Built of Knots

A scientist from the University of Trento in Italy claims to have made the world’s toughest material. But this isn’t some kind of exotic super material—it’s just made from strands of fiber with knots tied in them. The material, created by Nicola Pugno, is formed from strands of Endumax polymer fiber with a simple slip…

The human bad guy in Transformers 4 will be… Frasier Crane!?

Zack Snyder explains why Superman and his fellow D.C. characters are special among superheroes. An Avengers 2 rumor is confirmed… maybe. Check out the latest Star Trek Into Darkness videos. Steven Moffat offers new hints about the Doctor Who finale. Spoilers from here on out! Top image from Doctor Who. Star Trek Into Darkness Here…

Just three months after an acid leak caused a fatality in a Samsung plant, the same thing’s happened again, injuring three people. Sounds like something needs fixing.

The Insane Camera Tech That Captured NASA’s Space Shuttle Launches

Sadly NASA’s Space Shuttle program is shuttered, but when you’re feeling whimsical at least you can still watch footage of the behemoth being sent into space. What you might not know, though, is that NASA threw all kinds of camera tech at recording the launches for posterity—and this video shows it off. An old promotional…

This Camera Sees the World Like an Ant

While you’d be forgiven for thinking that this looks like a dome of bubble wrap, it’s actually the world’s first working compound-eye camera—which sees the world just like an insect would. With 180 separate imaging elements—each replicating the separate ommatidium, or “small eyes” which make up an insect’s odd visual system—arranged over its surface, it…

Should It Be Illegal to Exploit a Video Poker Bug and Win Big?

A Las Vegas District Court judge is currently weighing a big question that you may have opinions on: is exploiting a bug on a casino’s video poker machine illegal or not? Wired reports that a pair of gamblers, John Kane and Andre Nestor , stumbled upon a bug while playing video poker in a Las…

The Department of Defense is planning to approve Samsung’s Galaxy smartphones and Apple’s iPhone and iPad for government agency use. Maybe they’ll replace some of the 470,000 BlackBerrys they currently use…

How the Hell Did This Helicopter Land on a Rail?

Helicopters aren’t supposed to do this. I know this because I’ve seen too many military movies (Black Hawk Down, Zero Dark Thirty) where the chopper nosedives into destruction. They’re sensitive machines. You need a clear landing pad! You need an open target! You don’t land a freaking helicopter on a freeway guard rail. Or do…

The Weirdest Thing on the Internet Tonight: Zombie Survival 101

Your axe may be razor sharp, your slingshot aim might be undeadly accurate but if you forget your head the second zombies start rising from the grave, all your cardio training will be for naught. So, let’s just take a moment and go over the basics one more time, just to be sure.

Intel Iris: Integrated Graphics Are Finally Awesome

Intel’s integrated graphics have taken plenty of heat over the years, and most of it deserved. But the climb to respectability that started back with Sandy Bridge is about to get a turboboost. Meet Iris, the biggest generation jump in Intel’s integrated graphics to date. Get ready to game. Intel’s Iris graphics are going to…

LEGO Bricks Are Surprisingly Resistent to Slow Motion Explosions

Those crazy Slow-Mo guys are destroying anything they can possibly get their hands on this week. Today, it’s a house made from LEGO. And though explosions are almost always a delicious visual treat, especially in slow motion, blowing up LEGO should never make anyone happy. Thankfully, LEGO bricks can totally withstand a banger. Though the…

Yahoo is buying Astrid, one of our favorite productivity apps for Android. It’ll work for 90 more days and then disappear into Yahoo’s elephant graveyard of acquisitions. Hopefully not though! [Astrid]

Yes! PBS Superheroes Will Save the World from Crappy Reality TV

Imagine if PBS created its own Avengers by teaming up superheroes from our childhood. I’m not talking about Iron Man or Thor but Carl Sagan, Mister Rogers and Bill Nye. Real superheroes. This fantastic short imagines the trio teaming up with Bob Ross to form the PBS Avengers who want to save us from brain…

Science Explains Why We Kiss

Why do you kiss? Because it makes you feel good down there? Because it’ll hopefully lead to something that’ll make you feel great down there? Probably. But what about the science behind why we kiss? Vsauce, our favorite scientific talking mouth who needs no water during his soliloquies, explains that it’s something to do with…

Chris Beckett’s Dark Eden scored an upset and won the 2013 Clarke Award. Meanwhile, you can read Abigail Nussbaum’s reviews of the whole Clarke shortlist here and here.

Nature devotes an issue to Genetically Modified Organisms

Esteemed scientific journal Nature has devoted its latest issue to exploring the science behind GMOs, and comes away with a refreshingly rational take on the matter. In her “Hard Look” at GM crops, Nature reporter Natasha Gilbert makes the astute observation cited here. GM crops and technologies are not the enemy; nor are they the…