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A bacterium that turns toxic chemicals into solid gold

Canadian scientists have discovered a tiny alchemist in disguise, the bacterium Delftia acidovorans. When this microbe is infused within a toxic mixture of water-soluble gold, it excretes a molecule that both protects it from the elements while also transforming the poisonous ions into solid nanoscale gold particles. It’s a discovery that could someday allow for…

A Stunning Hand Knotted Carpet Of Mars’ Surface

Nearly 90% of Mars’ surface has been mapped by the high-resolution stereo camera on ESA’s Mars Express, which celebrates ten years since launch this June. The mosaic above comprises 2702 individual swaths of the martian surface, up to and including the spacecraft’s 10 821st orbit of the planet, which it completed on 30 June 2012.…

Confirmed: Richard III’s Skeleton Found Underneath a Parking Lot

A team of archaeologists has announced that the remains of a body found beneath a parking lot in the city of Leicester, UK, in fact belong to ancient English King Richard III. You know, the one who died over 500 years ago. In a press conference held this morning, researchers at the University of Leicester…

How to induce fear in “fearless” people

The amygdala is popularly referred to as the brain’s “fear center,” due to the central role it plays in regulating the body’s fear response. So pivotal is this small, almond-shaped structure’s involvement, that S.M. (a woman whose amygdala has been ravaged by a rare condition known as Urbach–Wiethe disease), has been said not to suffer…

DNA from Canadian family confirms identity of King Richard III’s remains

University of Leicester archaeologists announced today that it is “beyond reasonable doubt” that a skeleton found last year does indeed belong to King Richard III. To make the confirmation, scientists compared DNA found on the bone fragments with samples taken from a Canadian family that is directly descended from Anne of York, Richard’s eldest sister.…

The Sounds Your Dial-Up Modem Used to Make, Visualized

Though your old dial-up modem (hopefully) now sits in a junk yard somewhere, its beeps and whistles surely remain etched into your brain. With this massive image, Oona Räisänen decided to explain every single note your modem used to make—and it’s fascinating. If you click the image above, you’ll be able to explore the visualization…

The Captain America sequel finds its female lead. Plus lots more X-Men and Iron Man 3 hints!

Michael Bay says Transformers 4 won’t be a reboot… kind of. Lost’s Mr. Eko talks more about his role in the Thor sequel. Mark Millar promises a Kick-Ass 3, while Chris Pine still thinks J.J. Abrams could direct Star Trek 3. Spoilers from here on out! Top image from Captain America. Captain America: The Winter…

Apple’s asserting its superiority by rolling out an appstore.com URL to make ads everywhere that little bit prettier.

Was BlackBerry’s Super Bowl Ad the Dumbest Tech Ad You’ve Ever Seen?

BlackBerry’s Super Bowl ad from last night was… uh… interesting. The company claimed that in 30 seconds, it was easier to show us what BB10 couldn’t do—which is perhaps some of the laziest marketing ever. But the real question is, is this the dumbest tech advert you’ve ever seen? And, if not, what was? Post…

Iron Man 3 and Star Trek Into Darkness Trailers From Last Night’s Super Bowl

If you hate football but love cinema: no problem! Here are the trailers for Iron Man 3 and Star Trek Into Darkness which aired during last night’s game—without any sports involved. The Iron Man 3 trailer (above) mixes a reasonable amount of previously seen footage with some new—the highlight being a scene where Stark plucks…

HP’s First Chromebook: Big Screen, Little Else

HP has announced its first Chromebook, and it’s notable for the fact that its screen is much larger than models from the likes of Samsung, Acer, and Lenovo. Sadly, there’s not an awful lot else to set it apart. Unlike most Chromebooks, that pack a screen somewhere between 11 and 12 inches, HP’s Pavilion 14…

Best of the Week: January 26-February 1, 2013

MOONDOG NIGHT | This rainbow-like ring of light around the Moon is what’s known as a Moondog, and it’s caused by the reflection of moonlight from ice crystals in the upper atmosphere. Find out more here. Proof That Superman Lives Would Have Made Batman & Robin Look Like The Dark Knight We all know that…

You Have To Wait One More Day for an iPhone 5 Jailbreak

That iOS 6.1 jailbreak that was maybe probably definitely supposed to come out today, courtesy of evad3rs? Bad news; it’s not coming until tomorrow. Despite the rumored (and hoped) Super Bowl-day launch date, we’ll all have to wait just a little longer. When the jailbreak does eventually come through, it’ll support all iPhones, iPads, and…

My Bloody Valentine: MBV

If you haven’t heard, shoe-gaze pioneers My Bloody Valentine just released their first record in two decades, and if that wasn’t spectacular enough, they uploaded the whole thing directly to YouTube. Even if you aren’t familiar with the wondrous, droning soundscape of their 1991 classic Loveless, you should check out the new digs. Right now.…

Full-Fledged Windows Apps Could Be Coming Soon To Your Android Phone

If you’ve ever messed around with Linux, you’re probably familiar with a little program called “Wine,” WINdows Emulator/Wine Is Not an Emulator. With its magic, you can run Windows applications on your Linux box (as well as other operating systems), and soon, Wine could be running them on your Android phone as well. Alexandre Julliard,…

Terrifying Android Malware Hacks Your PC and then Eavesdrops On You With Its Microphone

It’s one thing when malware attacks your phone, but it’s another when that same malware hops over to your PC and then uses it to listen in on all your conversations on top of just messing with your phone. A newly discovered Android app—one that’s in the Google Play store—can do just that. Beware. The…

Robert Downey Jr. goes full Superman in the new Iron Man 3 trailer [Updated with Extended Version]

We didn’t think we could get excited for another Iron Man movie until this moment. An early, exceptionally rough cut of the Super Bowl Iron Man 3 trailer is out, and it’s a pretty impressive 30 seconds. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang director Shane Black is pulling out all the crazy action movie stops, and we’re…

What Are You Making for the Super Bowl?

We’ve brought you some tips on how to make mathematically perfect nachos, and how to pair your Super Bowl snacks with the right alcohol, but now that the day has arrived, it’s all on you to take action. So let’s have it: what are you making? Nachos? Sliders? Wings? Guacamole? Pizza? Something the likes of…

Get an eyeful of monkey mouth in the Oz: The Great and Powerful Super Bowl trailer

There isn’t much new footage in the lastest spot for Sam Raimi’s Oz: The Great and Powerful, but we do get a few new shots of one witch looking particularly wicked as well as the vicious flying monkeys. Oz: The Great and Powerful opens March 8.

A surprisingly great noir-style comic set in the world of Pokémon

Ray Bruwelheide puts the usually colorful Pokémon in black and white, telling the start of a story that isn’t about battling, but about crime. It’s just getting started, but there’s a lot of promise in Bruwelheide’s approach to the superpowered pocket monsters. The first two pages of this brief intro comic are below. You can…