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What can celebrated Polish author Stanislaw Lem teach scientists about alien life?

What would it really be like to encounter alien life? This is the subject of a newly-emerging academic field called astrobiology, or the study of life beyond Earth. Now, in a new book called Alien Life Imagined: Communicating the Science and Culture of Astrobiology, astrobiological researcher Mark Brake combines stories from both science fiction and…

There Is an Even Smaller Apple TV (Updated)

According to a FCC filing, Apple has a smaller Apple TV in the works. What’s weird is that it’s not that much smaller than the current Apple TV—the small version would be 93.78 square millimeters as opposed to the current version’s 98 square mm. Everything else about the FCC filing on the Apple TV looks…

Bonobo: Cirrus

Dubstep and half-shaved heads may be in vogue but that doesn’t make them any less terrible. Rather than be screeched at by synthesizers, check out the latest track from a downtempo pioneer. Bonobo, aka British DJ Simon Green, matches his hypnotic, constantly-evolving beats with a Cyriak-animated montage of Americana b-roll, which morphs into an Americana…

A chandelier made from petri dishes that actually grows bacteria

Check out this highly original light fixture developed by MADLAB called Bacterioptica. Its spaghetti-like structure consists of over 15,000 feet (4,572 meters) of fiber optic cables that are attached to a series of petri dishes. And according to the instructions, owners are encouraged to grow cultures taken from samples of skin, mould, the yard —…

This book is like reading Kafka on Ketamine

We’re living in Kafka’s world. Everybody from George Saunders to Terry Bisson has been mining a Kafkaesque seam of alarming strangeness. But what happens when you mix some especially odd story ideas with an almost supernatural sense of dissociation? You get something like The Miniature Wife by Manuel Gonzales, a book which feels as though…

Being Human adopts a werepuppy!

Last night Being Human adopted a brand new werepuppy. And like all new puppy owners across the land, Nora and Josh prepared themselves by buying a gun and taking off all their clothes (it’s for paper-training OBVIOUSLY). And while the happy couple was welcoming the newest member of their supernatural club, Aidan and Sally were…

A Woman Dancing In a Bikini and Four Other Stupid Things People Did to Get a Free BlackBerry 10

Look people, I know the BlackBerry Z10 looks great, but I just can’t believe that some of you are doing these stupid things to get one for free. Ok, five of you. https://gizmodo.com/sorry-apple-the-blackberry-z10-is-hotter-than-the-ipho-5979484 And I really mean that. I can’t believe it. I can’t believe that some Deborah St. Pierre decided to dance and pose…

Pluto just got denied planetary status AGAIN

Way over yonder in Berlin, Germany, the annual festival of media art and digital culture known as “transmediale” is just getting underway. This year’s theme: BWPWAP (Back When Pluto Was a Planet). Mike Brown, the astronomer who killed Pluto, was invited to speak at the festival’s opening ceremony, which included a debate over Pluto’s demotion…

Vela: Control Spotify With Your Voice

Siri isn’t all that helpful when it comes to doing stuff you actually want to do on your iPhone, like search Spotify for example. But a voice-control app called Vela can fill that void. What does it do? It’s a voice search app for Spotify and Rdio that lets you pick songs or entire albums…

Suddenly the feds aren’t so hot about T-Mobile merging with MetroPCS

A robotic tail that lets you express yourself like a dog

Japanese inventor Shota Ishiwatari has developed a robotic tail that tracks its wearer’s heart rate and wags accordingly. Called “Tailly” — worst name ever — the venture project has its own Kickstarter campaign. Ishiwatari has developed a prototype of the moving tail, which uses sensors on the inside of the belt to measure the user’s…

This Soft-Shell Helmet Bounces Back With Every Hit

Helmets have a relatively simple—if not imperative—job as far as gear goes: 1) don’t fall off and 2) prevent major brain damage. Given its limited roster of tasks, it’d be easy to assume that helmet innovation has probably hit a standstill by now. WRONG. Enter the Giro Combyn snow-sports helmet: a soft-shell helmet that utilizes…

Skyfall writers will pen Nicolas Winding Refn’s Barbarella TV Show

Nicolas Winding Refn’s (Drive) TV adaptation of Barbarella just nabbed an unexpected pair of writers. Neal Purvis and Robert Wade (Skyfall, Casino Royale) have been hired to bring this TV show to life. Please please let one episode just be titled “The Excessive Machine.” [via Deadline]

What’s Your Weirdest Criteria For Keeping a Facebook Friend?

Good strategy for keeping your Facebook friend count low: give people the boot on their birthdays. January 29. Happy birthday Karthik Reddy. We once had a sociology class together but I barely remember you. See ya! https://gizmodo.com/the-secret-to-facebook-happiness-is-killing-friendships-5977194 But how do you decide when to keep someone? Has this person been to jail? They stay. Shotgun…

Everything Wrong with Windows Phone 8, Illustrated in One App Update

The Amazon Kindle app for Windows Phone 8 got an update today. It’s a good one, too, fixing the awful three-sided letterboxing and giving the app a more Metro-y tile. But it’s massively late, and tripped over itself coming out the gate, too. In a way, it’s a perfect encapsulation of everything wrong with Windows…

Some Spider-Man casting ideas more insane than Paul Giamatti as the Rhino

Paul Giamatti is, without a doubt, one of the finest American actors working today. So it’s a bit… surprising, to say the least, to have found out yesterday that he’s in talks for the role of the Rhino in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Not just because the Rhino is the very definition of a brute…

Finally, a Silpat Baking Dish

Silpat is so awesome. They have great non-stick liners for cookie sheets that make clean up a breeze. And finally Silpat is offering a silicon baking dish. Want. Want hard. The 10- by 13-inch pan is $55, and although that’s a little steep for a pan, it’s worth it in that you spend less time…

Bunny ninja hats will make you stealthy and adorable

More than any other creature, the bunny needs ninja skills. And you can celebrate this fact with a bunny ninja fleece hat from Bunnywarez. It covers your face, but gives you the floppy ears you’ve always wanted. In stealthy black, of course. Not good enough for you? Then try a ninja kitty hat on for…

A Bicycle Handlebar Bag For the Discriminating Cyclist

As the weather starts to (eventually) warm up, cyclists will inevitably begin coming out of the woodwork to enrage drivers and terrify pedestrians once again. But how, you might ask, does the cycling businessman about town distinguish himself from the fanny-pack-wearing hipsters on fixies? With fancy leather accessories like this Detroit Cargo Handlebar Bag, naturally.…

Here Are the Servers You Must Destroy to Kill Justin Bieber’s Twitter

He is the most popular person in the history of social media. He is Canadian. He is a swaggy bro. He is an Illuminati tween with hair made of undiscovered elements. And here’s how to unplug him, forever. https://deadspin.com/outtakes-from-my-four-hours-with-justin-bieber-the-swa-5910756 Yes, Justin Bieber has three entire servers dedicated to him on Twitter. The machine runs forever.…