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Now We Can Grow Kidney Structures from Stem Cells

Two research teams in the last two months have published studies on kidney structures grown from stem cells, which might be a step toward personalized replacement organs grown from patients’ own cells. “We have converted skin cells to stem cells and developed a highly efficient process to convert these stem cells into kidney structures that…

If You Send a Sloth to Space, You Better Expect it to Nap

Would a sloth make a good astronaut? Probably not, but it’s damn cute to watch one try. This little creature headed to NASA’s Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA) for International Sloth Day, a plush mascot to raise awareness for our tiny friends while demonstrating what it would be like to go on a deep space…

Open Channel: Recast One Actor In A Science Fiction Film

We’ve all heard and seen the stories: some actors don’t make the cut for a film or passed on a role that later exploded. It got me thinking: what would have been different in a film if you replaced the lead actor with someone who *probably* auditioned for it? So, your challenge today is take…

Scott Kelly Shares a Space Station Sunset

We’ve all seen sunsets, but most people never see a sunset like this one, with its last rays filtered through the solar panels of the International Space Station. ISS astronauts, of course, see sunsets like this regularly — several times a day, in fact. ISS commander Scott Kelly posted this image on his Twitter account…

John Boyega Is Getting Us Pumped For Tomorrow’s Force Awakens Trailer

John Boyega dropped a short clip of … something on his Instagram feed last night: a short clip of him looking at a parachute. Is it a snippet of tomorrow’s The Force Awakens trailer? An easy prank? Whatever it is, the entire internet is waiting on bated breath. [John Boyega]

First Image From The War For The Planet Of The Apes Takes Us To A Familiar Location

Matt Reeves posted up the first image from his upcoming War for the Planet of the Apes last night, signaling the start of production for the latest installment of the franchise. In it, it looks like they could be returning to an iconic location. Obviously, there’s lots of beaches in the world, but it certainly…

This Was Doctor Who At Its Most Spectacular And Heart-Breaking

Tonight’s Doctor Who episode had everything—spaceships, aliens, trickery, the power of stories, and the Doctor desperately struggling to win in an impossible situation. Twice. And it leads up to an ending that genuinely punches you in the gut. Spoilers ahead! What’s great about “The Girl Who Died” is just how much story it manages to…

Scott Kelly Reveals the Raw Beauty of the Sahara From Space

Scott Kelly must be feeling pretty chipper about breaking the U.S. spaceflight record yesterday, because the social media-friendly astronaut has been even busier than usual on Twitter, posting one jaw-dropping image of the Sahara after another. Feast your eyes on the geomorphic beauty of our planet’s largest desert, courtesy of Earth’s favorite amateur landscape photographer.…

Watch the Laws of Physics Come to Life as Magnetic Putty Devours Everything

Silly putty is a pretty weird substance, but magnetic putty is like an alien life form. Not only can it be twisted, stretched, and compressed every which way, give this souped-up putty enough time and it’ll devour your magnetic objects like a voracious amoeba, all thanks to the laws of magnetism. Visual effects master Joey…

This Video Explains the Most Disturbing Fashion Trend in Human History

17th century Icelanders were a cold, hungry, light-deprived lot. And it’s under these miserable conditions that imaginations dreamt up the most disturbing wearable ever: Leggings, made of the skin of your dead friend. They’re called necropants, and today, their macabre history is preserved at the Museum of Icelandic Sorcery and Witchcraft. Here’s how the skinny…

Check Out The Creepy Trailer For Joe Hill’s Upcoming Thriller, The Fireman

Joe Hill is one of our favorite authors out there, and his next novel, The Fireman, will be coming out in May of next year. Gollancz books has just released a trailer for the novel, which gives us some hints about what it’ll be about. The story looks like it’ll depict a plague that causes…

‘After The War’ Story Contest Seeks To Imagine Post-War Futures  

Writing a story about the aftermath of warfare in the future? The Atlantic Council might want to see it: they’re running a contest called ‘After The War’. The think tank has been running a really interesting project called The Art Of Future Wars, which seeks to line up the arts with military policy. The contest…

Why Do We Smell the Change of Seasons?

Colorful foliage is autumn’s hallmark, but humans can also smell the change of seasons. What exactly is that familiar scent that hits our noses every October? Turns out, it’s a lot more complicated than wood smoke and pumpkin spice lattes. Most familiar aromas are a concoction of numerous odiferous molecules. The scent of a rose,…

The Plan to Make California Wet By Spreading Beavers Up and Down the State

Ending the drought in the West will require rain—not too much rain—and smarter ways to collect and store that water. But something else that can keep things moist? Believe it or not: Beavers. According to a story in Water Deeply, a group of ecologists have a plan to help repopulate the Central Coast of California…

Father Of The Space Shuttle, George Mueller, Dies At Age 97

George Mueller, the NASA administrator who helped steer the agency during the 1960s and was known as the ‘father of the space shuttle’, died earlier this week at the age of 97. Mueller joined NASA in 1963 as the Associate Administrator of the NASA Office of Manned Space Flight, where he oversaw the planning and…

In Space, “Up” is a State of Mind

September 9, 2015: The Soyuz TMA-18M spacecraft arrived at the International Space Station for a ten-day mission, providing visual proof of a little bit of every day magic: in space, “up” is optional. The Soyuz spacecraft carried ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergei Volkov and Aidyn Aimbetov to the space station. The mission…

The Beautiful DiY Rebar Art That Still Decorates Ex-Socialist Buildings 

If you happen to be wandering the countryside walking the streets of ex-socialist towns and villages in Central or Eastern Europe, you may notice a similar decor on houses built in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. What you’re witnessing is DiY rebar art in its finest form. Just like the case of the cabins beside…

Classic literary characters such as Sherlock Holmes have faced intense copyright battles, but now, another character is being claimed: Buck Rogers. With a potential film in the works, the estate of one of the character’s writers is claiming that they have a claim on the property.

Washington DC is Turning Our Nation’s Poop into Power

The next time you pay a visit to our nation’s capital, flush the toilet with a little extra pride. Your excrement is now helping contribute to America’s clean energy future. Yep, you heard that right: In September, D.C. Water became the first utility in North America to convert treated sewage sludge to electricity. At its…

Two New Cases Of Ebola Have Surfaced In Guinea

Just weeks before it would be declared Ebola-free, the World Health Organization confirmed that two new cases of the disease have surfaced in Guinea, showing that the outbreak lingers in the West African country. Reuters reports that while one case in Forecariah had a known transmission chain, the other, located in Conakry, came from unknown…