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Feral Cats Can Destroy the Environment

Cats kill billions of small mammals, reptiles, and birds every year. In environments where cats have natural predators, like coyotes, this isn’t a problem. But left unchecked, cats can become an invasive species that damages local ecosystems. There’s no question that cats are prolific killers. A 2013 study found that between 1.4 billion and 3.7…

This Tulip Cloaks Itself in Shimmery Iridescent Armor

Queen of Night tulips are known for their ultra-deep purple hue, with a touch of shimmer to enhance the jewel tones, but they don’t get that striking color from the usual pigment molecules. According to a new paper in The Journal of Chemical Physics, what you’re seeing is actually a result of how the plant’s…

The Guardians of the Galaxy Cartoon Is Getting Its Very Own “Awesome Mix”

In a lot of ways, the Guardians of the Galaxy animated series feels like it’s gearing up to be a retread of the film’s greatest hits—right down to the show’s licensed soundtrack. Out of the way, Awesome Mix: There’s a new OST in town, and it’s gunning for your ridiculous success. Just as the Awesome…

Recreating the Plot of Hackers Using Nothing But My Fading Memories

Hackers, a 1995 movie starring Angelina Jolie’s haircut, hit theaters exactly two decades ago. Its themes have never been more relevant or concerning to our connected society. Can you remember them? I almost can. Rather recently, I revisited the movie Hackers in the context of reviewing its 2015 counterpart Blackhat, starring Thor. My piece referenced…

Project Morpheus Has a New Name: PlayStation VR

We are right on the cusp of a commercial VR explosion. HTC and Valve are toiling away at the Vive, Oculus is finally ready to push out a consumer unit in 2016, and Sony’s now taken another step toward its releasing by dropping its “Project Morpheus” title with a new name: PlayStation VR. Technology is…

Tell Us What Sex Ed in the United States Is Really Like 

It’s hard to talk about sex education in the United States. Not just because conservative protesters try to prevent their local schools from teaching it, but because–as John Oliver pointed out last month in a spot-on segment of Last Week Tonight–lesson plans in US schools are wildly inconsistent, varying dramatically from one school district to…

Masters of Sex was Better When We Got to Watch the Sex Research

OK, I give up. After this week’s episode, it’s clear that Masters of Sex has completely forgotten that the one thing that made it different from a run-of-the-mill evening soapy drama was its main characters’ obsession with their sex research. Once the writers stopped showing the research and refocused on how everyone felt about one…

Could This Really Be a Radar Image of the Long-Lost Nazi Train?

Late last month, news emerged that two European men had discovered a Nazi ghost train in Poland. Now, a pair of ground-penetrating radar images have apparently leaked, purportedly showing the train buried underground—including what appears to be a row of tanks. The second of two ground-penetrating images was published late last week in the Polish…

Obscure But Awesome ’70s Time Travel Movie Inexplicably Becomes New TV Procedural

There is a movie called Time After Time. This late 1970s flick isn’t a masterpiece, but it does feature Malcolm Macdowell as scifi author and actual Time Machine-owner H.G. Wells, who is aghast to learn his friend, played by Jonathan Pryce David Warner, is Jack the Ripper. He’s even more aghast when Jack steals his…

Twitter Teams Up With Square So You Can Donate Money Through a Tweet

Because you didn’t already have enough ways to transfer money online, Twitter now offers the ability to make political donations through tweets. Square is going to help make it happen. And yeah, it’s a little bit confusing. Essentially, political campaigns and causes can apply for the ability to accept donations via tweet. Once they’re set…

Australia’s Answer to the Cat Communicates Through Poop

This is the “quoll,” otherwise known as the “native cat.” On the plus side, it’s not venomous. (Way to hold back for once, Australia.) On the negative side, well… it seems to have a feces-based communication system. The quoll technically isn’t just one species; it’s any member of a group of carnivorous marsupials from genus…

The Janky World of Knockoff Kardashian Apps 

You haven’t seen bad pixelated cleavage until you start looking around the off-brand junk drawer world of unauthorized Kardashian apps. The Kardashians released a sleek new suite of official apps yesterday, but when you search for them in the App Store, you’ll find a lot more than Kim, Khloé, Kendall, and Kylie’s sanctioned offerings. Just…

Is NASA running out of plutonium? Scientific American looks into NASA’s dwindling supply of the stuff—most of it leftovers from Cold War-era weapons production—and what a jump in production might look like. As of now, they estimate there’s only enough left to power four new missions.

Use Your iPhone’s LED Flash as a Notification Alert

The iPhone has never had an LED notification light like some Android handsets have, but you can use the flash around the back of the phone instead to alert you to new messages and updates. If your iPhone is in quiet mode or sat on its back it gives you a subtle visual cue that…

Another Huge Game of Thrones Twist Was Just Revealed!

It might be a while before Bucky Barnes becomes Captain America in the movies. Rachel McAdams is definitely in Doctor Strange. Plus, set footage from Toho’s new Godzilla film, another look at Merida in Once Upon A Time, and a new clip from Fear The Walking Dead. Spoilers! Captain America: Civil War Sebastian Stan says…

This Is a Transistor for Living Cells

This is a transistor, but not as you know it. Instead of acting as a tiny switch to control the flow of electrons, this devices controls the flow of living cells. A team of researchers from Duke University and University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill has developed this new device, which trades electrons for cells —that’s…

Qualcomm’s New ‘Quick Charge’ Takes a Phone From 0 to 80% in 35 Minutes

Most phones have some kind of quick charge system these days and on Android many of them are powered by Qualcomm’s Quick Charge. But the technology has been given an overhaul, and the next-gen version will take a dead phone to 80 percent of charge in just 35 minutes. That is lightning fast. Qualcomm has…

Facebook Is Working With Germany to Fight Anti-Refugee Content

Facebook has vowed to help the German government clamp down on hate speech and xenophobia relating to refugees. The Wall Street Journal reports that Facebook is to work with the country’s ministry of justice and internet providers in order to remove content deemed to be hateful from the social network. The move follows recent criticism…

What Is the Molecular Clock, Exactly?

In the 150 years since Charles Darwin recognised the kinship of all life, scientists have worked to fulfil his dream of a complete Tree of Life. Today, the methods used to trace the evolutionary branches back through time would exceed Darwin’s expectations. Scientists across a range of biological disciplines use a technique called the molecular…

Scientists Have Built the World’s Shortest Wavelength Laser

A team of Japanese scientists has developed a new laser which has the shortest wavelengths ever recorded. The advance could help see microscopic objects like molecules with more clarity than ever. The team, based at the University of Electro-Communications in Toyko, has created a new atomic X-ray laser which has a wavelength of just 0.15…