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A Monstrous Problem Complicates A Sweet Italian Romance In Spring

Indie horror filmmakers Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead had the buzziest segment in last year’s V/H/S: Viral (skaters vs. skeletons brawl “Bonestorm“). Next up: monster romance Spring, about an American drifter who meets the woman of his dreams … or nightmares? … while backpacking through Italy. The filmmakers, whose previous feature was 2012’s Resolution, told…

Should We Be Trying to Make Contact with Extraterrestrials?

Another debate popped again this week, one that’s been talked about and argued over for years now—whether we should be actively seeking out and sending messages to habitable planets in the search for life beyond Earth. Known as Active Seti (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence), some researchers and scientists want to continually broadcast messages to known…

Here Are Some Wild Ponies, Just Chillin’ On The Moor

This peaceful shot of a group of endangered Exmoor ponies comes courtesy of British Flickr user Tom Lee. The photographer reports: These beauties were on MOD [Ministry of Defence] land at Pippingford (I was on the public side of the fence). The light was so good and benign I had to take my camera. We…

If you’ve noticed the amount of science news in your Facebook feed is on the uptick, here’s one reason why: in a survey of nearly 4,000 scientists, 87 percent agreed that “participation in policy debates and engagement with citizens and journalists is necessary to further their work and careers.” The study also found that “a…

How Pan Am Became King of International Travel, and How It Lost It All

Welcome to Reading List, your weekly collection of most-read work from around the web. Valentine’s Day is behind us and the gruesome work week hangs over all our heads, but for now we can take solace in a story detailing the rise of fall of great American airline, how one single tweet can ruin a…

Psychedelic Drug Could Have Promising Future In Treatment Of Asthma

A potent psychedelic drug, DOI, was recently shown to be effective in treating asthma in a mouse model. Photo Credit: Flickr user KristyFaith. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 The psychedelic drug DOI (2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodoamphetamine) was invented by chemist Alexander Shulgin in the 1980s. Shulgin’s story itself is worth looking into. Over the course of his lifetime, in addition…

This Week’s Puzzle Has A Very Simple Solution. Can You Find It?

Sometimes, challenging puzzles have surprisingly straightforward solutions. This is one of those puzzles. Sunday Puzzle #20: The Monk And The Mountain At precisely 7:00 a.m., a monk sets out to climb a tall mountain, so that he might visit a temple at its peak. The trail he walks is narrow and winding, but it is…

This 25-Year-Old Computer Just Sold for $23,000 on eBay

The Apple 1 is the most sought after collector piece of computing hardware. It is the Action Comics No. 1 of retro computing. The first appearance of Superman. The one that started it all. But if there was to be a No. 2, it would be this guy—the Commodore 65. Although it doesn’t have the…

The Top 6 Fictional Robot Fights We’d Definitely Want to Watch

For near a decade, humanity’s thirst for gladiatorial robot fighting went unsatiated when BattleBots went off the air. But with this month’s joyous announcement that BattleBots would be returning to television, those memories of robot-on-robot violence came flooding back. So, I asked a simple question — what awesome robot fight would you wish you could…

An Insider’s Look At Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes’ Remarkable VFX

We’re miffed that Andy Serkis didn’t get any big nominations for his turn in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. And now, after watching this new behind-the-scenes Weta Digital video depicting the on-set motion capture work by the “ape” cast, we’re miffed on behalf of all the other actors, too. That said, Dawn’s visual…

A Stunning Shot Of Today’s Sunset In Adelaide, Australia

Flickr user Mertie captured this remarkable shot of the evening sky over Adelaide, Australia today. The photographer reports: Spectacular summer evening sky in Adelaide. Adelaide had a top of 38.6 at 2pm and by 8pm it had cooled to 25.0. That’s a high of nearly 102 Fahrenheit, to taunt all the winter-bound folks in the…

This Is Our Entire Solar System And Its Tiny, Scattered Planets

A quarter of a century ago this weekend, the Voyager spacecraft took one last, long look back before shutting down its camera for its interstellar mission. The 60 photographs from 6 billion kilometers away comprise our first solar system portrait. This is our solar system from 6 billion kilometers away. Voyager 1 snapped this first-ever…

New FAA Drone Rules Are Thankfully Lenient But a Headache for Amazon

The Federal Aviation Administration just published its proposed rulemaking on commercial drone regulations. These regulations come after a leak, reported by Forbes over the weekend, that outlined some of the FAA’s thinking on what the future of American skies was going to look like. In short, it’s great for commercial hobbyists and photographers and bad…

Artist Dreams Up Studio Ghibli Theme Park We Wish Could Be Real

Important! There’s a Catbus monorail. Yes. Reports Architizer: Graphic artist Takumi has drawn up an incredibly detailed plan for a theme park based on the much-loved Japanese animation empire, Studio Ghibli. For accommodation, you can kick back and relax in Hotel Adriano — featured in Porco Rosso — or the Aburaya Bathhouse, the architectural centerpiece…

Mystery Over 15th-Century Drilled Skull Solved

Researchers at the University of Pisa, Italy, have solved a longstanding mystery around the honeycombed skull of one of the Italian martyrs beheaded by 15th century Ottoman Turk invaders when they refused to give up their Christian faith. Featuring 16 perfectly round holes of various sizes and depth, the skull belonged to an individual who…

There’s a Working Metal Detector On This Treasure-Hunting Toy Truck

Your return-on-investment for a given toy is easily calculated: it’s basically just how long it can keep a child distracted and quiet before they get tired of it. But with Matchbox’s new Treasure Truck, there’s actually the potential to turn a profit on the toy because hanging off the front is a real working metal…

Apple Hires BBC DJ Zane Lowe to Work on Beats Streaming Service

BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe has announced that he’s leaving his job at the station. That normally wouldn’t concern us, but it’s where he’s headed to next that’s caught our attention — Cupertino, into the open arms of Apple, where he’s expected to play an integral role in the formation of Apple’s Beats-powered streaming…

This Internet-Connected Barbie Can Have Full Conversations With Kids

Using just their imaginations kids have been having conversations with their toys for years, but an upcoming version of Barbie will finally talk back to them. And we’re not just talking a handful of catch phrases spewed forth after a string is pulled, but a legitimate back and forth conversation powered by advanced voice recognition,…

This DIY Solar-Powered Death Ray Can Even Melt Metal

Burning ants with a magnifying glass is a long-accepted childhood pastime and possible indicator of sociopathy. But when Kevin Moore and Grant Reynolds at the Science Channel got the idea to more effectively harness the sun’s destructive heat, they decided to go big…like 1,5oo degrees Fahrenheit big. The materials needed are incredibly simple. The main…

Razor’s Lil’ Crazy Lets Three-Year-Olds Drift Around the Daycare

Razor’s Crazy Cart is just about the most fun anyone can have on a motorized vehicle without a driver’s license. And in addition to the versions already available for both teenagers and adults, Razor is introducing a new model called the Lil’ Crazy for kids who’ve just mastered walking, but realize that drifting is just…