Science

This Year’s Nobel Prize for Physics Celebrates Neutrinos

The 2015 Nobel Prize in physics goes to Takaaki Kajita and Arthur B. McDonald for their work on neutrino oscillations. By tracking neutrinos in subterranean water tanks, the researchers watched neutrinos change flavour, in turn proving that the subatomic particles have mass. Two research groups—the Super-Kamiokande led by Takaaki Kajita in Japan and the Sudbury…

Physics & Chemistry Mika McKinnon

Watch This Levitating Droplet Make Different Shapes, Then Freak Right the Hell Out

We know it’s possible to levitate objects with sound, provided the objects are small and the sound is used carefully. It seems it’s also possible to make those objects form all kinds of shapes and then lose their minds. In this video, a droplet gets put between transducer and a reflector. The transducer creates sound…

Physics & Chemistry Esther Inglis-Arkell

How NASA Helped Make The Martian‘s User Interfaces Realer Than Real

Filmmakers have invented fanciful spaceship technology for more than a hundred years. But for The Martian, director Ridley Scott went the opposite direction: He asked actual space explorers to help them imagine the technology of the near future. To make The Martian, which arrived in theaters this weekend, Scott asked NASA to advise the people…

Space & Spaceflight Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan

Science of The Martian: the Good, the Bad, and the Fascinating

The Martian is a love letter to science, but what does science think of The Martian? It’s time for a report card on what’s dead-on accurate, where the facts are fudged, and what’s plausible for a future that could one day happen. Beware: Spoilers ahead. Plenty of spoilers. Constant spoilers. Endless, unrelenting spoilers. You know…

Space & Spaceflight Mika McKinnon

Stunning Photo Shows Where the Curiosity Rover is Headed Next on Mars

NASA’s Curiosity Rover is currently drilling holes on the lower slopes of Mount Sharp in a region called the Stimson Unit. It recently took a break from its duties to take some long-range photos of a hilly region that the rover will explore in the coming months and years. This composite image was captured by…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky

Something Strange Is Going On With the Shadows in This Picture of the Moon’s Pole

It’s not just the shadows themselves, though, it’s where they are—because there shouldn’t be any shadows at all. The ESA captured pictures of the Moon’s north pole from every possible angle over two years, compiling over 32,000 different shots. The goal was to catch the pole spun towards the sunlight from every direction and eventually…

Space & Spaceflight Ria Misra

A Moody View of Titan and Saturn

Saturn and its moon Titan are a moody looking pair in this image. But despite the fact they look similar in a picture like this, they’re actually far from alike. As the European Space Agency points out, Saturn’s mass of swirling gas is a sharp contrast to Titan’s icy, solid body. Both do, however, have…

Space & Spaceflight Jamie Condliffe

The ‘Prehistoric Beaver’ That Helped Mammals Inherit Earth

Sixty six million years ago the world changed in an instant. A huge asteroid, some ten kilometers in diameter, smashed into what is now Mexico. It arrived with the force of several million nuclear bombs, and unleashed a deadly cocktail of wildfires, tsunamis, earthquakes, and volcanoes. It wasn’t a good time to be alive. Scientists…

Biology Stephen Brusatte - The Conversation

This is Why You Need a Flu Shot

If you’ve been debating whether to get a flu shot, you should watch this beautifully terrifying animation of a virus taking over a cell and sending millions of its progeny off to spread the infection. A single virus particle can turn an infected cell into a factory capable of producing millions more virus particles, which…

Health Kiona Smith-Strickland

Past and Future Collide in This Gorgeous ISS Photo of Athens

This web of lights is one of the most ancient cities in the world, seen from 249 miles above the Earth. Athens, Greece, is the ancient home of Plato and Aristotle, but in this photo taken from the International Space Station, it’s a sprawling modern metropolis. Cosmonaut Sergey Volkov posted this image from his Twitter…

Space & Spaceflight Kiona Smith-Strickland

All Hail Sputnik, the First Robotic Overlord to Orbit our Planet

October 4, 1957: Sputnik beeps out a cheerful declaration of survival in the harshest of environments as the first artificial satellite to successfully orbit the Earth. A 1957 newsreel cartoon introduced Americans to the first artificial satellite. Watch the entire reel here. On October 5, 1957 at 1:28am local time, an R-7 intercontinental ballistic missile…

Space & Spaceflight Mika McKinnon

The Blood Moon Was Recorded Back in 19th Century Thailand

This past Monday, people from around the world aimed their cameras upwards in hopes of catching a glimpse of the “blood moon” lunar eclipse. But as this 19th century manuscript shows, it’s a phenomenon that’s been chronicled long before the advent of camera phones and telescopic lenses. This Thai manuscript dates back to the time…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky

Here’s Our First Glimpse of the Rosetta Comet’s Dark Side

The Rosetta spacecraft has taken hundreds of stunning photographs of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko over the past year, but a portion of the comet was obscured due to its odd seasonal shifts. Now, thanks to a special camera aboard Rosetta, scientists have created a sketch of its elusive dark side. Comet 67P/C-G’s double-lobed shape and rotational axis…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky

Biologists Expose Their Love of Weird Animal Sex in Twitter #HumpOff

A couple of months ago, the Twitter hashtag #JunkOff got biologists to post photos that displayed the extravagant weirdness of plant and animal genitalia. Yesterday, evolutionary geneticist Tom Houslay dared them to write about what animals actually do with their junk. And if there’s one thing I know from years of Biology department picnics, it’s…

Biology Diane Kelly

That T-Junction in Your Sewer Line Is a Trap

Your sewers have T-junctions—places were two pipes come together and form a “T” shape. So do your arteries. A new study has found that these junctions can trap tiny particles of matter, blocking normal healthy flow. Here’s a video of the supposedly busy intersection of two streams of fluid. Liquid is rushing around in multiple…

Physics & Chemistry Esther Inglis-Arkell

Mars Orbiter Spots a Huge Avalanche of Carbon Dioxide on the Red Planet

In another reminder that the Red Planet features a complex and active surface, the HiRISE camera aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has captured an image of a “dry ice avalanche” streaming down a cliff. The avalanche, which measures about 65 feet (20 meters) across, was spotted on a scarp at the edge of the North…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky

This Is the Latest Soyuz-Progress Launch — Viewed From the Space Station

The Russian space agency successfully launched its latest transport cargo spaceship on Thursday evening, and NASA astronaut Scott Kelly managed to photograph the event from aboard the International Space Station. In the combination image above you can see the late-evening launch of the Soyuz-U rocket with THC Progress M-29M unmanned spacecraft on the left. And…

Space & Spaceflight Attila Nagy

Last Night’s ISS Sunset Sure Was a Good One

This was astronaut Scott Kelly’s view from the International Space Station before he went to bed last night. Those primary colors are really quite incredible. [Scott Kelly]

Space & Spaceflight Jamie Condliffe

Simply Counting Births and Deaths Could Solve Health Inequity in Africa

In Africa, only four countries record more than 75% of their births and deaths. This creates an unequal system and impacts on how governments plan for these citizens. For many African countries and especially among poorer communities, when people die there is no trace in any official legal record or statistic. It is common for…

Health Samuel Oti

How a Giant Lift Harnesses Gravity to Move Boats

You’re probably aware that normal elevators make use of counterweights, which reduce the amount of energy it takes to move people up and down skyscrapers with slightly frightening speed. But when it comes to moving hundred-ton boats, a little more precision is required. Tom Scotthas an excellent video explaining the basic physics behind the Falkirk…

Physics & Chemistry Chris Mills

This Year’s Nobel Prize for Physics Celebrates Neutrinos

Watch This Levitating Droplet Make Different Shapes, Then Freak Right the Hell Out

How NASA Helped Make The Martian‘s User Interfaces Realer Than Real

Science of The Martian: the Good, the Bad, and the Fascinating

Stunning Photo Shows Where the Curiosity Rover is Headed Next on Mars

Something Strange Is Going On With the Shadows in This Picture of the Moon’s Pole

A Moody View of Titan and Saturn

The ‘Prehistoric Beaver’ That Helped Mammals Inherit Earth

This is Why You Need a Flu Shot

Past and Future Collide in This Gorgeous ISS Photo of Athens

All Hail Sputnik, the First Robotic Overlord to Orbit our Planet

The Blood Moon Was Recorded Back in 19th Century Thailand

Here’s Our First Glimpse of the Rosetta Comet’s Dark Side

Biologists Expose Their Love of Weird Animal Sex in Twitter #HumpOff

That T-Junction in Your Sewer Line Is a Trap

Mars Orbiter Spots a Huge Avalanche of Carbon Dioxide on the Red Planet

This Is the Latest Soyuz-Progress Launch — Viewed From the Space Station

Last Night’s ISS Sunset Sure Was a Good One

Simply Counting Births and Deaths Could Solve Health Inequity in Africa

How a Giant Lift Harnesses Gravity to Move Boats

Roku’s 2025 Streaming Stick HD Is 40% Off to Compete With Amazon Fire TV Stick During Spring Sale

Epstein Victims Sue Google, Claim AI Mode Exposed Personal Information

‘Wicked Spot’ Is a Fun, Sapphic Rom-Com That Yeets a Witch Into the Magical World of Influencer Culture

Anthropic and OpenAI Just Gave Us a Glimpse Into the Future of Model Pricing

Amazon Slashes 63% Off Acer Aspire Desktop for a Limited-Time Spring Sale, With Keyboard and Mouse Included

Smart Glasses Now Have One of the Vision Pro’s Best Features

Marvel Just Put ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Season 2 in a Very Weird Place in the MCU Timeline

Trump Drops $1B to Kill 2 Wind Farms, Then Watches a Bigger One Go Online

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

Sonos Era 100 SL Review: The Cheapest Way Into Wired Sonos Sound

Asus ROG’s Massive Swift OLED Gaming Monitor Epitomizes Excess in the Best Way

The Ikea Varmblixt Smart Lamp Fills a Donut Hole in My Life

Nothing Headphone A vs. Headphone 1: Which Pair of ANC Wireless Headphones Wins?

Asus ROG’s Cetra Open Wireless Gaming Earbuds Might Be Better Than Wearing a Headset

Nintendo’s Talking Flower Is Annoying as Hell. I Love It

Level Lock Pro Review: As Good as a Secret Smart Lock Gets

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