Science

Why We Should Keep Trying to Time Travel

H.G. Wells coined the term “time machine” all the way back in 1895, just a decade before Einstein published his groundbreaking paper on special relativity that would begin show how time travel is possible. The fascination with using technology to look into the past or the future hasn’t faded in the last century. And as…

Space & Spaceflight Adam Clark Estes

The FX Team Behind Gravity Will Explain the Universe Using Magic Leap AR

The visual effects team that made Gravity look so God damn great is planning to “tell the story of the universe,” using Magic Leap’s augmented reality technology to create an immersive live show next year. Fronted by Professor Brian Cox—the British physicists turned TV personality—the production will use the cutting-edge AR system that we only…

Space & Spaceflight Jamie Condliffe

I Looked A Wild Polar Bear In The Eye

Standing just a few feet away, I looked into the eye of a wild polar bear, scrawny and gaunt from going a summer without food. It felt like visiting Jurassic Park. I can’t help but feel a profound sadness when we lock eyes. A sense that these majestic animals know what’s happening. I wonder whether…

Biology Adam Popescu

Inside “The Domes,” Where NASA Drives the Spacecraft of the Future

Deep in the belly of the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, lie “The Domes.” Step into one of them and suddenly you’re standing on the surface of Mars, or you’re flying high above the Earth, looking out from the International Space Station. This is the Systems Engineering Simulator, where we learned to fly, drive,…

Space & Spaceflight Brent Rose

Painted Dogs Took Down A Pregnant Impala and Nat Geo Streamed It Live

In the run-up to Nat Geo WILD’s Big Cat Week, the network has been livestreaming video from South Africa’s Kruger National Park twice each day online via WILDSafariLive.com. Last week, viewers got a surprise: a pack of wild dogs brought down a pregnant impala. Fair warning: this video is hard to watch. On Saturday morning,…

Biology Jason G. Goldman

The UK Is Crowdfunding a Trip to the Moon

A team of plucky Brits has decided to make its way to the moon—using funds gathered from the public via Kickstarter. The rather ambitious plan aims to raise £500m—that’s almost $800m—for the project via donations made by the public. The planned mission, known as Lunar Mission One, will set a robotic probe down on the…

Space & Spaceflight Jamie Condliffe

Photo Safari: Lions

I always thought it was odd that lions were called the King of the Jungle when, in truth, they live on the savannah and in the bush. Still, they’re definitely royalty among the African megafauna. Above, a lioness bares her teeth – it may appear aggressive, but the truth is I managed to catch her…

Biology Jason G. Goldman

Rosetta Is Sending Back Intriguing Data on the Origins of Earth’s Water

While you were worrying about Philae’s landing, the spacecraft Rosetta has been patiently circling the comet, doing its own science. And it’s just dropped some intriguing results into the big debate over how Earth got its water. In case you’re just, ahem, wading in, the origin of Earth’s water has been a great, unsolved scientific…

Space & Spaceflight Sarah Zhang

Rosetta’s Lander Has Found Organic Molecules on a Comet

Philae, the probe that landed on a comet as part of the Rosetta mission, has detected organic molecules in the comet’s atmosphere. We don’t know exactly what the molecules are yet, but they could hold a key to early life on Earth. Hell, this is a big reason we sent Rosetta all the way to…

Space & Spaceflight Sarah Zhang

Every Walgreens Is About to Offer Cheap, Painless Blood Tests

As part of Walgreens’ recent initiative to be a “leader in healthcare technology,” the company is teaming up with Silicon Valley health startup Theranos to offer cheap, needle-free blood tests. What’s more, the service will soon be coming to a drugstore near you, as they’re planning to expand it to all 8,200 locations. The revolutionary…

Health Ashley Feinberg

These Larvae Glow in the Dark, Then Eat You

Well, they’ll only eat you if you’re a tasty insect. A few years ago, wildlife photographer Jeff Cremer was traipsing about the Peruvian rainforest when he noticed some glowing green dots scattered in the dirt. He returned to investigate with some entomologists. After checking the dots out, the scientists suspect they’re click beetle larvae. Cremer…

Biology Jason G. Goldman

The ISS Now Has a 3D Printer

After being shot up into space, the International Space Station’s first 3D printer has arrived. Now installed, the device will allow astronauts aboard the ISS to manufacture equipment and spare parts to demand. https://gizmodo.com/nasa-is-blasting-the-first-3d-printer-into-space-tonigh-1636978871 It’s not yet clear what the astronauts will print first. Sadly, they probably won’t be making pizza: more likely it will…

Space & Spaceflight Jamie Condliffe

Using Fitbit Data In Court Is Just a Bad Idea

Lawyers for a woman trying to win a personal injury claim are going to use her Fitbit data in court to try to prove that she has not been active. This is incredibly stupid. Forbes reports the case of a personal trainer trying to prove that injuries sustained in car accident kept her from being…

Health Mario Aguilar

Here Are All 556 Asteroids That Bombarded Earth in the Past 20 Years

NASA has released a new map of every single asteroid that entered Earth’s atmosphere from 1994 to 2013. Although almost all 556 of the asteroids disintegrated harmlessly, this well splattered map shows us exactly how common asteroids strikes are and how often our atmosphere saves our skins. This map from NASA’s Near Earth Objects (NEO)…

Space & Spaceflight Sarah Zhang

How Do We Make Transforming Quantum Circuits? Lasers and Ultracold Atoms

Well, here’s a cooooool finding. Take any piece of electronic equipment you can think of and its circuits are powered by, yes, electrons. But a new experiment takes us one step closer to “atomtronic circuits” made of supercold quantum matter that can be reconfigured on the fly. Scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory started with…

Physics & Chemistry Sarah Zhang

Why Are All the Sea Stars Dying?

For the last year and a half, sea stars all along North America’s Pacific coast – from Baja California all the way to Alaska – have been withering away into nothingness. Today, researchers announced they’ve found the culprit: it’s a virus. Sea star wasting disease (SSWD) has been known for several decades at least, but…

Biology Jason G. Goldman

Inside the Chamber Where NASA Recreates Space on Earth

Inside Building 32 at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas sits Chamber A, a marvel of engineering, cleanliness, and design. It’s also the closest you can come to being in space without strapping into a rocket. Originally built in the early 1960s for the Apollo program, the chamber is one of the world’s largest…

Space & Spaceflight Brent Rose

Philae Bouncing Off the Comet, Caught in Amazing Rosetta Images

Everyone’s favorite underdog lander, Philae, was traveling at about 1.6 feet per second as she zoomed towards the formidable chunk of ice and rock known as 67P. That was slow enough that her mothership Rosetta was actually able to capture the descent in images released today by the ESA. These images were shot using Rosetta’s…

Space & Spaceflight Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan

Photo Safari: Zebras

Compared to the other animals in the African bush, the zebra might get overlooked by some. But I think the three zebra species – Plains, Mountain, and Grevy’s – are some of the most visually striking animals in the world. Here are a few zebra photos from my reporting trip to South Africa. Each of…

Biology Jason G. Goldman

This Is How a New Moon Could Form If Something Smashed Into Earth

This dramatic simulation shows how a new moon could be born if something large—about the size of Mars, in fact—slammed into our planet. Spoiler: it causes quite a mess. In fact, what happens is that mantle material, from beneath our planet’s crust, gets blasted into space. Over time that forms into a disc, before cooling…

Space & Spaceflight Jamie Condliffe

Why We Should Keep Trying to Time Travel

The FX Team Behind Gravity Will Explain the Universe Using Magic Leap AR

I Looked A Wild Polar Bear In The Eye

Inside “The Domes,” Where NASA Drives the Spacecraft of the Future

Painted Dogs Took Down A Pregnant Impala and Nat Geo Streamed It Live

The UK Is Crowdfunding a Trip to the Moon

Photo Safari: Lions

Rosetta Is Sending Back Intriguing Data on the Origins of Earth’s Water

Rosetta’s Lander Has Found Organic Molecules on a Comet

Every Walgreens Is About to Offer Cheap, Painless Blood Tests

These Larvae Glow in the Dark, Then Eat You

The ISS Now Has a 3D Printer

Using Fitbit Data In Court Is Just a Bad Idea

Here Are All 556 Asteroids That Bombarded Earth in the Past 20 Years

How Do We Make Transforming Quantum Circuits? Lasers and Ultracold Atoms

Why Are All the Sea Stars Dying?

Inside the Chamber Where NASA Recreates Space on Earth

Philae Bouncing Off the Comet, Caught in Amazing Rosetta Images

Photo Safari: Zebras

This Is How a New Moon Could Form If Something Smashed Into Earth

Deadpool Will Deface ‘Magic: The Gathering’ Classics for a New Secret Lair

Apple’s Siri Isn’t Just Going to Use One Chatbot. It’s Going to Use All of Them

Why ‘For All Mankind’ Season 5 Is the Key to the Rest of the Series

ASUS ZenScreen 15.6-Inch Portable Monitor Is Now Cheaper Than Black Friday in Amazon’s Big Spring Sale

Early Wildfires Are Surging Across the US—and Trump’s New Fire Agency Isn’t Ready

INIU Brings Another Power Bank to the Spring Sale as SnapGo Keychain Portable Charger Drops to Its Lowest Price

Attorney Hit With Historic Fine for Citing AI-Generated Cases

Travelers Experiencing the Longest Security Lines in TSA History

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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