Science

“Kerplunking” Is An Actual Scientific Term

Fun fact: “kerplunking” is an actual scientific term used to describe a certain type of foraging behavior among bottlenose dolphins. Its first usage appears to have been in a 2000 article in the journal Marine Mammal Science written by Richard Connor and colleagues. You may recognize Connor’s name from just about every research paper written…

Biology Jason G. Goldman

Was The Pringles Man Inspired By This Spider?

The kidney garden spider, or pale orb weaver (Araneus mitificus), would be a fascinating critter on its own, but the fact that it looks just like the Pringles man makes it even more awesome. These spiders have a really neat trick when it comes to their web-weaving. They leave a whole chunk of their web…

Biology Jason G. Goldman

When The Robots Take Over, They’ll Come On Eight Legs

Most robots have a problem, which is that they’re hard. The last few years have seen major advances in soft robotics, but the challenge to create a soft-bodied robot that can both locomote and manipulate objects has not yet been realized. At The Octopus Chronicles, Katherine Harmon Courage reports that a group of Italian researchers…

Biology Jason G. Goldman

This Robotic Surgeon Climbs Inside Astronauts’ Belly Buttons

If you’re an astronaut on your way to Mars, there aren’t too many options if your appendix bursts. That’s why a Nebraska-based technology company has developed mini robot space surgeons that can actually climb inside of astronauts’ bodies. The first zero-gravity tests on the machine are about to begin. It sounds creepy, but this thing…

Space & Spaceflight Adam Clark Estes

Why Are Vitamins Named Using the Alphabet?

Easily identifiable by simple terms, the vitamins we recognize today were only recently isolated, identified and named. Roots of Vitamins Scientists studying why animals failed to thrive (deficiency diseases) were the first to discover vitamins. One of these early researchers, Cornelius Adrianus Pekelharing, opined in 1905 that milk had “some unrecognized substance . . .…

Health Melissa - TodayIFoundOut.com

Why Use the Fine China When You Have These Awesome Planetary Plates?

Back when Pluto had some status in our solar system, a handy way to remember the names of the planets was the ‘My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas’ mnemonic, where the first letter of each word represented each celestial orb. But it’s just confusing now that Pluto’s gone, so maybe a set…

Space & Spaceflight Andrew Liszewski

This Elephant Playing With A Ball Will Just Melt Your Heart

Just in case your cold, cold heart needed any more evidence that other animals can have fun, watch this video of Beco, a 5-year-old elephant at the Columbus Zoo, play with a ball. Related: Why do animals like to play? [Columbus Zoo]

Biology Jason G. Goldman

Hearts Weaken, Shrink And Become Spherical In Space

Go to space. Enjoy the view, do some science, maybe even throw a boomerang. And feel your heart getting weaker. George Dvorsky has more on new research about how prolonged time in microgravity can impact cardiovascular health. https://gizmodo.com/lightning-mysterious-gamma-ray-bursts-1549723614 https://gizmodo.com/boomerangs-in-zero-gravity-1554894942 https://gizmodo.com/hearts-weaken-shrink-and-become-spherical-in-space-1555324866

Health Mika McKinnon

Anthropomorphic Animals Make It Harder To Learn Science

“Yum, these grass and plants are delicious!” Mother cavy thinks as she eats her breakfast. “I will feed some to my baby cavies too!” she says. The baby cavies love to play in the grass! But they’ve gotten all dirty! “Time for your bath,” Mother cavy says. Mother cavy and her babies like to spend…

Biology Jason G. Goldman

South Carolina and the Mammoth

Almost every state has a state fossils, but not South Carolina. Inspired by a letter from an 8-year-old girl, a pair of legislators in South Carolina are addressing its paleontological neglect by trying to honour the woolly mammoth. Alas, it isn’t that easy. Before getting into the painfully-predictable sticking point for South Carolina, this is…

Biology Mika McKinnon

Watch Three Bald Eagle Chicks Grow on Catalina Island’s EagleCam

Catalina Island just got a little more patriotic. Wildlife biologists from the Catalina Island Conservancy, which administers the majority of the island, announced last week that three bald eagle chicks hatched there, and they’ve outfitted their nest with a camera. You can watch the chicks grow from the comfort of your own home. Live streaming…

Biology Jason G. Goldman

This Is What It Looks Like When Liquid Simultaneously Freezes and Boils

In thermodyanimcs, there’s a concept known as triple point: it’s a combination of temperature and pressure where a substance can exist as a solid, liquid and gas, all at the same time. This is what it looks like. It’s not often people outside a lab get to see what this looks like, because you need…

Physics & Chemistry Jamie Condliffe

A Stunning Picture of the Very Large Telescope (Oh, and the Milky Way)

This stunning fisheye photograph shows the towering wonder of the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope—plus, you know, some galaxy called the Milky Way in the background, too. In fact, the image shows the four Unit Telescopes—Antu, Kueyen, Melipal and Yepun—that make up just part of the Very Large Telescope (VLT) and the VLT Survey…

Space & Spaceflight Jamie Condliffe

The Science of the Slapshot: Stanley Cup Slo-Mo Physics

The slapshot is the fastest shot in hockey. One satisfying thwack and the puck goes flying at incredible speeds. Except it’s not really one thwack, it’s two, and our buddy Destin at Smarter Every Day has both the science know-how and the super high-speed slow-motion cameras to show you exactly how it works. Turns out…

Physics & Chemistry Brent Rose

The Inside Story of the Crazy Rocket Research at Jet Propulsion Labs

Everybody knows the cowboy reputation associated with early astronauts, the test-pilot swagger immortalized by Apollo 13 and The Right Stuff. But the rockets that took those astronauts to space were built by a group with an equally cinematic image: the nearly-unhinged, completely unfettered mad scientists at Jet Propulsion Laboratories. Mika McKinnon brings us a fascinating…

Space & Spaceflight Bob Sorokanich

Learn How To Be A Better Wildlife Photographer

You don’t have to travel far to shoot decent wildlife photos. Other than spending some time practicing at the zoo or with your pets, why not take your camera to a nearby park or hiking trail? Birds and squirrels and lizards and the like may not be as charismatic as zebras or pandas, but they…

Biology Jason G. Goldman

You Can’t Steer a Bike in Zero Gravity, Even If The Road’s Magnetic

Gravity is the sworn enemy of any cyclist. Succumb to its force while you’re on two wheels, and you’ll end up bloody and bruised. But like any superhero’s nemesis, gravity justifies a bike’s very existence, because without it, you’d never be able to steer. Strap on a helmet, this is gonna get weird. You probably…

Physics & Chemistry Bob Sorokanich

Sanitizer-Dispensing Door Handles Ensure Hospital Staff Stay Clean

When you work in an environment that’s all about battling germs, bacteria, and disease, common sense dictates that you should always keep your hands clean. But that’s easier said than done, at least until these clever PullClean sanitizer dispensing door handles are installed in every hospital, doctor’s office, and clinic around the world. Using the…

Health Andrew Liszewski

Fin Whales Produce An Impressive Amount of Pee

Fact: Fin whales produce an average of 974 liters of urine each day. Let’s put this in perspective. That’s 487 2-liter bottles of Coke. If you had that much gas (257 gallons) you could completely fill twenty 2014 Ford Focuses, and still have a bit leftover. According to the National Institutes of Health, the average…

Biology Jason G. Goldman

The Spray-On Surgical Film That Could Make Sutures Redundant

Surgeries, major or minor, virtually always require sutures—but they can prove uncomfortable and painful, or even become infected. Now, a spray-on film of biodegradable polymer nanofibers could replace them for good. Researchers from the University of Maryland have developed a technique to apply a thin film of biodegradable material which can conform to the skin,…

Health Jamie Condliffe

“Kerplunking” Is An Actual Scientific Term

Was The Pringles Man Inspired By This Spider?

When The Robots Take Over, They’ll Come On Eight Legs

This Robotic Surgeon Climbs Inside Astronauts’ Belly Buttons

Why Are Vitamins Named Using the Alphabet?

Why Use the Fine China When You Have These Awesome Planetary Plates?

This Elephant Playing With A Ball Will Just Melt Your Heart

Hearts Weaken, Shrink And Become Spherical In Space

Anthropomorphic Animals Make It Harder To Learn Science

South Carolina and the Mammoth

Watch Three Bald Eagle Chicks Grow on Catalina Island’s EagleCam

This Is What It Looks Like When Liquid Simultaneously Freezes and Boils

A Stunning Picture of the Very Large Telescope (Oh, and the Milky Way)

The Science of the Slapshot: Stanley Cup Slo-Mo Physics

The Inside Story of the Crazy Rocket Research at Jet Propulsion Labs

Learn How To Be A Better Wildlife Photographer

You Can’t Steer a Bike in Zero Gravity, Even If The Road’s Magnetic

Sanitizer-Dispensing Door Handles Ensure Hospital Staff Stay Clean

Fin Whales Produce An Impressive Amount of Pee

The Spray-On Surgical Film That Could Make Sutures Redundant

Anker’s 100W Power Bank Hits Its Lowest Price of the Year on Amazon, Packing 25,000mAh and 3 Ports

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Now the Oscars Aren’t Just Moving to YouTube, They’re Moving Out of Hollywood

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C-3PO’s Head From ‘Empire Strikes Back’ Sold for a Cool Million

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Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

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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

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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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