Science

The European Space Agency’s Gaia Telescope—which is set to scan the entire sky and change our understanding of the universe—successfully launched yesterday morning at 09:12 GMT. [ESA]

Astronomers Figured Out How to Weigh Entire Planets Using Starlight

Weighing a planet is a tough task. I mean, it’s not like you can just put them on a bathroom scale. And, while astronomers figured out how to measure the mass of planets in our solar system a long time ago, it’s practically impossible to weigh exoplanets. Well, it was until recently. MIT planetary scientists…

A Map of the ERs Near You That Will Treat You the Fastest

Emergency rooms are notorious for unpredictable—if not excruciatingly long—wait times. But when you’re in the throes of a medical emergency, you don’t exactly have the time to call up every hospital in the area for a traffic report. Fortunately, ProPublica has just announced a new tool that could make two-hour-long surprise wait times a thing…

Deadly Superbugs Are Breeding Like Crazy in Chinese Sewage Plants

Gird your immune system because what you’re about to read will make you sick. No, seriously, it’s dangerous. Like Contagion-level dangerous. https://gizmodo.com/watch-how-scary-fast-an-epidemic-would-spread-disease-a-1482195335 Scientists have discovered deadly bacteria breeding in Chinese wastewater treatment plants. These superbugs can’t be killed with even the strongest antibiotics and can survive the purification process. That means they can make their…

Amazing Landforms Shaped By Animals

Humans have their dynamite; wind and water have time on their side; but animals, too, can reshape their landscape on a massive scale. None of these are the work of a lone gopher or even a single mighty elephant, but generations and generations of animals slowly chipping away. Mima Mounds Photo courtesy of Arthur M.…

Chinese Hospital Opens “Smog Clinic” to Help Citizens Survive the City

As Chinese cities grapple with explosive industrial growth, they also grapple with the side effects, like millions of citizens with pollution-related ills. At Chengdu No. 7 People’s Hospital, those patients are a common sight—and now, the hospital has opened a dedicated “smog clinic” to treat them. Despite the fact that the official party line on…

Why Do We Get Motion Sickness?

The majority of the population will at some point have to contend with that dreaded icky feeling of spewing their guts as they ride in a train, plane or automobile. But why do we get motion sickness, and is there any way we can stop it? In fact, it’s a result of our senses coming…

Just Look at What Saturn’s Moons Do To Its Rings

Saturn’s moons do more than just orbit the planet: they interact with its rings, too. In this image, you can see the moon Prometheus’ gravitational field gently sculpting the planet’s F ring. Over on the left, you can also just about make out some ripples at the edge of the Keeler gap, which are in…

Could a Smartphone Cholesterol Sensor Convince You Not to Supersize?

One day you might be able to make a more informed decision when the cashier asks if you’d like to supersize your fries. Researchers at Cornell University have developed an accessory for your smartphone called the smartCARD that actually lets you measure your cholesterol in mere minutes. Short for ‘Smartphone Cholesterol Application for Rapid Diagnostics’,…

Asteroid That Killed the Dinosaurs Might Have Blasted Life to Mars

The massive asteroid that slammed into Earth some 66 million years ago is often—and understandably—considered a vicious killer. But new research into the cosmic effects of the impact suggest quite the opposite. That deadly asteroid might have actually blasted life throughout the solar system. As a team of researchers argue in the latest issue of…

The Crab Nebula Is a Swirling Cloud of Electric Purple Light

The Crab Nebula never fails to disappoint—and that’s particularly true in this image, a view by the Herschel Space Observatory and the Hubble Space Telescope of the swirling cloud of dust and gas. https://gizmodo.com/crab-nebula-should-be-renamed-smoking-blue-jellyfish-ne-5732650 The image is a composite from the two satellites, combing Hubble’s view of the nebula at visible wavelengths and Herschel’s far-infrared…

The Chinese Rover’s First Moon Photos Are Here

China’s National Space Administration has released photos taken by theYutu rover on the moon. There is also video footage of the Chang’e 3 lander’s descent, and you can see in the video (below) when it comes to a full stop about 50 meters above the surface of the moon for a quick photo survey. https://gizmodo.com/bang-zoom-straight-to-the-moon-china-launches-its-fi-1474883623…

China’s Rover Has Reportedly Landed On the Moon

China’s state-run television network is reporting that the unmanned Yutu lunar rover has successfully soft-landed on the moon. The rover, which touched down a few minutes after 9PM Saturday night Beijing time, is the first object to be successfully soft-landed on the moon since 1976. https://gizmodo.com/bang-zoom-straight-to-the-moon-china-launches-its-fi-1474883623 The Chang’e-3 landing craft carried the rover to the…

Parrots, Cats, Roaches, and Ants: What’s Ruining Our Cities This Week

Feisty parrots, alien cockroaches, crazy ants, and cats bearing frankincense and myrrh. It’s an all-animal edition of What’s Ruining Our Cities! Parrots are ruining the electrical grid in Southern California Wild parrots—actually former pets that have since escaped and flourished—can be found throughout Southern California. Mostly they just chill in palm trees, where they squawk…

Inside the Incredible, Complex Factories Where Satellites Are Born

Greg White has shot some of the most remote and unusual places in the world. The UK photographer has published photo essays on Chernobyl, Svalbard, and even CERN. But for his latest project, he discovered an alien world within the ordinary confines of his home country: The labs where satellites are built. Working under commission…

The World’s Awesomest Scientists Invent Cavity-Free Candy

With a breakthrough that will finally help Halloween top Christmas as the best holiday ever, scientists at the Berlin-based biotech lab Organo Balance claim to have developed a candy that doesn’t cause cavities. You’ll still get sick and pack on the pounds from gorging on sweets, but if you forget to brush your teeth, your…

This mosaic of images taken from 2004 to 2013 the shutter-snapping Cassini spacecraft shows the most detailed look at the famous lakes on the surface of Saturn’s moon, Titan. Thought to be filled with methane and ethane, the lakes are the only areas filled with standing liquid in the entire solar system except, of course,…

14 Fresh Pieces of Space Art for Your Viewing Pleasure

Contemporary visual arts and the new space age we are currently living in often pleasantly fuse together, resulting in great art and illustrations that everyone would gladly hang on the wall. To Infinity And Beyond is a space art exhibition of 40 young Hungarian graphic designers and painters currently on display in the Budapest Planetarium,…

How the Gaia Telescope Will Scan the Entire Sky

When the Gaia space telescope launches next week, it’s going to attempt the biggest astronomy project of all time: it will try and scan the entire sky, capturing images of at least a billion stars in our galaxy. Plunging 1.5 million kilometers into space, it’ll do all of that with unprecedented accuracy, almost certainly transforming…

Why Cold Weather Makes Your Water Pipes Burst

We’re currently experiencing colder-than-seasonal weather here in Seattle. This is causing a lot of problems with burst water pipes. Here is a picture of a couple of issues suffered by a friend of mine Ian. Why Do Pipes Burst the Way They Do? Why do water pipes burst, and why do they always fail the…