Science

This Is Not a Painting

It looks like brushstrokes – it could almost be a Turner – but this is actually nature at its most dramatic. This snapshot from the European Space Agency’s MERIS satellite shows the Tibesti mountains that straddle northern Chad and southern Libya – though a picture like this makes it easy to forget that borders exist.…

Space & Spaceflight Joanna Carvet - New Scientist

Fitbit Flex Gives Nike’s Fuelband a Run for Its Money

We liked the Fitbit One activity tracker, but there was some convenience lacking. While its pebble-like form-factor was very discreet, it meant you always had to take it out and put it in a special arm band if you wanted to monitor your sleep, then return it to your pants in the morning. And which…

Health Brent Rose

Can a Haptic Connected Fork Really Encourage Healthy Eating Habits?

Nike’s FuelBand and other fitness trackers help you shed the pounds you’ve already accumulated. But a company called Hapilabs wants to stop you from gaining all that weight in the first place with a remarkably advanced fork that encourages you to take your time while dining. Hapilabs HAPIfork might end up being the chunkiest utensil…

Health Andrew Liszewski

BodyMedia’s Fitness Tracker Pretties Itself Up

BodyMedia fitness trackers have always been the ugly ducklings, because, well, they’re ugly. Thankfully, that’s about to change. The new Core 2 fitness tracker keeps tabs on a whole lot of metrics, and it’s a lot easier on the eyes. At its heart, the Core 2 isn’t that much different from BodyMedia’s previous flagship, the…

Health Brent Rose

Need Some Old Space Shuttle Facilities? NASA’s Got a Deal for You

Ever since NASA started wrapping up its space shuttle program, it’s had a lot of extra gear on its hands. The shuttles were sent off to retirement and other assorted equipment was cleaned out of the garage. Now NASA’s game to lease or sell some of the infrastructure that’s still hanging around at the Kennedy…

Space & Spaceflight Eric Limer

THERE IS A MOTHERFKING SNAKE RIVER ON MOTHERFKING MARS

“Snakes on a Planet?” asks the Mars Curiosity Rover to herself, “no, but this sinuous rock formation I spotted on Mars looks like one.” WHATEVER, Mars Curiosity Rover! I’ve had enough of your lies! NASA calls this sinuous rock feature the Snake River. Which I like, even while it’s not a snake nor a river.…

Space & Spaceflight Jesus Diaz

What’s Your Favorite DIY Cold Remedy?

It’s that time of year when everyone starts coming down with some kind of plague. Unfortunately there is no cure for the common cold, or whatever they say. But everyone has some kind of fail-safe home remedy. Sleep. Zicam. Lots of water. Virgin sacrifice. Whiskey? What’s your DIY solution to your winter ailment? Image credit:…

Health Leslie Horn

How Mars May Have Looked if It Was Covered in Water

By now, we all know that Mars was once home to water and may have even supported life. But what would the planet have looked like when it was lush and verdant? https://gizmodo.com/curiosity-has-found-a-riverbed-on-mars-5947213/ According to Kevin Gill, like this. Created using elevation data from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, this rendering shows what Mars would have…

Space & Spaceflight Jamie Condliffe

A Gaseous Umbilical Cord Ties Mother Stars to Baby Planets

Something never quite added up in the conventional model of solar system formation. It dictates that planets are formed from the accretion disc around a young star, but it also dictates that a star continues to feed off the same material as it grows and matures. So how to both bodies grow using a limited…

Space & Spaceflight Andrew Tarantola

Happiness Is a Warm Transcranial Direct Current Electrode

The human brain is capable of producing a staggering variety of hormones to regulate everything from appetite to pain resistance. Among the most potent of these neuromodulatory lipids is endogenous μ-opioid, a pain-killing chemical on par with morphine but produced naturally, in minute amounts, by our motor cortices. And, thanks to a study in transcranial…

Health Andrew Tarantola

How the Gaia Spacecraft Will Reveal the True Nature of Our Galaxy

Our solar system is positioned near the edge of the Milky Way. It’s a nice part of town, sure, but it doesn’t allow for a very clear view of the rest of the galaxy. That’s prevented us from studying many of the Milky Way’s fundamental aspects, like whether it has two arms or four, how…

Space & Spaceflight Andrew Tarantola

NASA Wants to Give Our Moon a Moon

NASA must think our moon is getting lonely, because it’s mulling the idea of capturing an asteroid and placing it in lunar orbit, so it has a rocky satellite all of its own. According to New Scientist, researchers at the Keck Institute for Space Studies in California have “confirmed that NASA is mulling over” a…

Space & Spaceflight Jamie Condliffe

This Robot Vomits So You Won’t Have To

Sometimes inventions, even the important ones, aren’t pretty. Case in point: this vomiting robot. It could help us understand, and then battle, an illness that no one’s found a cure for in 40 years. Even if it’s not the cutest ‘bot out there. The unfortunately but appropriately named Vomiting Larry is an anatomically correct model…

Health Colin Lecher - PopSci

NASA’s Developing Robotic “Hedgehogs” to Explore a Martian Moon

Exploring micro-gravity climates like Mars, which has just 38 percent of the Earth’s force, or its moon, Phobos, which has 1000 times less gravity than that, can be a challenge for rovers that rely on wheels or skittering legs for traction. That’s why Stanford researchers plan to survey the Martian moon with an fleet of…

Space & Spaceflight Andrew Tarantola

Panda Blood Might Contain a Secret Weapon For Battling Superbugs

Conservationists have long been working to prevent pandas from going extinct. And their efforts might now have a renewed focus as researchers from the Life Sciences College of Nanjing Agricultural University have discovered an antibody in panda blood that’s extremely effective at killing fungus and bacteria. Known as cathelicin-AM, the compound is capable of quickly…

Health Andrew Liszewski

NASA’s Curiosity Rover Has a Special Message for You This New Year

It’s New Years. Balls will be dropped. Kisses will be kissed. Bubbly will be drunk drank drunken dranked consumed. But that’s all normal. This year there’s something different: a message from Mars, apparently. Will it be about aliens? Probably not. Will it be Curiosity mocking Time Square revelers about how much better it is to…

Space & Spaceflight Eric Limer

The Real Story Behind Neil Armstrong’s History-Making Line

We all know the line, but what about the story behind it? Neil Armstrong was always keen on telling folks that he’d thought up the historical words after landing on the moon, but before the walk. That is to say, relatively off-the-cuff. A new documentary tells a slightly different story. According to Neil Armstrong: First…

Space & Spaceflight Eric Limer

What Happens When You Get Alcohol Poisoning?

As regular Happy Hour readers know, there’s nothing we like more than finding new, innovative, and fun approaches to drinking. But there’s a darker side that must be acknowledged. Specifically, you can poison yourself and die. The spectre of “alcohol poisoning” looms over every bar, college campus, and raging party, but what is it exactly?…

Health Brent Rose

In Space, Nobody Can Hear You Scream Because It’s F*cking Noisy

This is how it sounds inside the International Space Station as recorded by Commander Chris Hadfield inside the United States module of the ISS. [Soundcloud via Twitter]

Space & Spaceflight Jesus Diaz

NASA’s Recon Orbiter Is the Most Important Thing We’ve Ever Thrown at Mars

The Opportunity, Spirit, and Curiosity rovers may get the headlines for their craters clambering exploits but it’s NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, quietly observing the planet turn from 178 miles up, that’s most critical to our exploration of the Red Planet. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) is a $720 million multipurpose spacecraft that acts as an…

Space & Spaceflight Andrew Tarantola

This Is Not a Painting

Fitbit Flex Gives Nike’s Fuelband a Run for Its Money

Can a Haptic Connected Fork Really Encourage Healthy Eating Habits?

BodyMedia’s Fitness Tracker Pretties Itself Up

Need Some Old Space Shuttle Facilities? NASA’s Got a Deal for You

THERE IS A MOTHERFKING SNAKE RIVER ON MOTHERFKING MARS

What’s Your Favorite DIY Cold Remedy?

How Mars May Have Looked if It Was Covered in Water

A Gaseous Umbilical Cord Ties Mother Stars to Baby Planets

Happiness Is a Warm Transcranial Direct Current Electrode

How the Gaia Spacecraft Will Reveal the True Nature of Our Galaxy

NASA Wants to Give Our Moon a Moon

This Robot Vomits So You Won’t Have To

NASA’s Developing Robotic “Hedgehogs” to Explore a Martian Moon

Panda Blood Might Contain a Secret Weapon For Battling Superbugs

NASA’s Curiosity Rover Has a Special Message for You This New Year

The Real Story Behind Neil Armstrong’s History-Making Line

What Happens When You Get Alcohol Poisoning?

In Space, Nobody Can Hear You Scream Because It’s F*cking Noisy

NASA’s Recon Orbiter Is the Most Important Thing We’ve Ever Thrown at Mars

Roborock F25 Ultra Steam Wet Dry Vacuum Is Now at Its Lowest Price, but Only During the Spring Sale Window

This $450 Semi-Dumb Phone Is Barely Even a Phone

Startup Successfully Ignites World’s First Fusion Rocket

Shokz OpenDots One Earbuds Hit Their Lowest Price Yet Across All Color Options, Including the New Ones

INIU Portable Power Bank Is Small in Size and Smaller in Price for Amazon’s Big Spring Sale (45W, 10,000mAh)

Humans Were Already Dog People 16,000 Years Ago, DNA Suggests

California Regulator Says Tesla’s ‘Robotaxis’ Are More Like a Limo in the Eyes of the Law

Dyson Airwrap Falls to an All-Time Low in Amazon’s Spring Sale, Lowering the Barrier for This Premium Multi-Styler

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

Let us help find what you are looking for...

Science

This Is Not a Painting

Fitbit Flex Gives Nike’s Fuelband a Run for Its Money

Can a Haptic Connected Fork Really Encourage Healthy Eating Habits?

BodyMedia’s Fitness Tracker Pretties Itself Up

Need Some Old Space Shuttle Facilities? NASA’s Got a Deal for You

THERE IS A MOTHERF*KING SNAKE RIVER ON MOTHERF*KING MARS

What’s Your Favorite DIY Cold Remedy?

How Mars May Have Looked if It Was Covered in Water

A Gaseous Umbilical Cord Ties Mother Stars to Baby Planets

Happiness Is a Warm Transcranial Direct Current Electrode

How the Gaia Spacecraft Will Reveal the True Nature of Our Galaxy

NASA Wants to Give Our Moon a Moon

This Robot Vomits So You Won’t Have To

NASA’s Developing Robotic “Hedgehogs” to Explore a Martian Moon

Panda Blood Might Contain a Secret Weapon For Battling Superbugs

NASA’s Curiosity Rover Has a Special Message for You This New Year

The Real Story Behind Neil Armstrong’s History-Making Line

What Happens When You Get Alcohol Poisoning?

In Space, Nobody Can Hear You Scream Because It’s F*cking Noisy

NASA’s Recon Orbiter Is the Most Important Thing We’ve Ever Thrown at Mars

Roborock F25 Ultra Steam Wet Dry Vacuum Is Now at Its Lowest Price, but Only During the Spring Sale Window

This $450 Semi-Dumb Phone Is Barely Even a Phone

Startup Successfully Ignites World’s First Fusion Rocket

Shokz OpenDots One Earbuds Hit Their Lowest Price Yet Across All Color Options, Including the New Ones

INIU Portable Power Bank Is Small in Size and Smaller in Price for Amazon’s Big Spring Sale (45W, 10,000mAh)

Humans Were Already Dog People 16,000 Years Ago, DNA Suggests

California Regulator Says Tesla’s ‘Robotaxis’ Are More Like a Limo in the Eyes of the Law

Dyson Airwrap Falls to an All-Time Low in Amazon’s Spring Sale, Lowering the Barrier for This Premium Multi-Styler

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

Let us help find what you are looking for...

THERE IS A MOTHERFKING SNAKE RIVER ON MOTHERFKING MARS