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Acid and Gold: The Modern Alchemy of Artificial Gemstones

Everyone knows that humans can make artificial diamonds. But did you know that we can make sapphires, emeralds, and rubies as well? Did you know that this involves weird occult-like instruments, like little rooms lined in gold? Starting with crystal seeds and watering regularly with hydrochloric acid, we can grow a cluster of emeralds. Sometimes…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

The Stoner Channel: The Science of Smoke, Why Tan Buds Are Happy Buds, and MUSCLES!

Old Spice Muscle Music He may not be quite as precise as Stickboy but Terry Crews does lay down a wicked good beat as a muscle-twitching one man band. You can even try your hand at playing him yourself after the introductory video ends. Surprisingly, he doesn’t actually make the Pillsbury Dough Boy sound when…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola

Could your mind be reprogrammed while you’re asleep?

Researchers have proved that people can be conditioned with behaviors in their sleep — and then exhibit those same behaviors when they’re awake, without any memory of the earlier training. While there’s some suggestion this could lead to methods of learning information in your sleep, the potential for night-time conditioning is pretty scary. A new…

io9 George Dvorsky

So apparently male circumcision is cool again

An influential American medical organization is overturning recently overturned convention by suggesting that the health benefits of infant circumcision outweigh any risks. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, there is now sufficient evidence showing the advantages for male circumcision, namely the prevention of urinary tract infections, penile cancer and some sexually transmitted infections, including…

io9 George Dvorsky

Harvester ants use their own internet for hive-mind decision making

Harvester ant colonies are able to decide how many foragers they need to send out of the nest by using a protocol system that’s eerily similar to the one IT professionals use to determine how much bandwidth is available on the internet. This so-called “anternet” apparently proves that ant decision-making and behavior is regulated by…

io9 George Dvorsky

Will food shortages force us to become vegetarians?

A new report from the Stockholm International Water Institute is warning that a pending food crisis may force the world’s population to adopt a vegetarian diet over the course of the next 40 years. Because livestock require disportionately high rates of water, and given that 9 billion people will need to be fed by 2050,…

io9 George Dvorsky

Eight things you didn’t know you could do with human sperm

Sperm are single-purposed: They’re optimized to get to an egg and inseminate it. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t more to this cell than meets the ovum. Sperm, along with its travelling companion, semen, are surprisingly versatile and adaptable substances. Here are eight unconventional things you can do with human sperm. 1. Skin softener Sperm…

io9 George Dvorsky

The Stoner Channel: The One with Killer Licorice, Basilisms, and the Web’s Best Seed Suppliers

The Amount of Lead in Licorice Red Vines Is Too Damn High Health officials in California have issues a recall for and are warning state residents against eating Red Vines black licorice twists. A recently-tested batch contained as much as 13.2 micrograms of lead per serving—more than double the daily recommended 6 microgram dosage. Anybody…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola

Prominent scientists sign declaration that animals have conscious awareness, just like us

An international group of prominent scientists has signed The Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness in which they are proclaiming their support for the idea that animals are conscious and aware to the degree that humans are — a list of animals that includes all mammals, birds, and even the octopus. But will this make us stop…

io9 George Dvorsky

Are antibiotics making your kids obese?

The science of studying the human gut microbiome is still in its early days — but research into this area is beginning to reveal some pretty startling things. Take two recent studies published in Nature and the International Journal of Obesity, both of which indicate that the use of antibiotics in young children could be…

io9 George Dvorsky

Rare neurological patient shows that self-awareness does not require a complex brain

Neuroscientists who study consciousness have suggested that self-awareness depends on the presence of very specific “higher order” regions of the brain. In turn, that means that any serious impairment to these critical areas would virtually eliminate any sense someone has of themselves as a separate person. At least, that’s how the theory goes. But now,…

io9 George Dvorsky

Gibbons on helium use the same vocal techniques as opera singers

In what sounds like a twisted birthday party gone horribly wrong, Japanese researchers have shown that helium-huffing gibbons utilize the same vocal techniques as professional soprano singers. The study reveals that gibbons, whose vocalizations are unique among non-human primates, share a physiological similarity to humans. The unique project was led by Takeshi Nishimura from the…

io9 George Dvorsky

Study: The older the dad, the more mutations he’s likely to pass on

A whole-genome sequencing company in Iceland has discovered a direct link between the age of a father and the likelihood he is to pass on a genetic mutation to his offspring. The resultant study published in Nature shows that it’s the father, and not the mother, who may be contributing to the onset of such…

io9 George Dvorsky

New Theory: Universe didn’t start with a Big Bang, but with a Big Freeze

A group of theoretical physicists at the University of Melbourne and RMIT University have proposed a new theory on the origin of the universe that could overturn the Big Bang model. This new idea, which piggybacks off the nascent field of quantum graphity, suggests that the early universe went through a dramatic transformation, or phase…

io9 George Dvorsky

How a major ingredient in KY Jelly could help you lose weight

Methylcellulose is a pretty common additive in all sorts of food items and cosmetics. You’ve probably eaten it in the last few days in ice cream (and it’s also has some insane applications in molecular gastronomy, and is a major ingredient in KY jelly). But by tweaking it slightly, it could become the “magic bullet”…

io9 Tim Barribeau

Billionaire Peter Thiel invests in the development of 3D printed meat

The prospect of lab-grown meat has intrigued both vegetarians and environmentalists for years. Humans eat about 240 billion kilograms of meat each year — a voracious demand for animal protein that has resulted in environmental degradation, cruelty to livestock, and the spread of dangerous diseases. And now, owing to a $350,000 donation by the Thiel…

io9 George Dvorsky

Stress makes you sick by changing your genes

Most of us are well aware that stress dramatically heightens our susceptibility to contracting illnesses — both physical and psychological. Scientists have known about this link for decades, but have often struggled to describe the actual mechanics involved. But new research from the Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) is now indicating that genetics may be a contributing…

io9 George Dvorsky

Zynga Is Lobbying Hard For Online Gambling

Unsurprisingly, Zynga is keen to move away from in-game purchases and towards in-game betting. So keen, in fact, that it’s been spending upwards of $75,000 on lobbying policy makers over online gambling, reports The Wall Street Journal. In particular, it’s focussed on a bill introduced in the California state senate that would establish licensing for…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe

How Your Brain Cleans Itself

Your brain needs to clean itself. Not because it’s cluttered with inane thoughts or clogged by your filthy sense of humor, but because—like every other organ—it creates waste products. Now, scientists have worked out how it keeps itself clean. The rest of your body has this thing called the lymphatic system: a series of tubes…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe

LHC Particle Soup Is the Hottest Thing Mankind Ever Made

Scientists at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider say they just temporarily created the hottest man-made temperature by colliding two lead ions. According to a source working on the project, the collision sprung loose a plasma “soup” of sub-atomic gluons and quarks at an estimated temperature of 5.5-trillion-degrees Celsius. We won’t know just how hot the plasma…

Tech News Mario Aguilar

Acid and Gold: The Modern Alchemy of Artificial Gemstones

The Stoner Channel: The Science of Smoke, Why Tan Buds Are Happy Buds, and MUSCLES!

Could your mind be reprogrammed while you’re asleep?

So apparently male circumcision is cool again

Harvester ants use their own internet for hive-mind decision making

Will food shortages force us to become vegetarians?

Eight things you didn’t know you could do with human sperm

The Stoner Channel: The One with Killer Licorice, Basilisms, and the Web’s Best Seed Suppliers

Prominent scientists sign declaration that animals have conscious awareness, just like us

Are antibiotics making your kids obese?

Rare neurological patient shows that self-awareness does not require a complex brain

Gibbons on helium use the same vocal techniques as opera singers

Study: The older the dad, the more mutations he’s likely to pass on

New Theory: Universe didn’t start with a Big Bang, but with a Big Freeze

How a major ingredient in KY Jelly could help you lose weight

Billionaire Peter Thiel invests in the development of 3D printed meat

Stress makes you sick by changing your genes

Zynga Is Lobbying Hard For Online Gambling

How Your Brain Cleans Itself

LHC Particle Soup Is the Hottest Thing Mankind Ever Made

Do ‘Disclosure Day’ Prep With a Spielberg Sci-Fi Marathon

How to Watch the F1 Japanese GP 2026 on a Free Channel

Ranking 2016’s Superhero Debuts, 10 Years Later

Fourth Most Populous Country in the World Bans Most Social Media for Kids

How to watch UFC Fight Night Adesanya vs Pyfer live this Saturday

‘Steel Ball Run’ Will Return This Year…Eventually

‘The Mummy 4’ Is Getting the Family Back Together

JD Vance Says UFOs Are Actually Demons

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

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