Technology

A Robot That Gives You the Two Extra Fingers You Always Needed

There are lots of robots that try to replicate human movement. But we’re especially excited about robots that don’t just mimic human function but add to it — like this attachable cuff that gives your hand two extra, functioning fingers, that work along with your existing five. Just like your fingers move in concert to…

Trying to Control a Future We Never Get Right

“Technology is the villain,” Wilbur H. Ferry wrote in the March 2, 1968 edition of the Saturday Review. “I do not say that technology will be regulated, only that it should be.” Here at Paleofuture we often look at techno-utopian predictions for the future—the people who were developing artificial meat to feed the world’s hungry,…

Hilariously Useless Comments About Science from the US Supreme Court

The U.S. Supreme Court is not composed of scientists. We’ve seen this before. But they do end up hearing a lot of cases that involve science, and are forced to describe the concepts and technology before them. They do not always rise to the challenge. In general, the issue tend to be a bizarre mix…

Dorky, Snarky Artistic Interpretations of Famous Computer Viruses

In the fanciful “Computer Virus Catalogue,” you’ll find weird artistic interpretations of some of the most well-known computer viruses in history. They range from very literal to extremely surreal — and most capture the destructive, adolescent spirit that drives people to make viruses in the first place. (Mildly NSFW) Above, you can see Saïd Kinos‘…

NASA Is Making Nukes More Expensive

When NASA terminated the space shuttle program, it also deprived solid fuel manufacturers of their main customer. The result is a massive spike in propellant prices, which is increasing the cost of the U.S.-UK Trident nuclear program. Both the space shuttle and the submarine-launched Trident rely on booster engines containing a powerful solid rocket fuel.…

This Is Why I Love Your Selfies

I’m not really into taking pictures of myself, but I love seeing your selfies. I don’t care whether you’re posing with some weird food item or standing next to that guy who kind of annoys me. That’s because your Snapchat pic of a barf face is fulfilling an ancient biological urge that I share with…

A Great Way to Listen to Those Mysterious “Number Stations”

For decades, shortwave radio enthusiasts have been stumbling upon mysterious stations that broadcast a looping noise, such as a nursery rhyme, occasionally punctuated by someone reading a string of numbers. The most popular theory is that these are coded messages—and now, an online shortwave radio lets you listen in. Shortwave is an ideal medium for…

By 2025, networked devices will account for 6% of global electricity demand at 1,140 terawatt-hours. Most of that energy is used just to maintain a network connection. Developing ways to minimize power consumption in standby mode could reduce that demand by 600 terawatt-hours annually by 2020.

Video Explains What Graphene Is and Why It’s a Magic Material

So what’s the deal with graphene and why does everyone think it’s the next big thing? Well, as SciShow says, it conducts electricity better than silver, it conducts heat better than diamonds and even though it’s only one atom thick, it’s even stronger than steel. So why isn’t it more popular and everywhere? The video…

​The Real Reason the Pentagon Has Downgraded the Iran Missile Threat

An unclassified excerpt of a Defense Department document reveals a subtle, but significant, change in language, which suggests that Iran’s intercontinental ballistic missile technology does not pose an imminent threat to the U.S. This year’s Annual Report on Military Power of Iran opens with a two-page executive summary that notes, “Iran has publicly stated it…

What’s the Best Book You’ve Ever Read About Space Travel?

Last week my co-worker Eric Limer recommended The Martian, a book about an astronaut struggling to survive after being stranded on Mars. It’s been way too long since I read a book about interplanetary exploration, and it’s fantastic to be back. The Martian isn’t just great because of its compelling storyline—it’s great because it deals…

The recent revelations about the NSA’s clandestine electronic surveillance programs have highlighted the risks of European dependency on U.S. technology, says a new report—which adds that Germany’s spying scandals should spur the EU to revitalize its declining science and technology sectors.

This Rule About Drone Surveillance Is Just Plain Absurd — And Scary

Right now, in the United States, law enforcement can put you under drone surveillance without a warrant — as long as the drone never lands on your property. What the hell is going on here? How can this be legal? First of all, let me assure you that this kind of surveillance is going on…

Here’s How to Get Rid of Traffic Jams

Traffic congestion steals our time, reduces our quality of life, and hurts us economically. But what can we possibly do about it? Here’s how technology and some common sense could put an end to traffic congestion. A 2010 RAND study noted that traffic congestion comes from an imbalance in the supply of and demand for…

MIT’s “FingerReader” Reads Aloud To The Blind In Real Time

Researchers at MIT’s Media Lab have developed what they call the FingerReader, a 3D-printed device – worn like a ring and outfitted with a small, text-scanning camera – that enables its wearer to scan print with the tip of her finger and have it read to her in real time. The FingerReader’s software and design…

In the future you’ll be able to learn a whole language eating a pill

When MIT Media Lab founder Nicholas Negroponte says that humans will be able to learn an entire language by eating a pill, you better listen. In this new TED Talk, Negroponte shows all the times he was right predicting the future in the 1970s and 1980s even while people laughed at him. Here’s what he…

New Website Can Tell Whether That War Footage Is Fake or Not

We often get news about conflict zones directly from video uploaded by onlookers who aren’t journalists. But are those images real scenes or faked propaganda? Amnesty International now has a site to help viewers do the detective work to find out. The ongoing civil war in Syria is the latest example of how frequently—and convincingly—fake…

Republicans Believe Uber Will Help Them Win Back America’s Cities

With each passing year, the population of urban areas is growing — and most of those cities are run by Democrats. But a key Republican believes the ride-sharing service Uber is the killer app that can create a future wedge between labor unions and Democratic politicians, driving them from power. The theory comes from the…

Physicists Have Created A Tractor Beam Using Water

In recent years, scientists have used lasers to construct crude tractor beams that, one day, might be used as grappling hooks in space. Now, for the first time, physicists have succeeded in creating the same effect using water. Thanks to Star Trek and Star Wars, the term “tractor beam” immediately conjures up images of spacecraft…

The Military Has Hired Hollywood To Help Build An Actual Iron Man Suit

Since Tony Stark is unavailable to advise the military on its robotic exoskeleton project, officials have turned to the next best thing: the special effects team that made the Iron Man costume. “It’s daunting,” says Lindsay MacGowan, co-founder of Legacy Effects, “because somebody’s life eventually is in your hands.” The Wall Street Journal reports that…