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Welcome to this week’s Reading List, your Sunday guide to some of the most interesting science and technology stories on the internet this week. This week, we’ll examine a potentially deadly medical procedure, ponder the inner workings of social networks, and more. Morcellation is a less invasive way to remove fibroids and other growths through…
There’s a neurological reason for apathy and laziness, according to new research. Inefficient connections between certain areas of the brain may make it harder for some people to decide to act. Although inefficient neural connections don’t explain away everyone’s laziness, new research could shed some light on the kind of pathological, extreme apathy that sometimes…
Japanese animator Hideki Inaba has built a fantastical, alien world of plants, insects, and squid-like creatures for the Beatsofreen track Slowly Rising. And it’s magical. The film opens with a single stem transforming into a collection of dancing fronds; reminiscent of a simple form of plant life, perhaps a bryophyte. Slowly, an entire ocean of…
From London to Sydney, iconic buildings and monuments across the world are aglow in the colors of the French flag tonight, honoring the victims of last night’s deadly attacks in Paris. Sydney Opera House, Saturday, Nov. 14, 2015. Image Credit: AP Photo/Rick Rycroft London Eye ferris wheel, Saturday, Nov. 14, 2015. Image Credit: AP Photo/Matt…
So you’ve got a brand spanking new iPad Pro. You’re probably going to want to take advantage of the 12.9-inch display, the four speakers, and the souped up A9x processor. We’ve made a list of the coolest, most beautiful apps you can get, whether you’re a designer or just someone who appreciates big screens. Art…
The new YouTube Music app is a failure. YouTube is quietly one of the most powerful forces in digital music, and this—THIS!—is the app that’s supposed to change everything. It changes nothing. Announced last month, YouTube Music is a cornerstone of YouTube’s strategy for getting people to sign up for its new YouTube Red subscription…
Water, water everywhere, but how on Earth did it get here? Many scientists believe that Baby Earth formed dry and was later soaked by an onslaught of extraterrestrial impacts. But a new study challenges that view, arguing that our planet has had water from the start. In fact, we have have inherited it from the…
Google is making international Hangout calls to France free in the wake of yesterday’s deadly attacks. If you’re trying to reach a loved one in Paris, you can do via the Google Hangouts Android app, iOS app, and the web. Stay safe out there.
You don’t necessarily need the help of a wearable or a smartwatch to help track your steps and monitor your activity—most modern-day smartphones have all the sensors and hardware you need to keep an eye on how much (or little) exercise you’re getting. Here are 9 apps up to the task of improving your fitness,…
April 26, 2001: It’s casual Friday on the International Space Station, and none of us are invited. It’s a bit unnerving that the entire crew of both Expedition Two and STS-100 managed to pack a Hawaiian shirt into orbit, but it makes for a surreally awesome photo in the Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module. Starting at…
Sometimes, the smallest things can brighten up a miserable day. No, I mean literally. One glance at this teensy, tiny, hand-illustrated book was a poignant reminder that everything in the Universe is not actually terrible. You know what’s not terrible? Sleeping in. Bubbles! Perfectly separating an Oreo (and then ditching the pointless creamless half). And…
It’s being reported that a Bank of England official forecasts that in the next 10 to 20 years, smart robots will steal 80 million jobs from Americans and 15 million jobs from Britons—over half the workforce of each nation. I smell BS. In a speech delivered yesterday by Bank economist Andy Haldane at the Trades…
A Facebook feature implemented to help track people after natural disasters has been launched tonight to help people connect with their friends and family after the Paris attacks. If you’re looking for the status of friends who might be in Paris, head to the Safety Check page on your Facebook account. The page will list…
In this gorgeous concept art, Karl Ellis gives us a peek at a world that is almost like Earth, but not quite. At the base of that gravity-defying rock column, you can see the glowing cave mouths where someone is settling in for a peaceful evening. Ellis is a freelance concept artist in the UK.…
Parker Molloy likes to take pictures of weird things in her off-hours. Sometimes she posts them on Twitter with short quips. And then one day, one of her least popular tweets turned into a shitstorm. As Molloy explains in a hilarious and depressing article today on Medium, her tale is a perfect example of how…
Photographer Zev Schmitz took a deep breath and created an incredible architecture photoseries of New York City. Every photo was taken from the waters that surround Manhattan. It’s a bit like seeing the near-death experience of a drowning person. But it also feels like you’re seeing a majestic new world emerging. The fast-moving cold current…
Here’s a way to make environmental cleanup more fun: Next time you’ve got a polluted waterway, just unleash a swarm of tiny, bacteria-nomming robots on it. In a few years, that crazy idea might just be possible. Researchers at the University of Bristol recently unveiled Row-Bot, an autonomous robot that paddles across dirty waterways slurping…
Someone please tell me this is a hoax. Announced yesterday with a tweet, the IziVibe claims to be a vibrating dildo you attach to your phone. But it makes no sense– a phone’s motor can’t possibly be powerful enough to wiggle that big hunk of silicone in any significant, pleasure-inducing way. And it’s run off…
Donald Trump is accusing Ben Carson of lying in his story of attempting to stab a friend as a teenager. “How stupid do people have to be to believe that?” Asks Trump, challenging the assertion that a belt buckle could turn a knife blade. Let’s armchair quarterback this. Here’s the video clip from last night’s…
We’ve seen plenty of dead malls reborn as unusual things, from high schools to greenhouses. The Taiwanese city of Tainan is one-upping them all by tearing down an aging mall to create a network of sandy, shady lagoons. The city recently announced the winning design for a new public plaza on the site of a…
