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According to multiple sources, DreamWorks Animation is now developing a movie based on the Harvey Comics series Hot Stuff The Little Devil. That part isn’t so shocking, since DreamWorks bought Classic Media, which owned the rights to all the Harvey Comics franchises such as Casper the Friendly Ghost and Richie Rich, back in 2011. What’s…
Rocks mined from the seafloor have been confirmed as a viable source for rare earth metals, and thus a tiny piece of the ocean might soon find its way into a cell phone or computer chipboard near you. The finding, published in the April 2014 issue of Applied Geochemistry, all but guarantees a new round…
On a recent trip home to Knoxville, Tennessee, I had a flashback. Not an acid flashback (I don’t think). We were weaving through the hilly streets of downtown in the shadow of the Sunsphere, a discoball of a monument built for the 1982 World’s Fair, and suddenly I was there in the crowd, staring at…
The human lower leg is a marvel of biological engineering—it lets you have a long, strong stride while minimizing exertion and joint strain. But conventional spring and hydraulically-driven prosthesis worn by amputees offer no such benefit and can cause osteoarthritis-inducing skeletal strains. The BiOM T2 system aims to rectify that. The last time we discussed…
Pharrell Williams got emotional and cried when he saw a compilation of people around the world singing Happy. This music-less version of his hit song video will probably make him cry too. Of laughter. Once again, these silent versions make me realize how hilariously absurd music videos are. SPLOID is a new blog about awesome…
Last month, Samsung introduced a Milk Music, a beautiful streaming radio service that it said would come free and ad-free with your new Samsung Galaxy phone. So it wasn’t just slick—it offered you a cheaper better option to competitors like Spotify and Pandora. Awesome! Except it’s not going to be free and ad-free at all.…
This impact crater on Mars is decked out in rainbow colours reflecting the topography of the area. The dark blues and purple of the crater floor rapidly digs through the high-elevation red, yellow, and green of the surrounding plains. This digital terrain model marks a fresh impact crater on the surface of Mars, so young…
Remember those slightly horrifying sites that mash up two faces to tell you what your hypothetical babies might look like? With genome sequencing and “virtual embryos,” we might actually be able to do that—using science. Those days are not quite here yet, but New Scientist has an intriguing report about a company called GenePeeks. We…
It’s no surprise that the diamond industry is willing to spend whatever it takes to make the process of mining precious gems even more profitable. And while it already relies on X-ray technology for spotting diamonds on the surface of mined ore, researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute’s Development Center for X-ray Technology EZRT have developed…
This hilarious thing happened in China: A 29-year-old biker saw a guy stealing a woman’s handbag on the street and quickly went to him to offer a getaway. The thief jumped on the bike but took him to a police station, where the thief tried to escape. I can imagine the guy’s “ffffuuuuu” face as…
The colonization of Earth’s orbit, the Moon, Mars, and other planets still promises a kind of space utopia for Homo sapiens. Since the second half of the 20th century, more and more concepts have imagined how it could be possible for humans to live in permanent habitats beyond our planet. The following 28 images show…
It’s not the 700-foot-tall Wall of Game of Thrones, but this looks like the scene of the wildlings climbing the Wall in George R.R. Martin’s series. It’s 40-year-old Tim Emmett and 38-year-old Dawn Glanc climbing the 250-metre thick Sólheimajökull glacier, in Iceland, at sub-zero temperatures. Because risking your life while freezing your gonads is always…
Most of us have had Facebook accounts for the past few years, if not a decade. But time and bloat have turned once-beloved font of nostalgia into an onslaught of faux-sentimental sludge from strangers. So as Facebook stands poised to break itself into a bunch of different apps, we say to you: Screw it. It’s…
Google’s new standalone Camera app is a sleek and powerful alternative to the stock Android camera. Turns out, it’s also a soldier in the war against vertical videos. Try to shoot a portrait-framed vid, and you’ll stare down the cold judgment of an icon telling you you’re doing it wrong. You’ve been warned. First spotted…
The folks at Signal Snowboards like to experiment over the winter months with conceptual deck designs—sometimes they’re practical, and sometimes they’re downright crazy. And the company’s latest creation, a snowboard with a built-in turntable, probably falls into that latter category. Like with all of Signal Snowboards’ creations, the Scratch & Shred Turntable Snowboard is completely…
At Treehotel in the north of Sweden, the rooms rise up like trees in an enchanted forest: a UFO, a mirrorcube, a giant bird’s nest. It’s some of your wildest childhood fantasies—brought to life by Swedish architects. So how did it all begin? The hotel is the work of its two founders, Britta and Kent,…
The latest version of Ubuntu—14.04 LTS or Trusty Tahr to its friends—is now available, with support for touchscreens and super hi-res displays. Go download it now for free
This map shows the 9,000 chemical plants across the U.S. where, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, a “catastrophic chemical release” could occur. It helps us answer an unsavory question—whether you live near a potentially dangerous chemical plant. Mother Jones put this map together a year after the fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas that…
Hear mention of tin and your thoughts instantly turn to cans stuffed with limp vegetables. But while the metal has become ubiquitous thanks to its use in convenience food packaging, it actually serves all manner of exotic purposes—and it could just change the future of electronics. Humble Origins Tin—or Sn to its buddies in the…
By now, you’ve read all about Heartbleed—but what, exactly, does it look like in action? Thankfully some nerdy brave computer scientists have run it, so you don’t have to. In this video, Dr. Steven Bagley run the Heartbleed code to show you exactly how it works. Rather him than us. [Computerphile]
