Tech News

The end of supersymmetry?

Supersymmetry is the periodic table of particles, predicting how quarks, leptons, and force particles could come together to form new pieces of the universe. Those magnet-loving experimentalists over at the Large Hadron Collider have been hard at work smashing atoms to see if they can find the elusive predicted members of the particle zoo. They…

This fascinating underworld maze is 3,000 miles long

I will be going to Montreal as soon as the weather gets a bit better. I wish I could visit some these fascinating tunnels photographed by Andrew Emond, which are part of a 3,000-mile maze under the city.

Someday, Surgeons Might Fix Your Broken Bones With Screws Made of Silk

Surgeons have used metal screws to reassemble broken bones for years, but there are drawbacks: if the metal corrodes, they’ve gotta come out. Biodegradable screws aren’t as strong, and can cause inflammation. So a team of Harvard and Tufts scientists came up with screws and plates that are as tough as metal, but biodegradable. The…

Deformed Landscape Photos Will Twist Your Sense of Reality

Looking at the landscape photography of Laura Plageman, it can take a minute to get your bearings on what’s going on. Her technique of manipulating prints then rephotographing them not only plays tricks on your eyes, but might leave you questioning the nature of photography altogether. When we usually see a photograph, we are used…

Your iPhone Can Search These Storage Boxes Without Having to Open Them

You know that stack of storage boxes buried deep in your closet that you’re too lazy to dismantle to find that one item you’re looking for? These boxes from King Jim feature a small tag on one side that lets you catalog photos of their contents, so when it’s time to find something you can…

2030 Space Odyssey: NASA will search for alien life in Jupiter’s moon

This is amazing news:NASA is sending a mission to Europa! If everything goes well, a robotic submarine may be landing on Jupiter’s moon—the world that scientists believe is the most likely to contain life in the Solar System—by 2030, a real space odyssey. This has the potential to change the world. “Attempt no landings there,”…

Gmail has just updated their iOS app to finally include background app refresh, so you won’t have to sit there waiting for your new messages to come in every time you open the app. It’s not going to do anything to help your battery life, but hey—every second counts.

Boeing’s X-36 Is the Single Coolest R/C Plane in the History of Aviation

Despite the mammoth budgets assigned to next-generation military aircraft programs, the Department of Defense is always looking for ways to streamline the development process and shave dollars from a combat system’s bottom line. You’d think the DoD would take Boeing’s lead and just build quarter-sized, remote controlled flight test prototypes, like the X-36 agile fighter.…

Every Outlet Cover Should Be an LED Nightlight By Default

It’s ok to sacrifice an outlet to a nightlight in a child’s room to scare away monsters, but elsewhere in your home they’re far more valuable for other electronics and appliances. And that’s exactly why these replacement outlet covers with built-in LED nightlights are so clever—and should eventually be standard in every home. Using a…

How the Art of Tattoo Has Colored World History

Tattoo is among humanity’s earliest and most ubiquitous art forms. Cultures from every habitable continent have embedded permanent dyes in their bodies for more than 5000 years—as mystical wards, status symbols, rites of passage, or simply as personal decoration. That tradition continues today, just with a much smaller chance of infection. The Ancient Origins of…

We will not be obliterated by an asteroid… today.

Asteroid 2014 DX110 will pass within the Moon’s orbit at 1 p.m. PST (4 p.m. EST) today. It’s not going to hit us, and we’re not going to die in a planet-wide coordinated spectacular of death. At least, not today. DX110 is about 30 meters (100 feet) across. Nothing is published about its composition, but…

The Best Way to Measure Snowfall in NYC Is This 3D Animation

It’s been a snowy winterin the Big Apple. But don’t take our word for it. Look at this great little animated infographic that the New York Times put together that shows snow accumulation since January. The GIF shows only a part of the full animation, and no, you’re not looking at a game of Minecraft.…

RuPaul Trolls Pirates With Hilarious Fake Album Leak

If you’re a musician who has worked hard on a new record, it must be pretty frustrating when it invariably leaks on BitTorrent. RuPaul just trolled would-be pirates with a fake leak of the album Born Naked. Every single track on the album features RuPaul admonishing would-be pirates for not paying up. The decoy version…

Norway’s Lovely Memorial to the Worst Mass Shooting In Modern History

It’s been almost three years since a gunman detonated a bomb in Oslo and then stormed a small summer camp off the coast of Norway, killing 77 people and cementing a record as the worst mass shooting in modern memory. This month, the country revealed plans for a memorial to the tragedy—and it’s beautiful. Designed…

This highway interchange is so damn cool I thought it was fake

When I first saw this I thought it was so cool that it had to be some kind of photoshop hoax. But it’s real. It’s called interchange spiral and this one is in Florida. Can a highway be beautiful? At least from space it can. The interchange connects the SR 9A and SR 202 in…

A Hawk Attacking a Balloon In Slo-Mo Is a Graceful Murderous Ballet

There’s no denying that everything looks cooler in slow motion, but birds of prey on the hunt are particularly mesmerizing through the lens of a high-speed camera. This Goshawk is being lured into attacking a water balloon baited with a piece of meat, and its mid-air maneuvers make even our most advanced fighter planes look…

The Perfect Use For All Your Old Tiny Tires

Remember the lazy summer days of your youth spent whiling away the hours on your backyard tire swing? It only stands to reason that your local bird population—who are all clearly unemployed—are looking for a lazy spot to hang out too. So this 5.5-inch ceramic tire swing bird feeder is the perfect way to lure…

Save Big on Sony SD Cards, Flash Drives, and More Today on Amazon

Today’s Amazon Gold Box features an assortment of Sony SD cards, Micro SD cards, micro flash drives for your phone, and more. Sony’s earned a reputation for making great storage, and indeed, that $17 UHS-1 card changed the way I use my camera. As always, these deals are only good today, and some of the…

How Moto Tech and Pixar Brains Turn Phones Into Storytime

If you own a Moto X, chances are last fall you noticed a small, red hat appear in your notification tray. You either assumed your phone had been hacked and set it on fire, or you boldly clicked the mysterious chapeau and were whisked off to a 3D world that was like being inside a…

38 Architectural Renderings You Won’t Believe Are Fake

Architecture is the art and science of designing buildings—solid, tangible structures. These images, however, depict views of spaces that have only ever existed in silico—and they’re breathtaking. Vintage Whisky by Ankush Mittal Software used: Max, V-Ray, Photoshop. ARCHINTERIOR by Evermotion Software used: 3ds Max. MIES VAN DER ROHE FARNSWORTH HOUSE by Alessandro Prodan Software used:…