|
Popular Science
Tuesday, June 5, 2012 - 07:02
Source
Despite plenty of advances in neuroscience, often what we know about the brain comes with gaps, and anything close to a full piece of knowledge always ends up lacking something - whether it's for the human brain or a mouse's. |
Popular Science
Tuesday, June 5, 2012 - 06:32
Source
Observatories the world over will be watching on Wednesday as Venus crosses the face of the sun for the last time in any of our lifetimes. It will be a banner day for astronomers, providing ample opportunities for measuring Venus' characteristics, and for determining some rules that will help in the hunt for exoplanets. But it's also just an amazing thing to behold, and you can watch it, too - as long as you follow some safety precautions. |
|
Popular Science
Tuesday, June 5, 2012 - 05:30
Source
A new biologic logic gate based on proteins can perform binary calculations, serving as the first "cellular calculator," researchers say. Various combinations of components can be arranged into circuit elements, leading to specific metabolic processes inside a cell. The setup can answer mathematical questions in a similar fashion to a computer. |
Popular Science
Tuesday, June 5, 2012 - 04:30
Source
Today at E3, the massive electronics expo that yesterday played host to Nintendo's announcement about the updated Wii U, Microsoft broke out an announcement that's really more about media - especially video - than games. Microsoft Smart Glass is a way to join all of your devices together: smartphone, tablet, and TV, all sharing media. |
|
Popular Science
Tuesday, June 5, 2012 - 03:54
Source
Same old jogging routine got you bored? Can't move your leaden legs faster than 1 and a half kms in 15 minutes? Turn into a juggernaut with Joggobot, a hovercraft that will fly above your head and motivate you to run faster. |
Popular Science
Tuesday, June 5, 2012 - 03:02
Source
Tomorrow, skywatchers the world over will look up to behold a strange sight witnessed just seven times in the past five centuries. The last transit of Venus until 2117 is an occasion for astronomical celebration and historic import - we'll be watching something the greatest astronomers of any age have traveled the world to see. |
|
Popular Science
Tuesday, June 5, 2012 - 00:59
Source
Yesterday at E3, the gaming industry's biggest American conference, Nintendo showed up with a 30-minute video updating their upcoming Wii U console - there have been some minor changes, like the move from touch-sensitive circle-pads to real joysticks, but the biggest change is that Nintendo seems to have finally heard of the internet. |
Popular Science
Monday, June 4, 2012 - 14:29
Source
People love cats. I don't personally understand it, but there you go. One particularly entrepreneurial Dutch artist really loved his cat. He loved his cat so much that when his cat was tragically run over by a car, he decided to show said love in the best way possible - by strapping on four propellers and gifting his dead friend the power of flight. |
|
Popular Science
Monday, June 4, 2012 - 12:37
Source
Trials for a prostate cancer drug in the US has been shut down, after the first batch of results proved so promising it was deemed unfair to then not provide the drug to the rest of the participants in the trial. |
Heathen Scripture
Monday, June 4, 2012 - 11:59
Source
You can tell there’s pre-election tension in Malaysia when they start locking up writers. On Tuesday, Australian-educated political publisher Ezra Zaid was arrested and brought in front of a judge, where a date for him to be charged was set for July. For Malaysia observers, a move against Ezra’s ZI Publications was hardly a surprise. In a country where official censorship remains heavy-handed, ZI releases the kind of books that politicians would prefer were not available. |
|
Popular Science
Monday, June 4, 2012 - 10:41
Source
We already know that our traditional thermoelectric power sources, namely coal, are having a negative impact on our planet's climate. But, as it turns out, the reverse is also true - research has found that worldwide warming is reducing the amount of cooling water that can be used in coal and nuclear plants, and this is already causing problems for electrical grids in the US and Europe. |
Still Life With Cat
Saturday, June 2, 2012 - 19:39
Source
For in his morning orisons he loves the sun and the sun loves him.
For he is of the tribe of Tiger.
For the Cherub Cat is a term of the Angel Tiger.
-- Christopher Smart, from 'Jubilate Agno', 1759-63
***
Tyger! Tyger! burning bright In the forests of the night, What immortal hand or eye Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?
-- William Blake, ‘The Tyger’, from Songs of Experience, 1794
*** |
|
Popular Science
Saturday, June 2, 2012 - 08:00
Source
Is this week's Baarbarian illustration a Robert Palmer reference? Or just a horrifying singing tomato with rat backup dancers and a shiny grill? Either way it means one thing: it's time for the weekend. |
Popular Science
Saturday, June 2, 2012 - 05:52
Source
Our buddies over at Sound+Vision just posted a review of a gadget we've been excited about: the NuForce Cube, an absolutely tiny (2.5 inches!) cube of audio power. |
|
Popular Science
Saturday, June 2, 2012 - 04:08
Source
Inspired by the iconic look of time bombs in old movies, software engineer Michael Krumpus set out to build an alarm clock that would make his mornings more action-packed. When the alarm goes off in defuse mode, the clock starts a 10-second countdown; the correct wire, which is randomly assigned each day, has to be cut or pulled out to stop the detonation, or the clock will "explode" with noise and flashing LEDs. |
Popular Science
Saturday, June 2, 2012 - 03:01
Source
According to a report today in the New York Times, President Obama secretly ordered accelerated cyberattacks against the computers running Iran's nuclear enrichment facilities. |
|
Popular Science
Saturday, June 2, 2012 - 03:00
Source
One month from today - July 1st, 2012 - is the deadline for the newest InnoCentive challenge. InnoCentive is a US organisation (linked to "the mothership" - the US edition of Popular Science) that provides, well, incentives for inventors and innovators to come up with solutions to problems. The problem this time? New super-cement... |
Popular Science
Saturday, June 2, 2012 - 02:09
Source
In the ongoing hunt for Martian life, there's one place astronauts haven't yet explored deeply: caves. But to delve into Martian caves calls for some heavy-duty gear, and where do you test Martian caving gear on Earth? The Austrian Alps. |
|
Popular Science
Saturday, June 2, 2012 - 01:24
Source
It begins with a tweet and ends with a twisted ankle. Still, since everyone seems intent on continuing to stumble along looking down at their smartphones, Transparent Screen can help minimize accidents. |
Popular Science
Friday, June 1, 2012 - 15:32
Source
A couple of months ago Australia's very own synchrotron - a machine that accelerates charged particles close to the speed of light - was given $100 million by the Victorian and Commonwealth governments, securing its survival for another four years. |
|
Popular Science
Friday, June 1, 2012 - 06:42
Source
First, the bad news: In four billion years it's going to get a lot more crowded around here. The Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies are on a collision course. The good news is that a new video from NASA shows how it'll go down. |
Popular Science
Friday, June 1, 2012 - 05:30
Source
Robot locomotion can take many forms, from crawling like snakes to rolling like tanks. This one swings like an android ape, using brachiating arm motion to grab onto a surface and forward momentum to keep going. |
|
Popular Science
Friday, June 1, 2012 - 04:19
Source
With careful training using a robotic harness, and a special chemical cocktail designed to stimulate brain cells, rats with spinal cord injuries were able to re-learn how to walk. Scientists in Switzerland say the tests suggest humans with paralysis due to spinal cord injuries may regain some nerve activity. |
Popular Science
Friday, June 1, 2012 - 03:33
Source
When he's not busy with his full-time gig, NASA Astronaut Don Pettit takes the time to run some of his own personal science experiments. His latest? A zero-gravity didgeridoo performance - for science. |
|
Popular Science
Friday, June 1, 2012 - 02:20
Source
Scientists at the University of Eastern Finland say they hope to have an allergy vaccine on the market in five to seven years. For everything, from pollen to cat hair. |
Popular Science
Friday, June 1, 2012 - 00:35
Source
Updated: One last major milestone achieved for SpaceX's Dragon capsule today: A successful splashdown and recovery. The privately built spacecraft unlatched from the International Space Station earlier this morning and returned to Earth, parachuting to an ocean landing. |
|
Popular Science
Thursday, May 31, 2012 - 14:07
Source
At PopSci, we're not that into exotic footwear. You have your casual shoes, your dress shoes, and maybe a couple of pairs of thongs. Having said that, even we were impressed/stunned by a pair of genetically engineered boots made almost entirely from stingray. For real. |
Popular Science
Thursday, May 31, 2012 - 12:07
Source
In a neat twist, Japan is in the midst of an interesting energy trial that involves powering buildings from a rather unlikely source - the battery pack of a Nissan Leaf. |
|
Popular Science
Thursday, May 31, 2012 - 11:26
Source
If today's sci-fi is anything to go by, everyone will eventually move from watches and mobile phones, and instead gravitates to slightly oversized, but extremely versatile wrist-mounted doodads. One particularly adventurous DIY-er has had a go at making their own working gadget bracer, with a hint of slightly-dystopic futurist flare. |
Popular Science
Thursday, May 31, 2012 - 11:06
Source
We all know the best way to reduce our carbon footprint is to drop the car keys and hop onto a bike, but so many of us prefer convenience over green-ience. But now the Solarbike, a solar-rechargeable, electric bicycle conversion kit, could revolutionise the way we ride. |