Scientific proof: Nobody hates hipsters more than hipsters
(blogs.westword.com) - Leave it to the magical art of science to prove something we already know: hipsters consistently claim they aren't hipsters. A recent study due out in the Journal of Consumer Research titled "Demythologizing Consumption Practices: How Consumers Protect Their Field-Dependent Identity Investments from Devaluing Marketplace Myths" proves once and for all that More...
How a Man Produces 1,500 Sperm a Second
(news.nationalgeographic.com) - Attention, men: In the last second your bodies each produced at least 1,500 sperm cells. Now researchers have unlocked just how this seminal feat is possible.
Sex tonight? Read her lips
(thesun.co.uk) - A new lipstick has gone on sale that shows when women are in the mood for sex.
The saucy slap changes from clear to deep crimson as the wearer feels frisky.
A Computer That Processes Faster Than The Speed of Light
(popsci.com) - This quantum non-local phenomenon cannot transmit information faster than the speed of light, but according to Volkmar Putz and Karl Svozil at the Vienna University of Technology there's no reason we can't process information at superluminal speeds as long as doing so doesn't create any time travel paradoxes.
A Reactor That Burns Depleted Fuel Emerges as a Potential 'Game Changer'
(nytimes.com) - This reactor (pdf) works something like a cigarette. A chain reaction is launched in one end of a closed cylinder of spent uranium fuel, creating a slow-moving "deflagration," a wave of nuclear fission reactions that keeps breeding neutrons as it makes way through the container, keeping the self-sustaining reaction going.
7 amazing examples of biomimicry
(mnn.com) - Biomimicry looks to nature and natural systems for inspiration. After millions of years of tinkering, Mother Nature has worked out some effective processes. In nature, there is no such thing as waste — anything left over from one animal or plant is food for another species. Inefficiency doesn't last long More...
Focusing 192 lasers on one little target
(articles.sfgate.com) - In experiments at the lab's National Ignition Facility, the scientists successfully fired an array of 192 laser beams at a helium-filled target no larger than a BB shot and instantly heated it to 6 million degrees Fahrenheit. The gas vanished in a tiny explosion.
The scientists said that result marked the More...
The best running shoe may be nature's own
(uk.news.yahoo.com) - Runners who eschew shoes may be less likely to do serious injury to their feet, because they hold their feet differently, Daniel Lieberman of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts and colleagues found.
Smart balls reveal skills of better bowlers
(newscientist.com) - If your tenpin bowling is a bit off-target a smart training ball might one day keep your shots out of the gutter.
Wine tastes better in blue or red lit rooms
(telegraph.co.uk) - Drinkers' brains are tricked into thinking a glass of white wine is better and more expensive tasting when exposed to the red or blue background lighting than those in rooms with green or white background lighting.
CTV News | Huge study finds cellphones don't raise tumour risk
(ctv.ca) - Study was performed on 16 million people, over the past 30 years!
Our Mission | Science Alive
(scialive.com) -
In Atlanta? Know some homeschooled children? We're teaching science to homeschooled students in a new and empowering way.
The Pain of Being a Redhead
(well.blogs.nytimes.com) - Nobody likes going to the dentist, but redheads may have good reason.
A growing body of research shows that people with red hair need larger doses of anesthesia and often are resistant to local pain blockers like Novocaine. As a result, redheads tend to be particularly nervous about dental procedures and More...
Read this over coffee
(articles.latimes.com) - Go ahead: That cup of joe won't hurt you, the latest research says. It might even help you.
Why Does Coke From a Glass Bottle Taste Different?
(popsci.com) - It doesn’t. That’s what Coca-Cola’s spokespeople say, anyway. “The great taste of Coca-Cola is the same regardless of the package it comes in,” they insist. Rather, they say, “the particular way that people choose to enjoy their Coke can affect their perception of taste.” Sure, most people would agree that More...
Ion engine could one day power 39-day trips to Mars
(newscientist.com) - There's a growing chorus of calls to send astronauts to Mars rather than the moon, but critics point out that such trips would be long and gruelling, taking about six months to reach the Red Planet. But now, researchers are testing a powerful new ion engine that could one day shorten the journey to just 39 days.
Brain Surgery Without the Mess
(fastcompany.com) - Brain surgery might be the oldest surgery in the world: We've been cutting people's heads open for tens of thousands of years. And now, we can do brain surgery withogut cutting.
Bill Gates of Microsoft envisions fighting hurricanes by manipulating the sea - NOLA.com
(nola.com) - What if the hurricane were named "Hurricane Ditka"?
Women 'happiest at 28'
(telegraph.co.uk) - Researchers discovered women feel most confident and happy with their love life and body shape shortly before they reach 30.
It is also the period in their life when they enjoy the best sex – but the happiness is relatively shortlived.
Cancer: shock breakthrough
(independent.co.uk) - The results were so startling that researchers decided to release details of the two cases before the drug trial – in which the patients took part – was complete. Doctors said their progress had exceeded all expectations. The men were treated More...
Japanese man sets record for paper plane flight
(telegraph.co.uk) - A japanese engineer has set the world record for the longest flight for a paper airplane, keeping his design aloft for 27.9 seconds.
WORLD'S BEST VISUAL ILLUSIONS CHOSEN
(aip.org) - The three best visual illusions in the world were chosen at a gathering last weekend of neuroscientists and psychologists at the Naples Philharmonic Center for the Arts in Florida.
Indian village with 250 sets of twins
(telegraph.co.uk) - Doctors are trying to unravel the mystery of an Indian village boasting 250 sets of twins born to just 2,000 families.
Image Archive: Hubble Space Telescope Top 100
(spacetelescope.org) - Top 100 space images from the Hubble Space Telescope.
New Pattern Found in Prime Numbers
(physorg.com) - Prime numbers have intrigued curious thinkers for centuries. On one hand, prime numbers seem to be randomly distributed among the natural numbers with no other law than that of chance. But on the other hand, the global distribution of primes reveals a remarkably smooth regularity. This combination of randomness and More...
5 Scientific Ways To Make Water Do Magic
(cracked.com) - Science has proven that much of the universe is made up of badassery. You can find it all around you, including in something as simple as water. You just need to know the tricks to unleash it.
So here are some badass things you can do with water that seem to More...
Brown Fat = Fat to make you less fatter..if stay out in the cold
(news.health.com) - What if you had a special kind of fat in your body that burned calories instead of storing them—and it could be activated simply by spending time in the cold? According to three preliminary studies published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, you probably do.
Fir tree man shocks doctors (w/pic)
(russiatoday.com) - A young man from the capital of Russia’s Udmurtian Republic was diagnosed with cancer, and had to undergo an operation which revealed the shocking truth – he had no cancer but… a tree growing in his lung.
13 things that do not make sense
(newscientist.com) - An interesting list of things that science still hasn't completely figured out.
We are small
(img19.imageshack.us) - A comparison of different stars and planets in the known universe.
New Way To Split Water Into Hydrogen And Oxygen Developed
(sciencedaily.com) - The design of efficient systems for splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen, driven by sunlight is among the most important challenges facing science today, underpinning the long term potential of hydrogen as a clean, sustainable fuel. But man-made systems that exist today are very inefficient and often require additional use More...
The Science of Cow-Tipping
(images.thetimes.co.uk) - Now troublemaker geeks can calculate the exact force needed before they attempt bovine hijinks.
If TV Science was more like REAL Science
(phdcomics.com) - Serial killers would have plenty of time to get away...
Perfect Running Pace Revealed
(livescience.com) - Most regular runners can tell you when they reach that perfect equilibrium of speed and comfort. The legs are loose, the heart is pumping and it feels like you could run at this pace forever.
Volunteers flock to space experiment
(news.bbc.co.uk) - What would you be prepared to do for money? For $6,500 (£4,500) a month, to be precise?
How about the following: locking yourself inside a small metal container for three months without any communication with the outside world, with electronic monitors attached to various parts of your body and with More...
New material could lead to faster chips - MIT News Office
(web.mit.edu) - New research findings at MIT could lead to microchips that operate at much higher speeds than is possible with today's standard silicon chips, leading to cell phones and other communications systems that can transmit data much faster.
UW-Milwaukee Study Could Realign Climate Change Theory
(wisn.com) - The bitter cold and record snowfalls from two wicked winters are causing people to ask if the global climate is truly changing.
The climate is known to be variable and, in recent years, more scientific thought and research has been focused on the global temperature and how humanity might be influencing More...
Scientists aim to replicate the sun
(upi.com) - Scientists in California say they're trying to replicate the power of the sun by firing laser beams at a tiny pellet of hydrogen.
Physicists at the National Ignition Facility in Livermore say the nuclear fusion experiments may offer the world a clean source of energy, The Times of London reported Sunday.
The More...
A Polymer Coating That Can Heal Itself Thanks to UV Light
(nytimes.com) - Skin is spectacular stuff. Nick it with a razor or scrape it on the sidewalk, and it heals itself quickly. Synthetic materials are another story, although it’s not for lack of effort on the part of scientists.
Scientists Use Lasers To Kill Mosquitoes
(telegraph.co.uk) - The laser works by detecting the audio frequency created by the beating of mosquito wings. A computer triggers the laser beam which burns the wings off the mosquito and kills it.
'Supermodel' satellite set to fly
(news.bbc.co.uk) - Not the kind of "supermodel" you're thinking about, but interesting nonetheless.
Alcohol in pregnancy may give kids a taste for booze
(newscientist.com) - Alcohol may taste sweeter if you were exposed to it before birth, suggests a study in rats. The findings may shed new light on why human studies have previously linked fetal alcohol exposure to increased alcohol abuse later in life, and to a lower age at which a person first starts drinking alcohol.
Scientists closer to making invisibility cloak a reality
(physorg.com) - A paper published in the March 2009 issue of SIAM Review, "Cloaking Devices, Electromagnetic Wormholes, and Transformation Optics," presents an overview of the theoretical developments in cloaking from a mathematical perspective
Bionic eye gives blind man sight
(news.bbc.co.uk) - A man who lost his sight 30 years ago says he can now see flashes of light after being fitted with a bionic eye.
He says he can now follow white lines on the road, and even sort socks, using the bionic eye, known as Argus II.
Music That Makes You Dumb?
(beatcrave.com) - CalTech grad student named Virgil Griffith has conducted an interesting (albeit somewhat unscientific) study relating music preferences with SAT scores. While SAT scores are criticized for not accurately determining intelligence, the results show that the “smartest” students’ favorite musician is Beethoven, with an average SAT score of 1371, and at More...
Researchers make stem cell breakthrough
(physorg.com) - In a study to be released on March 1, 2009, Mount Sinai Hospital's Dr. Andras Nagy discovered a new method of creating stem cells that could lead to possible cures for devastating diseases including spinal cord injury, macular degeneration, diabetes and Parkinson's disease. The study, to be published by Nature More...
Is Genius Born or Can It Be Learned?
(time.com) - Is it possible to cultivate genius? Could we somehow structure our educational and social life to produce more Einsteins and Mozarts — or, more urgently these days, another Adam Smith or John Maynard Keynes?
DNA sample may be enough to build an image of your face
(irishtimes.com) - Forensic Science is about to take a startling new turn – reconstructing facial features and skin tone simply by reading your DNA. This goes far beyond doing an identity-proving genetic fingerprint, it means the person’s actual face will emerge after analysing a collection of genes, according to a scientist from Pennsylvania State University.
Diamond is no longer nature’s hardest material
(itvnews.tv) - Diamond will always be a woman’s best friend but the gemstone is no longer the world’s hardest material, according to scientists.
The cost of force protection
(s5.tinypic.com) - The cost to outfit a soldier broken down by conflict as well as future projections.
The Scientifically Engineered Worst Song in the World
(blogs.houstonpress.com) - They claim that "fewer than 200 individuals of the world's total population will enjoy this," but released it anyhow.
The site gets very scientific and is hella confusing. The guys basically used the thought behind software that figures out the most desirable musical tones, and went the sadistic route by doing More...
Doctors test latest attempt at artificial liver
(msnbc.msn.com) - There's help for failing kidneys and failing hearts. But there's no fix for a dying liver.
Doctors are trying to change that at a few hospitals around the country, testing a machine packed with human liver cells as a last-ditch chance to survive sudden liver failure.
Revolutionary microchip uses 30 times less power
(rice.edu) - In the first real-world test of a revolutionary type of computing that thrives on random errors, scientists have created a microchip that uses 30 times less electricity while running seven times faster than today's best technology. The U.S.-Singapore team developing the technology, dubbed PCMOS [pronounced "pee-cee-moss"], revealed the results here More...
Extinct Ibex Resurrected by Cloning… then Goes Extinct Again
(ecoworldly.com) - Scientists succeeded for the first time in achieving the holy grail of conservation: bringing to life an extinct animal through cloning. For seven minutes.
Physics of ‘the Hit’
(nytimes.com) - Clark’s shockingly violent hit on the Baltimore Ravens’ Willis McGahee two Sundays ago — a full-speed, helmet-to-helmet crash that left McGahee unconscious and Clark all but — didn’t just follow the N.F.L.’s rules, but Newton’s as well. Force equaled mass times acceleration. Momentum was conserved. And the bodies finally came to rest, McGahee’s on a stretcher.
IBM develop 'most realistic' computerised voice IBM develop 'most realistic' computerised voice
(telegraph.co.uk) - It is so sophisticated that the devices will be able to pause for effect or cough to attract the users' attention, spelling an end to the irritating monotone voices that have become a part of everyday modern life.
Frustration Remix - Rubik's 360
(telegraph.co.uk) - The Rubik’s 360 is set to repeat the success of the maddening Cube, which became an overnight sensation almost three decades ago and remains the world’s fastest-selling toy.
Cheap, super-efficient LED lights on the horizon
(newscientist.com) - Although the ultimate dominance of LED lights has long been predicted, the expense of the super-efficient technology has made the timescale uncertain. The researchers now say LED bulbs based on their new process could be commercially available within five years.
20 surprising facts about coffee
(ecosalon.com) - Although coffee gets a bad rap, it’s actually a medicinal food. In fact, this stimulating bean isn’t nearly so bad as we’ve all been taught. Although I’m skeptical about grande latte supplementation in the long run (it’s a drug, after all), I found myself surprised by much of the science on coffee.
'Immortal' jellyfish swarming across the world
(telegraph.co.uk) - The Turritopsis Nutricula is able to revert back to a juvenile form once it mates after becoming sexually mature.
Marine biologists say the jellyfish numbers are rocketing because they need not die.
Husband's kiss woke 'sleeping beauty wife' in coma after heart attack
(dailymail.co.uk) - 'What happened next was beyond my wildest dreams,' he said. 'She turned her head towards mine, puckered up her lips and gave me a little kiss.
Teenager's new i-LIMB prosthetic hand is awesome [Video]
(pogpog.com) - Evan Reynolds, 19, got his hand and part of his arm ripped off in a car accident and has since been fitted with an i-LIMB, a robotic hand developed by an Apple/Star Wars fanboy.
The i-Limb was developed by a Scottish company, Touch Bionics, and has won awards for its innovative More...
United States Patent: 5676977 - A cure for AIDS
(patft.uspto.gov) - Method of curing AIDS with tetrasilver tetroxide molecular crystal devices.
A face you can trust - Boston.com
(boston.com) - Princeton psychologists recently showed that certain faces, even when expressionless, strike people as trustworthy or untrustworthy.
The 2.5lb kidney stone the size of a coconut surgeons removed from a man's stomach
(dailymail.co.uk) - The largest kidney stones most doctors ever get to see is the size of a golf ball.
So surgeons in Hungary were taken aback when they removed a stone the size of a coconut from a man earlier today.
Prejudice study finds gay is the new black
(bps.org.uk) - A study into prejudice has found homophobic attitudes are more common than racism. The study will be presented today, 16th January 2009, at the British Psychological Society’s Division of Occupational Psychology annual conference in Blackpool.
In the study, carried out by Occupational Psychology consultancy Shire Professional, 60 people ranging in age More...
Helen Fisher Why Him Why Her
(elle.com) - Anthropologist and best-selling author Helen Fisher sums up the eternal question in the title of her new book, Why Him? Why Her? (Henry Holt). It goes like this: You strike up a conversation with someone you’ve never met before, and whether you admit it to yourself or not, after two More...
IBM Research Creates Microscope With 100 Million Times Finer Resolution Than Current MRI
(www-03.ibm.com) - This result, published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), signals a significant step forward in tools for molecular biology and nanotechnology by offering the ability to study complex 3D structures at the nanoscale.
By extending MRI to such fine resolution, the scientists have created a microscope More...
Hack your brain - How to hallucinate with ping-pong balls and a radio
(boston.com) - Do you ever want to change the way you see the world? Wouldn't it be fun to hallucinate on your lunch break? Although we typically associate such phenomena with powerful drugs like LSD or mescaline, it's easy to fling open the doors of perception without them: All it takes is More...
Finger Length May Predict Financial Success
(dsc.discovery.com) - The length of a man's ring finger may predict his success as a financial trader. Researchers at the University of Cambridge in England report that men with longer ring fingers, compared to their index fingers, tended to be more successful in the frantic high-frequency trading in the London financial district.
Why we procrastinate and how to stop
(esciencenews.com) - The authors note that "merely thinking about the task in more concrete, specific terms makes it feel like it should be completed sooner and thus reducing procrastination." They conclude that these results have important implications for teachers and managers who may want their students and employees starting on projects sooner. More...
Drugs trigger dramatic weight loss in fat mice
(sciam.com) - Drugs currently on the market but used for other purposes helped plump mice shed pounds by upping their response to the appetite-suppressing hormone leptin, according to a new study. Researchers say the findings offer new hope in the search for weight-loss meds that exploit the hunger-dampening hormone, first discovered some More...
Faster than the Speed of Light? A New Theory Says, 'Yes'
(dailygalaxy.com) - Vsl Solving the most intractable problems of cosmology in one brilliant leap, Magueijo’s varying-speed-of-light theory (VSL) would have stunning implications for space travel, black holes, time dilation, and string theory—and could help uncover the grand unified theory that ultimately eluded Einstein.
Golfers' hearing at risk from 'sonic boom' created by new clubs, doctors claim
(telegraph.co.uk) - A report in the latest edition of the British Medical Journal claims that some players are at risk if they use a new generation of thin-faced titanium drivers that help propel the ball further.
The booming noise the metal club head makes when it strikes the ball was found by ear More...
How Alcohol Works
(recipes.howstuffworks.com) - If you have seen someone who has had too much to drink, you've probably noticed definite changes in that person's performance and behavior. The body responds to alcohol in stages, which correspond to an increase in BAC.
Quantum Computer Could Solve Problems In A Few Months That Would Take Conventional Computers Millions Of Years
(sciencedaily.com) - How to build a super fast computer that uses the bizarre properties of quantum physics is the aim of a project by computer scientists Fred Chong of the University of California, Davis, Isaac Chuang at MIT and John Kubiatowicz at UC Berkeley. The five-year project is supported by a grant of $3 million from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
How to make titanium at home
(popsci.com) - An iron crowbar costs about $8; one made of titanium, $80. Solid-titanium scissors start at $700, and don't even ask about the titanium socket wrench. Titanium must be a rare and precious substance, right?
The science of the hangover
(timesonline.co.uk) - Thumping head, dry mouth, bleary eyes, patchy memory - the hangover fug is familiar to many. But why does alcohol make us feel so dreadful? Even though human beings have suffered from hangovers for thousands of years, we're still largely in the dark as to exactly why they happen, and More...
Researchers Plan to Simulate Movements of 300 Million Americans
(physorg.com) - Researchers from Virginia Tech are developing a computer simulation that matches the movements of all 300 million people in towns across the US. The team hopes that the model will help them understand the spread of contagious diseases, fads, and traffic flows.
Death map USA: Natural disaster hotspots revealed
(newscientist.com) - Southerners are more like to die from the effects of the weather than people living in any other region of the US.
But for all the attention garnered by catastrophic hurricanes such as Katrina and Andrew, simple heatwaves kill far more people than all natural disasters combined, according to a newly published county-by-county map of natural hazard deaths.
Hawking Predicts Discovery of Alien Life
(dailygalaxy.com) - On the 50th anniversary of NASA, Stephen Hawking, Newton's heir as the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge, answered the question, “Are we alone?”
His answer was short and simple; probably not!
Dubai Plans to Cool Sizzling Sandy Beach
(physorg.com) - Dubai's out this world's Palazzo Versace located in the Culture Village has hired Hyder Consulting to use their innovative engineering talents to cool off the hotel/condominium resort's sizzling hot sandy beaches. Hyder Consulting has a long-term presence in the Middle East and offers engineering services, including environmentally sustainable buildings, infrastructure More...
Scientists Warn Large Earth Collider May Destroy Earth
(theonion.com) - "The Large Earth Collider will surely gain us priceless scientific insight by offering a brief glimpse of the universe at the moment of its destruction," Fermilab director Gordon Josephs said. "But because the Collider achieves this by hurdling Earth into another large celestial object, there are some who feel the More...
The Onion explains the inner workings of the complex, expensive science thing
(theonion.com) - If you don't understand after this, then you just don't know good science from bad science and how they are both different and good at the same time.
Eating Healthy - The picture says it all
(graphics8.nytimes.com) - Two monkeys are given two different diets, and the results speak for its self.
