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Ah, Playa del Amor – the beach of love! Such a sweet, classic name for such a weird, hidden beach! Located several meters inland on one of the Marieta Islands, the Hidden Beach is one of those unique natural wonders you just don’t want to miss. But as our Facebook fans know, I asked you […]
Researchers have for the first time described an unique snail species that can only be found high on top Mount Kaputar in New South Wales, Australia. The snails exhibit an atypical coloring – fluorescent pink – and can grow as large as eight inches long, true giants by snail standards. Though Triboniophorus aff. graeffei […]
As we’ve already posted today, NASA’s GRAIL mission did a great job of mapping out the gravitational features of the Moon. Just as a quick add to that, here’s two maps which I hope you’ll find interesting:
While browsing reddit, I came across something well worth sharing: shrunken coins. Now, bear with me and you’ll soon learn why these are really interesting, if you the photos themselves haven’t caught your fancy. You see all these coins have been shrunk by powerful magnetic fields created by high power coils inside a machine appropriately […]
The Pavlof volcano lies in the long chain of the Aleutian Islands off the west coast of Alaska, and is one of the most active volcanoes in the United States. It’s about seven kilometers (4 miles) across and 2500 meters (1.5 miles) high; after being quiet since 2007, it started erupting again in May 2013. […]
Japanese climber Yuichiro Miura, 80, reached the top of Mount Everest Thursday, thus becoming the oldest man to reach the highest summit in the world. Miura and his nine-person team climbed on the southern ridge, the same path that Edmund Hillary took 60 years ago when he became the first documented man to climb Everest. […]
Don’t you feel like sometimes you’re playing some kind of insane TV game show whenever you go through airports? Except, thankfully, instead of being forced to eat frighteningly exotic cuisines, at airports, you’re forced to walk through security checks without your shoes on. That’s just the tip of the airport security check iceberg. Add the […]
Google is notorious for its ambitious projects, and its latest one falls nothing short. Capitalizing on its extremely powerful Google Earth engine, the company teamed up together with the US Geological Survey (USGS) and Time Magazine to release Timelapse – a visual representation of how the Earth has changed during the past 28 years. Carefully […]
Renowned physicist, famous for his study of black holes, galaxies and for authoring a popular book on the origin of the universe, “A Brief History of Time”, recently arrived at Caltech, like every year, where he held a talk in front of 1,000 people who had waited in line for 12 hours to hear him speak. […]
Possibly the most exciting technological innovation of the decade, in terms of the impact it’s projected to have, 3-D printing never seems ceasing to amaze us with its unrivaled potential. We’ve seen 3-D printed titanium jaw bones for implants, nanoscale F-1 cars, an ear or live tissue by 3-D printing of stem cells. A number of […]
There are a number of daily chores, activities and trifles that require a distinct amount of care and attention when in space that are inversely proportional to the care the same activities require back on Earth. In a recently released video Chris Hadfield, the commander of the Expedition 35 crew now living aboard the International Space Station […]
Since Curiosity landed, it has more than made its money worth, especially considering the mission’s most recent official public briefing when NASA JPL lead scientists announced they found evidence Mars was once capable of supporting life. It’s not only about science though, it’s also about beauty, rugged adventure and seeing things for the first time that […]
Archaeology – check. Beer – check. Cool chemistry – check. Shipwreck – check. What more could you ask for, seriously? Produced at least as far back as 7000 years ago, in 5000 BC, beer has been with us for a long time, and we’re thankful for that. It’s done a lot for us (for better […]
When a lion hunts a gazelle, he is actually hunting the weakest of the herd, the one which is the slowest. Repeating the hunt, in time only strengthens the herd. The drunken version of this is that the same things happen with alcohol and neurons: sure, alcohol destroys some neurons, but it’s only the weaker […]
NASA space observatory sends back a couple of mind blowing eye dazzling images of the Sun. I guess I’m exaggerating a little bit, but I’m really loving these pics. The people working at NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) had another of their periodic “wow” moments when the latest transmissions from space turned up a couple […]
This might be the weirdest news piece you’ll read all day. Apparently, the Ukrainian navy is only one of two navies in the world, the other being the US navy, which has navy killer dolphins at their disposal. These warrior sea-mammals are trained to place and hunt down mines and attack enemy frogmen divers with knives […]
I’m an absolute fan of the Cassini spacecraft – this is hands down my favorite mission. I mean, it’s been providing us incredibly valuable information for years now, in a very interesting area of our solar system, the Jupiter-Saturn area. This mission is one of the main reasons why we now believe places like Europa […]
Apollo 14 was the eighth manned mission in the United States Apollo program and the third to land on the Moon. Here, we present a stunning photo album with the shuttle, the crew, and the Moon.
Braving the weather in rough conditions is standard biker procedure, but it’s always more fun when the weather is fine – and with spring on the way, we don’t have too long to wait. But before you renew your motorbike insurance and get back in the saddle, sit your ass back down and check out […]
Chris Hadfield, quite possibly my favorite current astronaut has snapped a spectacular photo of Italy’s Mount Etna volcano streaming ash toward the sea early this morning. Mount Etna is the tallest active volcano in Europe, and in an almost constant state of activity, regularly spewing gas, ash, and lava from the four craters at its […]
Just one of the many reasons why I love geology – paleontologists have unearthed extraordinarily preserved fossils of a 520-million-year-old sea creature, one of the oldest animal fossils ever found. The animal in case is an arthropod called a fuxhianhuiid – you may remember him from this post, in which I described a lovely book […]
For thousands of years, rainbows were an enigmatic phenomenon that was out of reach to humans.
It’s a good day to be Irish! The Irish government this morning outlined details of a €300-million package of research funding that will establish seven new hubs where industry will collaborate with academic researchers. Areas which will receive the most funding will be data analytics, marine renewable energy, biomaterials, perinatal research, nanotechnology, functional foods, photonics […]
Jean-Lou Chameau, the president of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena announced that he will be leaving his post at an unspecified time to head the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Thuwal, Saudi Arabia. I think this is important not because of the move itself, but rather what it symbolizes. […]
In a promising discovery for students and party aninals all over the world, a team of researchers led by UCLA engineers has identified a method for speeding up the body’s reaction to alcohol consumption – practically elimining the hangover. Researchers take their hangovers really seriously – in a paper published online Feb. 17 in the […]
The common caddisfly is, as the name calls it, common. They’re usually found near lakes, streams, ponds and rivers, and often used as a bait for trout fishermen. Their larva are aquatic and they create protective silk cases which incorporate bits of material from their surroundings, such as gravel, twigs or small pieces of shell. […]
The recent historical flyby of 2012 D14 – the largest asteroid ever to pass this close to Earth in recorded space observational history – as well as the modest in size, but monumental in punch meteorite that exploded over Russia caused an whole frenzy around them on the web. Thing is, meteorites and asteroids have […]
Paleontologists have found evidence of animal life dating back at least 635 million years. Those animals acted much like today’s sponges, stuck in the sea floor, filtering water particles for useful nutrients in the sea. But just over 100 million years later, during the Cambrian explosion, life really started to pump its engines. All sorts […]
Computer scientists at University of Illinois at Chicago have created what can only be described as a real-life Star Trek holodeck. Now, it’s not nearly as impressive as its SciFi counterpart, after all futurist Tim Huckaby predicted it will take some ten years before a full blown version might be created, still virtual reality is […]
NASA’s really trying to step up their social media game, and this is definitely good news. This week, NASA’s social media followers and their guests will have the unique opportunity to talk to three of the six crew members aboard the International Space Station, as well as the scientists and engineers involved in the project. […]
If you’re in a biology class in Europe, and you say that humans appeared on the Earth a few thousand years ago, or that they lived side by side with dinosaurs – you’re gonna get an F. It doesn’t matter if you’re from France, Spain, Russia or Albania, you’re gonna get an F; but in […]
Look at this map; take a good, long, hard look at it. William Smith created it in 1815, 200 years ago. It’s the first nationwide geologic map, which is why he is sometimes referred to as the father of British geology, and it’s pretty darn accurate! His story and absolutely stunning work has a sour […]
Your smartphone amateur photos could be instantly converted into professional-looking pictures at the touch of a button, thanks to a chip developed by MIT researchers. The chip, built by a team at MIT’s Microsystems Technology Laboratory can perform a number of tasks, including creating a more realistic environment or enhanced lighting in a shot without […]
The weekend that has just passed was a tight one for asteroid news. At the center was of course the much raved about “2012 DA14” – the closest asteroid of this significant size to flyby Earth since recorded history – which actually speared passed Earth at an altitude of 27,700km, a few thousand kilometers below the […]
The Rosetta Stone may actually come in the form of a computer – one that can speak virtually any language, if programmed well enough. Languages have evolved, changed, adapted, mingled, disappeared – they’re way more dynamic than you would think; and for some of them, we have really limited information to study them on. This […]
After the successful test in which the Iranians sent a monkey into outer space and back safely, their goal of sending a man to the Moon by 2025 seems quite feasible. Ok, so some liked this, the US didn’t really like it but that’s a different story – but Iran’s space program is not really […]
That’s what NASA officials have been telling the press recently, at least. If you haven’t heard yet, a football field-sized asteroid called 2012 DA14 is expected to come buzzing past Earth later this month, making it, in NASA’s own words, a ‘record-setter’ in terms of asteroid proximity. The asteroid will pass so closely by Earth […]
Your work is appreciated, and we are thankful for it! If you have any stories or anything at all from your work, be sure to share it with the rest of us – we’ll definitely post it. As a small symbol of our appreciation, here’s a picture of a badger and a fox cub who […]
Birds may not be the smartest bunch out there, but man do they know how to navigate! Pigeons can get around towns and even continents with stunning accuracy – except for a particular spot in New York. Whenever homing pigeons were launched from that particular spot, they would always get lost. They could easily go […]
You’ve got me, I’m love watching anime. I wouldn’t say I’m a huge fan or that I have enough time to watch as much as I’d like, but some series definitely sparked my interest – and there’s millions of others like me out there. So what made these atypical Japanese cartoons so loved throughout the […]
Usually, whenever celebrities advocate some cooky thing that supposedly does a whole lot of good, it’s just a trend or a cooky idea — but Cameron Diaz is really on to something here: she wants you to stop flushing every time after you pee. Every flush takes somewhere between 4 and 10 liters of water […]
Hawaiian surfer Garrett McNamara has nerves (and other body parts) of steel! According to all reports, he broke his own Guinness world record with a ride on a wave that was about 30 meters (about 100 feet). The stage was set in Nazare, Portugal, as a jetski towed him to a monstruous setting, with constant […]
Jack Andraka is in his sophomore high-school year, but while other kids his age might be preoccupied with fighting puberty, the 15-year-old is fighting cancer. He has devised a pancreatic test kit that costs only three cents, requires only a drop of blood, is non-invasive and has a formidable success rate. Not only this, but […]
My apologies, ladies and gents! I’ve been neglecting this section of our site, as some of you have told me via email (feedback is always welcome, by the way). So after a short pause, we’re bringing it back, stronger than ever: Here’s the GeoPicture of the week: This is a lake called Langisjór, covering an […]
Samuel Yin, a Taiwanese businessman, has recently announced during a press conference in Taipei the founding of the Tang Prize, a foundation that aims to reward major achievements in the fields of science in a similar manner to the European Nobel Prize, only with bigger cash prizes, while also supporting research. With an estimated personal wealth […]
Details of some 2000 volcanic eruptions that occurred in the past 1.8 million years are now available in a new open access database, complied by scientists at the University of Bristol with help from the UK, US, Colombia and Japan. Volcanic eruptions are among the most dangerous natural hazards, having the potential to take numerous […]
At his recent keynote 2013 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Las Vegas, Tim Huckaby dazzled the audience with his predictions for the future in user interface and technology. His presentation was initially structured as a showcase of possible developments in the next five years, but Huckaby didn’t stop there and also talked a bit about how […]
New 3D images have been revealed today, showing the the Civil War-era gunboat U.S.S Hatteras in exquisite detail. The ship sank exactly 150 years ago, on January 11, 1863. It was buried under lots of sand, but recent storms, most notably 2008’s Hurricane Ike have moved the sand off the shipwreck. Resting under 17 meters of […]
At the end of last year, NASA permanently decommissioned the spacecrafts Ebb and Flow after engineers intentionally crashed them on the moon’s surface. Now, the space agency has released video footage from the last moments of spacecraft Ebb just before it hit, which can watch just below. Prepare for some goosebumps. The two spacecraft were part of a mission known as GRAIL, tasked […]
Along the years DARPA has proposed, tested and implemented a slew of preposterous sounding projects like the Minority Report-like interface threat detection system, the firefighting robot or the surrogate soldier program that aims at deploying robots that bind to a soldier’s will just like the movie Avatar. Yes, the agency seems to have a thing for movie […]
