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A katana-armed industrial robot vs human samurai sword master

Machii Isao is an Iaido master and an expert sword wielder. He holds five Guinness World Records including "fastest 1,000 iaido sword cuts (36 min 4 sec)" and "most iaido sword cuts to one mat" (8), but you might know him as the real-life "fruit ninja" if you saw some of his stints up on YouTube. Check out how Isao fared against a robot.

Chinese scientist finds earliest known fossil of complex life, paper met with heavy criticism

A new discovery may place the first appearance of complex life on Earth a full billion years earlier than previously thought. The scientific community is divided on the value of the find, some hailing it as rock-solid evidence while others dismiss it as inconclusive.

Can science help LSD make a comeback?

Few drugs have had a more undeserving bad rep as LSD, but acid is finally making a comeback, it seems.

A.I. masters control of delicate Nobel-winning physics experiment in under an hour

Lazy physicists from Australia programmed an artificial intelligence system to maneuver a delicate experiment with little to no oversight. The A.I. had to control an array of lasers that are used to cool atoms near absolute zero temperature, where the slightest hiccup could destroy the fragile state of matter of the atoms. But the machine performed marvelously.

Spider silk-inspired wire extends like a solid, but compresses like a liquid

. Perhaps the most impressive feature of spider silk is that it's taut even when it's been stretched to several times its original size. Inspired by the orb spider's silk, researchers at University of Oxford and the Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris made their own artificial spider silk thread that extends like a solid, but compresses like a liquid.

Jupiter's moon Europa could have Earth-like oceans

If I asked you to guess where we have the best chances of finding life outside of Earth, you’d be hard pressed to think about Europa. But Jupiter’s frozen moon is beginning to look more and more attractive, and may even harbor an Earth-like ocean. We’ve written extensively before about the life harboring possibilities of […]

Synthetic wine can mimic classic vintages, for a fraction of the time and price

Ava Winery, a start-up based in San Francisco, wants to let you enjoy the best of wines for a fraction of their current cost. To this end, they'll bypass the costly growing and fermentation processes; in fact, they won't use grapes at all. Their wines will be synthetically produced, by combining aromatic compounds with ethanol.

Magic mushrooms show promise for 'untreatable depression'

A new study published in the Lancet Psychiatry reports that "magic mushrooms" could help in otherwise "untreatable" cases of depression.

IBM ups storage for next-gen memories hundreds of times faster than your SSD

A team from IBM Research dramatically increased the storage capacity of an alternative memory structure called phase-change memory (PCM) to 3 bits of data per cell. Many specialists think that PCM is the future, in a way similar to how flash is replacing hard drives.

This machine 3-D prints metal objects in mid-air

Harvard researchers have demonstrated an all new 3-D printing technique that creates metals objects with complex shapes right in mid-air. This is fundamentally different from the approach of traditional 3-D printers which ooze polymer material layer by layer.

Law firm hires Artificial Intelligence lawyer

Robots are taking our jobs once again - or rather, helping us do our job a little bit better.

Ancient Rome's water supply tracked by lead isotopes

By analyzing telltale chemical signs which marked the environment, like led isotopes, a team of researchers tracked the water quality following the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79.

Bone-crushing dog roamed eastern North America 12 million years ago

Paleontologists have identified an ancient hyena-like canine that occupied eastern North America approximately 12 million years ago. The coyote-sized dog had a massive jaw which scientists say it used to crush bones.

Google's AI is now writing post-modern poetry. I've read worse

Despite these tentative first steps definitely look like a work in progress, don't look so stunned when you'll learn about the first best-selling novel written by a robot (I've seen worse things published). It all starts now.

Vaccines work: only 15 polio cases in 2016. In 2020 it should be eradicated

The wild poliovirus is about to go extinct. In 2015, only 74 new cases were reported or 80 percent less than in 2015. Furthermore, these cases were contained in two countries: Afghanistan and Pakistan.

World's smallest porpoise on the verge of extinction due to illegal fishing

The vaquita marinas are on the verge of extinction, with only 60 individuals remaining in the wild.

Even primitive quantum computers could outperform today's machines

Conventional computers are starting to reach their physical limitations but rest assured - a new technology is being worked on that will take computing to new, unforeseeable heights.

This transparent wood is stronger than glass

Using a chemical technique, researchers removed the complex organic polymers that give wood its characteristic appearance and, in the process, made the wood transparent. The see-through wood was then imbued with epoxy which made the material stronger than glass.

Man receives first penis transplant in the United States

A man recovering from penile cancer is the first American citizen to receive a penis transplant. The operation, a first in the United States, was performed by doctors at the at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. According to the doctors involved, more transplants will occur in the coming years. This is still, however, an experimental procedure at the forefront of medicine.

Newly discovered beetle births live babies

In almost all mammals, the babies develop inside the mother before they are born, a process we all know as gestation. Outside mammals, though, live baby birth is quite rare, especially among insects. That's why everybody got excited by the discovery of a new long-horn beetle species which uses ovoviviparity -- a reproductory mode in which females hatch eggs inside the body.

European capital designates Natural Park right in the city

The park will be the biggest urban protected area in Europe.

New oil spill spews 90,000 gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico

An offshore of Royal Dutch Shell is responsible for a new oil spill which covered a 13- by 2-mile sheen of oil on the waves.

A college course has been using a robot as a teacher and no one even realized

I for one welcome our new robot TAs.

Real Life Mount Doom might be about to erupt, geologists warn

Mount Ruapehu on New Zealand’s north island is starting to show signs of eruption, and hikers have been warned to stay away from it. This is the real-life Mount Doom from The Lord of the Rings, where many scenes of the movie were shot. Mount Ruapehu is a stratovolcano with three major peaks: Tahurangi (2,797 m), Te […]

Fossil Friday: Zaphrentis phrygia

Kinda looks like the Sarlacc, doesn't it? Well take your geek hat off cause it isn't a sarlacc. Now put your paleontology geek hats on because this is Fossil Friday and we're talking about Zaphrentis phrygia.

Is the ultimate password 'chill' music?

We've gone a long way since simple keys and locks. Things like digital encryption or biometric validation methods based on fingerprints, corneas and so on have helped secure data and access to sensible information.These methods were developed, however, because we had to keep up with the threats. There's nothing truly unhackable, some say, but you can darn well make it really hard for the wrong people to get in. These researchers really thought outside the box, though.

Tesla's first self-driving accident just happened. It's time to start a serious discussion

It was bound to happen. This week, Jared Overton, a Tesla Motors Model S owner, reported his car spontaneously started itself and drove into a trailer parked right in front of it. No one was hurt, but the car itself broke the windshield. Tesla Motors claims their software wasn't to blame. Instead, internal logs suggest Overton used the 'summon' feature by mistake from his phone. Overton disagrees. It seems like a lawsuit might follow, but the accident begs a more important discussion: are Tesla's autonomous features really safe?

Bill Gates divests $187m from the oil industry

The decline of the oil industry continues.

Here's why there's almost certainly no hidden chamber in Tutankhamun's tomb

The entire world of archaeology was electrified by recent announcements of a hidden chamber in Tutankhamun’s tomb. The story had it all – maybe even too much – false walls, hidden riches, even a mummy, Nefertiti’s mummy. But while the whole situation is still in the air, more and more doubt is being cast on the […]

A sixth sense protects distracted drivers when they are absent-minded or upset, but not texting

It's almost like a sixth sense that protects you - but it doesn't help you at all when you're texting.

Scientists digging into the dinosaur-killing asteroid crater answer all your questions

A team of researchers is investigating the Chicxulub crater, of the asteroid that wiped the dinosaurs (and many other creatures) some 65,5 million years ago. Now, they've set out to Reddit to answer all our questions

Rio Olympics could spark global health crisis

The 2016 Olympics in Rio are riddled with problems, one of them being a potentially global pandemic. Medical doctors are worried that the huge gathering could spark a massive Zika epidemic.

If you like hamburgers, you should read this

If you like burgers - and let's face it, you do - then we have some good news and some bad news. The good news is that most of the burgers in America are OK - a molecular analysis showed that there is nothing wrong in terms of nutritional content and ingredients. But a small minority was not OK.

Bacterial cells are individualists, too

Even though they're genetically identical and live in the same environment, not all bacteria are the same. When times are tough more bacteria become individualists gobbling resources in the detriment of the colony, but in doing so the individualists actually enhance the colony's survival rate.

These ten organizations dominate science publishing, and it's probably not who you think

It's hard to quantify the total contribution of a university or research group to science, but the Nature Index is one of the more reliable options. It is basically a database of author affiliation information collated from research articles published in a selection of 68 high-quality science journals. These are the ten most significant institutions in 2015.

Oldest space dust shows how Earth's ancient atmosphere was like 2.7 billion years ago

A team from Monash University, Australia, and Imperial College, U.K., found the oldest micrometeorites ever and by studying them could determine what the planet's atmosphere looked like 2.7 billion years ago when these objects impacted the surface.

THC blood tests can't predict impaired driving and should be scrapped, AAA says

The AAA Foundation for traffic safety ordered a handful of studies that assess the effects marijuana legalization had on driving safety. The studies arrived at a number of worrisome conclusions. Fatal crashes involving drivers who used marijuana doubled since the state lifted the ban. Also, researchers found the marijuana blood limit allowed for driving, known as per se limits, is arbitrary and not based on actual science.

Germany generated so much renewable energy it had to pay to get rid of it

On May 8, Germany generated a record high amount of renewable energy. Solar, wind, hydro and biomass plants together generated 55 GW of power or 87% of the demand thanks to unusually good winds and sunny conditions.

Japan now has more electric car charge points than petrol stations

A new study has found that the 35,000 gas filling stations have been overcome by more than 40,000 recharge points, although many are private-owned.

Half of your friends don't actually feel the same way, probably

How many friends do you think you have? A hundred, twenty... two? Chances have it, you actually have only half as many 'real' friends as you think. At least, those who look to you as a friend too, say researchers at MIT's Media Lab.

Carrot genome explains why these are orange

Carrots are the richest source of vitamin A in the American diet, which is why you hear "they're good for your eyes". But did you know carrots were initially yellow and purple? Even further back, before humans domesticated carrots, the wild variety was white. Scientists know this by sequencing the DNA of the carrot, and a recent study deciphered its full genetic code. We now know what genes trigger the production of carrots' most important nutrients, but also what teaking is required to improve the crops.

What separates the wolves from the sheep in the stock market?

"Be fearful when others are greedy and be greedy only when others are fearful," said Warren Buffet, arguably the most astute contemporary investor in the world. Research by Caltech and Virginia Tech backs this sound advice, after delving deep into the investor mind and framework by analyzing stock market behavior at the neurolevel.

The squishy bot revolution: how soft robotics is changing the field

Soft robotics involves machines designed to resemble biological systems like squids, caterpillars, starfish, human hands and more. Though far less practical at this point, soft robots could prove invaluable soon enough. ZME Science looked at a couple of some of the most amazing designs made by scientists so far.

The cost of sequencing the human genome has dropped from $100M in 2001 to under $1,000 in 2016

The price was just under $10 million at the end of 2007, to being under $10,000 in 2011! In a mere four years, the price decreased by a factor of a thousand and today, you could sequence your genome for around $1,000.

How trade routes forever changed the dromedary camel's genetic makeup

Known as the “ship of the desert”, the dromedary camel is one of the largest domestic ungulates and one of the most recent additions to livestock. For 3,000 years, the dromedary camel has been the burden animal of choice for transporting goods across the deserts of North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, and all of this back and forth has left a permanent mark on their genetic makeup.

Ancient reptiles were warm-blooded beasts, study finds

A surprising study found that a group of ancient lizards called mosasaurs were in fact warm-blooded.

Breaking the Backlash - A take on the social psychology of discrimination

How social psychology explains, and might one day break, the hate wave that's sweeping the world.

Ancient recipes: Pullum Numidicum (Numidian Chicken)

Perhaps one of the most underappreciated aspects of archaeology is cooking. We know surprisingly little about how people used to cook in ancient times, although a few delicious recipes managed to slip through the cracks and remain recorded. Such is the case with Pullum Numidicum (Numidian Chicken), a simple, delicious and authentic Roman recipe. The dish […]

The Pentagon is investing heavily to protect its 'space real estate'

Both civilian and military applications have become heavily reliant on digital communications, which in turn are dependent on space hardware like satellites. If only two decades ago, only the biggest companies or wealthy governments could afford to launch permanent or semi-permanent satellites. Today, satellites are smaller, better and cheaper than they ever were, which is why there are more than 1,100 active satellites orbiting the planet. However, they're as vulnerable as ever, too.

A 15 year old may have discovered a hidden Maya city by studying Maya constellations... or not

A teenager from Quebec might have discovered a hidden Maya city simply by looking at the stars.

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