Sometimes the only way to beat your demons is to face them, even if it’s in a simulated reality. To help people overcome drug addiction, researchers at the University of Houston’s Graduate School of Social Work are building hyper-realistic virtual worlds to recreate situations that trigger cravings for nicotine, alcohol, weed, and now, hard drugs... Continue Reading →

Sam Smith is a 12-year-old game developer. That’s rather young, sure, but that’s not even the strangest part. Sam makes games instead of going to school. Spacepants is Sam’s latest game, available for $1 on iOS and Android devices. It’s a brutally tough “endless runner” — like Jetpack Joyride or Flappy Bird — set in... Continue Reading →

The idea has already been selected as a finalist in the prestigious Electrolux Design Lab contest. Luna is an electrostatic spherical washing machine. 'The idea is not to put the clothes into a washing machine, but rather, the washing machine between the dirty clothes,' says Juan Camilo Restrepo Villamizar of Colombia Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana, who... Continue Reading →

WikiLeaks has revealed the existence of a blanket gagging order applying to all citizens and news media throughout Australia. Issued on 19 June by the state of Victoria’s supreme court, it cites the need to protect “national security” and “damage to Australia’s international relations” as grounds for banning any form of coverage of an alleged... Continue Reading →

Beijing's vast army of plastic-bottle scavengers will get an automated rival later this month, when the city introduces its first reverse vending machines that pay subway credits in exchange for returned containers. More than 100 recycle-to-ride devices will be installed in an attempt to reduce the environmental impact of the informal bottle collection business and... Continue Reading →

It has been estimated that a third of the world’s population is affected by Toxoplasma gondii, a parasite that prefers living in feline intestines. While it produces no or mild symptoms for most people, it can be fatal for those who are seriously immunocompromised. Scientists have found a way to make the parasite’s actions work... Continue Reading →

A new material, designed and patented by researchers at Berkeley Lab, converts ethane to ethanol with an efficiency that could cut natural-gas refining costs. “Hydrocarbons like ethane and methane could be used as fuel, but they’re hard to store and transport because they’re gases,” says Dianne Xiao, graduate student at the University of California Berkeley.... Continue Reading →

One innovative company has created a vending machine that's dispensing help for both the environment and our furry friends. The Turkish company Pugedon recently introduced a vending machine in Istanbul that releases food and water for the city's stray dogs in exchange for recycled plastic bottles, Big Think reported. Once someone deposits their bottle at... Continue Reading →

In a groundbreaking study, 5,000 honey bees in Australia are set to be fitted with tiny sensors in an effort to better understand Colony Collapse Disorder. The 2.5mm by 2.5mm Radio Frequency Identification sensors work much like a car’s e-tag, and scientists will use a technique called “swarm sensing” to study how changes in the... Continue Reading →

Egyptian teenagers are on a roll lately – if they’re not proposing the next-generation of space propulsion systems, then they’re figuring out how to use the country’s plastic waste for fuel! Sixteen-year-old Azza Abdel Hamid Faiad has found that an inexpensive catalyst could be used to create $78 million worth of biofuel each year. Egypt’s... Continue Reading →