It's been a while since Facebook was fun and games and casual internet stalking, but who among us could have predicted that someday we'd be able to use the social networking site to serve our spouses divorce papers? The future is now! The Post reports that a Family Court official ruled that one Staten Island... Continue Reading →
Scientists Find Water Vapor on Planet 729 Trillion Miles Away
Life is tenacious. It has been found to thrive in the most inhospitable circumstances (certain microorganisms, like the tardigrade, can even survive in the vacuum of space). Ultimately, no matter where we look on this planet, where there is liquid water, there is life. This fact makes the latest news from University of Maryland Astronomy... Continue Reading →
Paralyzed Rats Walk Again, Now Farther Than Ever
Like a severed telephone line (from back in the days when phones had wires), a spinal cord injury can cut off communication between the brain and the rest of the body -- leaving a victim unable to move some or all of his or her limbs. It's one of the leading causes of paralysis in... Continue Reading →
Soft robotics ‘toolkit’ features everything a robot-maker needs
A new resource unveiled today by researchers from several Harvard University labs in collaboration with Trinity College Dublin provides both experienced and aspiring researchers with the intellectual raw materials needed to design, build, and operate robots made from soft, flexible materials. With the advent of low-cost 3D printing, laser cutters, and other advances in manufacturing... Continue Reading →
Home Depot admits they were hacked, 56 million cards exposed
Home Depot said today that cyber criminals armed with custom-built malware stole an estimated 56 million debit and credit card numbers from its customers between April and September 2014. That disclosure officially makes the incident the largest retail card breach on record. The disclosure, the first real information about the damage from a data breach... Continue Reading →
Trust in Mass Media Returns to All-Time Low
Just 40 percent of Americans put a “great deal or fair amount” of trust in the media–a majority tied for the lowest rate since Gallup started tracking trust in the media nearly 20 years ago. After registering slightly higher trust last year, Americans’ confidence in the media’s ability to report “the news fully, accurately, and... Continue Reading →
Help Scientists By Marking Penguins In Pictures
Check out this latest citizen-science project. It's a site where you can look at photos gathered by an Antarctic network of wildlife cameras and mark if there are penguins in the photos. In other weo you get to look at cute animals online and help environmental science! Sounds like a win-win to me. A warning:... Continue Reading →
‘Smart material’ chin strap harvests energy from chewing
A chin strap that can harvest energy from jaw movements has been created by a group of researchers in Canada. It is hoped that the device can generate electricity from eating, chewing and talking, and power a number of small-scale implantable or wearable electronic devices, such as hearing aids, cochlear implants, electronic hearing protectors and... Continue Reading →
Australian students invent chip packet water purifying system
Australian engineering students have invented a simple water filter using chip packers and glass tubing, in response to the 1.5 million deaths around the world caused by polluted water every year. A team of students at the University of Adelaide in South Australia has come up with a super-cheap and easy way of putting together... Continue Reading →
Schizophrenia Revealed To Be 8 Genetically Distinct Disorders
Just over 1 percent of the American population has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, a severe mental disorder that causes debilitating symptoms including paranoid delusions, auditory hallucinations, and impaired social behavior. A new study has revealed that schizophrenia is not one disease, but eight disorders with genetically distinct causes. This could dramatically change how schizophrenia is... Continue Reading →