As we plunge deeper into the 21st century and the digital worlds we’ve built, a group of scientists is weighing a decision that could rewrite the very history of the physical world we inhabit. These researchers are trying to discern whether humanity has become a literal force of nature, one so powerful its traces will…
Boxing legend Floyd Mayweather and UFC megastar Conor McGregor are gonna “fight” tomorrow. Since it’s a boxing match, Mayweather will almost certainly beat McGregor bloody and then use McGregor’s hair to mop up his own bodily fluids. To alleviate that inevitable disappointment and test the two fighters’ true skills, I…
Pokémon-obsessed kids who grew into pokémon obsessed-semi-adults probably think they know everything there is to know about these mythical creatures. Honestly, though, it’s not good enough to merely “catch” ‘em all—to be a real pokémaster means knowing them inside and out. Literally.
My experience with StarCraft was probably the stupidest possible: I really liked the books. Sure, I played the games, but mostly I played single-player because I was not very good, and enjoyed the story. But for some reason, it was Sarah Kerrigan’s tale told through the novelization that resonated with me the most.
Social NPCs is a mod for Skyrim that takes the clockwork non-playable characters from two of the game’s smaller locations and turns them into believable people with lives to lead completely independent of what you’re up to.
Splatoon 2's first post-launch Splatfest kicks off tomorrow, and fans are passionately rallying for their favorite the upcoming Mayo Vs. Ketchup battle. Snacktaku removes passion and common sense from the equation to try and determine a winner using the magic of snack science.
People have been boning on Earth since the dawn of time, literally everywhere they can. Folks bone on beaches, in airplanes, and even volcanoes—you name it, someone’s probably gotten off there. The only place humans have (probably) never banged in is space, which, to some, makes it the final frontier of sexual…
Bacteria have had some pretty great PR, recently. Thanks to lots of new research about their importance to our bodies, they’re not really seen as soulless microscopic murderers anymore. They’re colorful, misunderstood beings living together outside the spotlight, freeloading in our guts in exchange for favors. In…
This summer, EVE Online players won’t just be exploring virtual galaxies—they’ll be helping to map out the actual universe.
In 2009, Kerry McPhail descended Jacques Cousteau-style towards the Axial Volcano, inside the cramped, 30-year-old little submarine DSV Alvin, with a pilot and another scientist. Three hundred miles off the coast of Oregon, they were collecting tubeworms, bacterial mats and bivalves living near a deep sea volcanic…
The finalists of the 2017 Wellcome Image Awards have been announced, showcasing the best science-related imagery from the past year. This year’s crop features a bioluminescent squid, a high-tech contact lens, and a microscopic ‘brain’ on a chip.
How did a Massachusetts woman end up with two electrodes implanted into her brain? Why is the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency developing a controversial, cutting-edge brain chip technology that could one day treat everything from major depressive disorder to hand cramps? How did we get to deep brain…
There’s this pervasive idea that science is somehow exempt from the ugly political world in which the rest of us wallow. But even a perfunctory look at the history of American science shows that this hasn’t always been the case—and the circumstances that pushed scientists into the public sphere in the past aren’t…
NASA had some big news this past week. No, it wasn’t aliens. It was the next best thing: the discovery of seven new “Earth-sized exoplanets,” a few of which could be hospitable to life. Now, it turns out that Elite: Dangerous actually predicted the existence of the TRAPPIST-1 star system where they’re located.
A long time ago, I’d hoped that a children’s cartoon character would be my kid’s entryway into the world of science fiction. But, nope, as much as I wanted it to happen, it was DC Comics’ Legion of Superheroes that helped my kid understand what “the future” means.
As a life-long, avid Sims player, I was pretty excited to hear about NASA Science Investigations: Plant Growth. Released last month, the educational app lets you zoom around the International Space Station (ISS), complete various astronaut tasks, and even interact with a fellow astronaut. Most importantly, it teaches…
Welcome to Pipette, a recurring video series that explores big science by women.
How much time should kids be allowed to stare into their screens like zombies? New guidelines issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics upturns conventional thinking on the matter, showing that a sweeping one-size-fits-all approach is not the right way for parents to go about limiting their children’s screen time.
The oldest human to have ever lived died at the age of 122—and that was nearly 20 years ago. A recent analysis of global demographic data suggests this may very well be the maximum age attainable by humans, and that it’s extremely unlikely anyone will ever live much beyond this advanced age. That is, unless we science…
In a vat of liquid nitrogen on storage platform 17, the youngest person ever to be put into cryogenic storage has been waiting for the future for one year and eight months.
