ScienceSpace

Stunning Depictions of Ancient Comets That Scared the Hell Out of Humans

Long-tailed stars and mysterious glowing fireballs from the heavens were among the biggest and most fearful mysteries for stargazing humans throughout history. With the development of astronomy science, comets, meteors, meteorites and shooting stars became familiar objects of our universe, and with the advent of photography, depicting them became more precise. But before that, talented … Continued

ScienceAnimals

Half of Our Planet’s Wildlife Is Gone. Here’s Why.

“In less than two human generations, population sizes of vertebrate species have dropped by half.” That’s the startling conclusion offered by the World Wildlife Foundation, as they release their biennial “Living Planet Report.” But what does that mean? Every couple years, the WWF assesses the status of 10,380 representative populations of 3,038 mammal, birds, reptiles, … Continued

ScienceSpace

How Cramped Is It Inside a Space Shuttle?

Here’s a simple visual exercise you can do to get a better feel for the approximate living area inside one of our amazingly complex and now-retired space shuttles. You’ll need three adults. Have them stand in a row facing an audience. Now, have the adult in the middle turn sideways (they will be perpendicular to … Continued

ScienceSpace

Why the Human Body Can’t Handle Heavy Acceleration

Our bodies are surprisingly resilient in many situations, but rapid acceleration is not one of them. While the human body can withstand any constant speed—be it 20 miles per hour or 20 billion miles per hour—we can only change that rate of travel relatively slowly. Speed up or slow down too quickly and it’s lights … Continued

ScienceSpace

I Went to Brooklyn to Try on a Bonafide Spacesuit

If you want to experience what it’s like to wear a real-life spacesuit, you can go to one of two places: Russia or Brooklyn. (Or, you know, space.) We took the easy route and recently paid a visit to Final Frontier Design in the Brooklyn Navy yard to try on the outfit of an astronaut. … Continued

ScienceHealth

Would You Swallow a Pill Covered in Needles Instead of Getting a Shot?

After the first shudder, it sounds even more terrifying: a pill coated with tiny needles that injects you from the inside of your intestine. But the scientists at MIT and Massachusetts General Hospital who developed the capsule say that these swallowable microneedles could be a new (and painless!) way to deliver drugs. No more shots! … Continued

ScienceSpace

Holy Shit This New Interstellar Trailer

This is the final trailer for Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar. If you’re not already dying to see this movie, you will be now. In this trailer, you watch post-True Detective Matthew McConaughey choose between saving the world, and never seeing his family again. And he’s gotta go to space to do it. I am on the … Continued

ScienceHealth

Garmin Forerunner 920XT: The Best Triathlon Watch Gets Even Better

Since early 2012, the Garmin Forerunner 910XT has been the best triathlon watch, period. Others have tried to step up, but to this date nothing has equalled its wealth of features. And now it seems Garmin has raised the bar for itself. The new Forerunner 920XT is everything the 910 was, and much more. First, … Continued

ScienceSpace

Moon Seismometers From Apollo Are Still Helping Solve Physics Mysteries

When Apollo astronauts landed on the moon, they left flags and footprints, yes, but also dozens of scientific instruments. Among them was a network of seismometers originally meant to study moonquakes. Forty years later, data from these seismometers are still helping physicists understand how to detect elusive gravitational waves—a challenge even with our fancy modern … Continued

ScienceSpace

NASA’s New Recoverable Telescope Will Float Above the Clouds by Balloon

Both terrestrial telescopes and their orbital counterparts have some pretty significant limitations—ground based observatories must deal with the obscuring effects of the Earth’s atmosphere and space telescopes are incredibly expensive to launch. But NASA’s newest telescope will deliver space-quality observations at a Earth-bound ‘scope price. The Balloon Observation Platform for Planetary Science (BOPPS) is, essentially, … Continued

ScienceAnimals

Watch A Hyena Climb Inside a Buffalo Carcass And Play Peek-a-Boo

When hyenas and lions get into a shouting match over a buffalo carcass, it’s a loud, raucous scene. One hyena apparently had enough of the shouting so it decided to climb inside of the warm, wet, meaty carcass, where the buffalo’s tasty muscles no doubt provided an acoustic barrier. The main thing we learn from … Continued

ScienceHealth

Apple’s HealthKit Now Sends Medical Data Right to Your Health Record

iHealth was the first company to sell a medical device through Apple, so it’s only natural it’s also the first to fully integrate its products with Apple’s HealthKit. That means all the data iHealth’s connected monitors and trackers collect not only gets sent straight to the app, it’s also automagically logged in your electronic health … Continued

ScienceHealth

These 14 Handpicked HealthKit Apps Have Their Own iTunes Section

Health, powered by Apple’s HealthKit API, was one of the many lauded features of iOS 8. It’s Apple’s attempt to corral all your health data into one place and also empower disparate health apps with new features. Now, the platform is in full swing, complete with a new iTunes storefront. Right now, Apple’s curated content … Continued

ScienceHealth

The 9 Deadliest Minerals We’ve Ever Mined

Precious minerals make the modern world go ’round—they’re used in everything from circuit boards to tableware. They’re also some of the most toxic materials known to science, and excavating them has proved so dangerous over the years, some have been phased out of industrial production altogether. Here are the nine most toxic minerals we’ve ever … Continued

ScienceHealth

The Many Ways We’re Using Mutant Mosquitos to Eradicate Disease

Mosquitos suck. It’s not just because of those itchy red bites we all get in the summer, either. Mosquitos suck because they’re the deadliest animals on the planet, and none of our classic strategies from combatting the threat seem to be working. That’s why we’re turning the mosquitos against themselves. In recent years, scientists have … Continued

ScienceHealth

This Mobile Dialysis Machine Will Clean Your Blood on the Go

The days of hemodialysis patients spending hours upon hours sitting in a hospital lounge while waiting for their blood to be cleaned could soon be a thing of the past—assuming, of course, that the world’s first wearable artificial kidney passes FDA muster later this year. Dubbed the Wearable Artificial Kidney (the WAK), this device is … Continued

ScienceSpace

7 Gadgets Rosetta Is Sending To the Surface of the Comet

Last week, the European Space Agency announced a final date—November 11—for when it will release its Rosetta lander, a tiny pod called Philae, down to the surface of the comet. Like a cosmic hobo carrying a stick and bindle, it will travel laden with only the essentials. Thanks to Universe Today, ESA, and NASA, we … Continued

ScienceAnimals

Seal Beach Has Decided to Solve Its Coyote Problem By Killing Them

It’s always sad when a beloved family pet becomes dinner for local wildlife, but is trapping and killing wildlife the answer? One Southern California community thinks so. In Seal Beach, a coastal community in Orange County south of Los Angeles, people are tired of losing their pets to coyotes. So the City Council agreed at … Continued

ScienceAnimals

A Sea Lion Joins Divers In A Shark Cage — And Has To Be Helped Out

Shark cages are meant to keep you in and wildlife out. But it seems as if one sea lion didn’t quite get that message. All it took was a little nudge from a diver to help the wayward pinniped find its way out of the cage and back into the sea. Despite the video’s title, … Continued

ScienceSpace

Each of These Panoramic Pictures Is Its Own Tiny Twisted Planet

There are tons of 360-degree panoramic images out there, but Russian photographer Andrew Bodrov’s latest work totally twists my mind. He depicts rockets, Mars rover Curiosity, statues of science and faith all embraced into lovely micro worlds, so simple and neat they could make a sweet set of scenery for a 21st century Little Prince. … Continued