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Articles

London’s Looking at Building Bike Lanes in the Sky

The dedicated bike lanes could improve some commuter’s trips by nearly 30 minutes

Playing Q-bert on the Atari 2600 through the Internet Archive’s Console Living Room.

Play Through the History of Video Games (Frogger! Asteroids! Q-bert!) All on One Site

From Frogger to Asteroids to Turtles!, play through the early days of video gaming

Sometime early next year, a small subset of patrons will be able to sample a precision-poured cocktail concocted by a smooth operator named Monsieur.

Tech Watch

Cheers! Robot Bartender Mixes Drinks, Senses When You Need a Double Shot

Will the Monsieur be the espresso machine of party cocktails?

Bodily maps of emotion developed by the researchers.

Different Emotional States Manifest in Different Spots in the Human Body

Humans are emotional creatures, but whether emotions produced the same physical responses in people across varying cultures remained unknown until now

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have discovered a way to turn a small mixture of algae and water into a kind of crude oil in less than an hour.

Scientists Turn Algae Into Crude Oil In Less Than An Hour

Researchers believe they have figured out a way to make a promising biofuel that is cheap enough to compete with gasoline

A memorial ceremony held in 1974 in Tel Aviv, where a tribute to the victims of the Munich massacre was unveiled.

How Worried Should We Be About Terrorism at the Sochi Olympics?

The 1972 summer games held in Munich, Germany, suffered the worst terrorist attack in history

A WOBO wall.

Building Better Bricks by Brewing Beer

When form follows fermentation

Futurists Once Dreamed of Submarine Helicopters And Spaceships Powered by Swans

The ships that we’ve dreamed up tell us a lot about just how badly humans have wanted to travel beyond our own world

Central Park’s Horse-Drawn Carriages Could Be Replaced With Old-Timey Electric Cars

Demand for horse-drawn rides has reportedly spiked as tourists and locals alike rush in for a chance to take one last buggy ride through the park

Your Complete Guide to the Science of Hangovers

Here’s what we know, what we don’t know, and how you can use this information to minimize your suffering

A tobacco hornworm caterpillar chowing down on a wild tobacco plant in the Great Basin Desert, Utah

Caterpillars Repel Predators With Second-Hand Nicotine Puffs

As far as spiders are concerned, caterpillars have a case of very bad breath

A black mangrove has taken root in this salt marsh in St. Augustine, Florida.

Fewer Freezes Let Florida’s Mangroves Move North

Climate change has extended the range in which mangroves can survive the winter, letting them take root farther north and invade salt marshes

The Shackleton expedition's scientist, Alexander Stevens, stands on one of the team's ships, the Aurora.

A Century-Old Roll of Undeveloped Film Was Just Found in Antarctica

A century-old set of negatives was found in an Antarctic supply hut

A dolphin with its drug of choice.

Dolphins Seem to Use Toxic Pufferfish to Get High

The dolphins’ expert, deliberate handling of the terrorized puffer fish implies that this is not their first time at the hallucinogenic rodeo

White arrows point to the fossilized feathers of Microraptor gui.

Actually, Dinosaurs Probably Didn’t All Have Feathers

The increasingly-popular idea that all dinosaurs had feathers may be a bit too enthusiastic

Junk food and processed food has gotten a bad reputation as a primary cause of weight gain, but journalist David Freedman says, with some changes, it could actually help the obese in America's poorest neighborhoods.

Forget the Vegetables—Junk Food Could Help Fight Obesity

Journalist David Freedman says engineering healthier versions of popular treats could finally help the poorest and most obese Americans lose weight

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London’s New Years Eve Will Feature Edible Confetti And Scented Fireworks

Only time will tell whether the sites and sounds and tastes and smells are a success, but no one can say London didn’t try

The History of Cone-Shaped Medieval Princess Hats

Known as hennins, the tall headdresses were popular among European noblewomen in the late Middle Ages

Six Things We Learned About Our Changing Climate in 2013

Scientists are in agreement that human activities are altering our climate—and it’s an illusion that the pace of changes seems to have slowed down

This Texas Teen’s Most Productive Fishing Hole Is the Sewer

Kyle Naegeli, 15, first discovered this unlikely fishing hole after he made a $5 bet with his dad

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