In the not-too-distant future, tiny robotic fish could be cruising around inside our our bodies, delivering drugs and cleaning up toxins. This week, engineers at the University of San Diego unveiled the first prototype: a chemically powered, magnetically controlled swimmer.

It’s called the “microfish,” and true to its name, it looks quite a bit like its biological, … Read More → "Robotic microfish can sense and remove toxins from their environment"

Researchers at MIT Media Lab have proposed a new camera technology which could see an end to overexposed images. The modulo camera would work by employing a sensor which can reset the sensor capacitors of pixels as they overexpose, and “unwrapping” algorithms to recover color information which would otherwise have been lost in blown highlights.
via Gizmag

Read More → "Photos with overexposed highlights could one day be a thing of the past"

Agent 007 is known for his impeccable taste (shaken martini, anyone?). And yet, the extravagant food scenes that populate Ian Fleming’s novels are for the most part missing from their big screen adaptations. Brooklyn-based photographer Henry Hargreaves… and food stylist Charlotte Omnès set to “return these lavish meals to the limelight,” as their project’s mission statement says, with a new collaboration: Dying to Eat.

Hargreaves’s connection … Read More → "Two artists bring James Bond’s meals to life"

She’s still widely regarded as one of the greatest mystery writers ever, but coming up on what would be her 125th birthday, a group of academics has managed to create an algorithm that can accurately predict which character will turn out to be the killer in an Agatha Christie novel.

A panel of … Read More → "An algorithm can quickly find the killer in an Agatha Christie mystery"

Now, when you embark on a journey using Citymapper’s Go mode, the app will tell you where best to get on a train in order to be close to the exit (or a connecting platform) when you get off. It’s especially useful during the rush hour crush, but also for those who might not understand signage in foreign cities. While it may make for a more pleasant hop between trains or shave a few extra minutes … Read More → "Citymapper travel app tells you the best place to get on the train"

MIT‘s Glass Lab has created a process for 3D printing with molten glass. They call the process G3DP for “Glass 3D Printing” and it operates with 1900° fahrenheit “kiln cartridges” as it prints the glass into computer-controlled shapes.
via Laughing Squid

… Read More → "MIT glass lab creates a process for 3D printing with molten glass"

When you see someone yawn and then feel the urge to yawn yourself, it’s a sign of social traits like empathy. According to new research from Baylor University, people who scored higher on the Psychopathic Personality Inventory test were less likely to “catch” a yawn. From Baylor University:

Based on the psychological test results, the frequency of yawns and the amount of physiological response of muscle, nerve and skin, … Read More → "Psychopaths are more immune to “contagious” yawns"

The USDA Economic Research Service crunched a lot of numbers to come up with a rather arguable measure of how pleasant the “natural amenities” are in 3,111 counties in the U.S. The results are available in an interactive map.

“…in the late 1990s the federal government devised a measure of the best and worst places to live in America, from the standpoint of scenery and climate. The “natural amenities index” is intended as “a … Read More → "U.S. counties, ranked by scenery and climate"

It was 1943, World War II was raging, and a 31-year-old Child (then McWilliams) was working for the Emergency Rescue Equipment Special Projects department of the Office of Strategic Services, the predecessor to the CIA. Combat increasingly took place on water, and the organization hoped to not just prevent shark attacks, but also bites from barracudas and piranhas. The ERE department—including Child—was tasked with whipping up a concoction that could do just that.

According to … Read More → "Julia Child’s recipe for shark repellent"

Neil Harbisson, an artist and self-described cyborg who was born with Achromatopsia, a recessive genetic condition that renders an individual completely unable to see color, has found a very creative way to interpret the world around him. He uses an antenna that has been implanted into his skull, which listens to the sound waves emitted by the colors around him, including those belonging to people.
via < … Read More → "Artist with complete color blindness has special antenna implanted into his skull to hear colors"