… Read More → "The ice-diving robot that could look for alien life on Jupiter’s moon"

When it comes to animals with good hearing, flies might not be the first one you’d think of. The Ormia ochracea fly, however, has a unique hearing mechanism that allows it to precisely determine the location of a cricket based on its chirps … it then deposits its larvae on the cricket, which ultimately consume the poor insect. Scientists at the University of Texas Austin have now duplicated … Read More → "Fly-inspired tech could find use in better hearing aids"

When you apply for security clearance, you first have to fill out a form that requires you to disclose all past drug use, crimes and mental health issues. Those same subjects are then revisited with an actual human, but the NCCA thinks it might be more effective to jump straight to an interview with a computer. In a study Army trainees were put through a mock interview with a racially ambiguous … Read More → "Government turns to robots for security interviews"

When it comes to science toys, few have the cachet of cool of the singing Tesla coil: a tower of copper wiring topped by a hollow metal toroid that fires out bolts of electricity in time to music. Building one, however, is a little on the complicated side for anyone who doesn’t have the tools and the know-how; and buying one pre-made can get expensive.

… Read More → "Build your own singing Tesla coil"

Pacemakers are—even at their tiniest—intrusive bits of metal wired into the heart. But now scientists have come up with something completely different: a “biological pacemaker” in a pig made by reprogramming the heart’s own cells with a modified virus carrying a specific gene.
via Gizmodo

Read More → "This pacemaker is made by injecting a virus right into a pig’s heart"

So far, HIV has eluded a cure because it installs its genome into human DNA so insidiously that it’s impossible for our immune system to clear it out. While current treatments are effective, a lifetime of toxic drugs are required to prevent its recurrence. But researchers from Temple University may have figured out a way to permanently excise it using a highly-engineered HIV “editor.” Here’s how it works: the team … Read More → "Researchers fully ‘delete’ HIV from human cells for the first time"

Modern technology has given us many ways of delegating menial tasks to automatic equipment and robots, freeing up more time. Such devices can vacuum our floors, wash our windows, clean out the gutters and more. The latest automated housework companion is multifunctional, helping you complete two tasks that few relish: shoveling snow and mowing the lawn.
via Gizmag

</ … Read More → "Multifunctional hybrid robot shovels snow and mows your lawn"

100 balloons. 1 hose. Game over.

If you’ve ever had the pleasure of participating in a water balloon fight, you will concur that the most frustrating part of battle is reloading. You think you’ve got an uninflated balloon securely attached to the end of a garden hose, and then as soon as you turn on the water, *snap*, … Read More → "This may be the greatest invention in the history of water balloons"

The National Security Agency (NSA) has lots of computer power but what it needs the most is brain power. It’s not too early to plan ahead. 

Activity book for kids published by the NSA, via Silicon Valley Watcher

Read More → "NSA’s Crypto-Kids – it’s never too early to start recruitment"

Writes Brian Kahn at Climate Central: “The world just experienced its hottest June on record. The heat was driven in large by part by the hottest ocean temperatures since recordkeeping began more than 130 years ago. That makes this the third-warmest start to the year.”
via Boing Boing