A quadcopter outfitted with an on-board 3D printer could be used to seal off and transport nuclear waste, or even to build structures in the middle of nowhere, according to its inventor, Mirko Kovac of University College, London. “In effect, it’s the world’s first flying 3D printer,”New Scientist writes. “One day such drones might work together to help remove waste from nuclear sites or help patch up damaged buildings.”

Read More → "Flying 3D printers could help seal off nuclear waste"

According to the researchers’ results, which were recently published in Information, Communication and Society, male players who play female characters behave very differently than female players playing female characters, most tellingly in the way that they move. For some weird reason, they tend to “move backwards more often” and are more likely to physically distance themselves from the rest of their party. They also use a lot more smiling emoticons, … Read More → "Male players who use female avatars in MMORPGs act differently than female players"

A literal infusion of some “young blood” has the ability to turn back the clock and restore the mental capabilities of old mice, according to a study conducted by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. If similar results are seen in humans, the simple technique could lead to new treatments for forms of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s disease.

The study builds on previous research conducted in 2011 that showed key regions of the … Read More → "Recharging aging brains could be in the (young) blood"

In order to study the mutation rates of bacteria cells on a smaller scale, scientists from the University of Manchester’s Faculty of Life Sciences introduced E. Coli samples to various amounts of food, then treated them with the antibiotic rifampicin and rounded up the surviving bacteria, which had mutated a resistance to the antibiotic. They found that the bacteria which multiplied much more slowly and in lower densities was … Read More → "Bacteria who have no friends mutate faster, just like supervillains"

Eating alone in restaurants is awkward. Sure, you can take a book and pretend like the solitude is emboldening. But be honest with yourself—sitting across from an empty chair is sometimes sad and lonely. This whimsical restaurant in Japan has a solution: stuffed animals.

The Moomin Cafe in Tokyo is themed around the eponymous series of Finnish picture … Read More → "This restaurant in Japan gives solo diners stuffed animals for company"

Godzilla has grown larger over the years, as you can see in this graph. In 1954, the movie monster was only 50 meters (164 feet) tall (as if that isn’t tall enough). In the 2014 movie, opening later this month, Godzilla is estimated to be about 150 meters (492 feet) tall! Deep Sea News crunches the numbers to study this size change and speculate on its meaning.

So why is Godzilla obtaining ever larger sizes with … Read More → "The dangers of a bigger Godzilla"

The world is one step closer to a future where tiny ship-like vessels travel through our veins and fix our health problems. Recently, doctors across the United States implanted the world’s smallest pacemaker into cardiac patients. The device is roughly the size of a large vitamin and is attached directly to the heart without invasive surgery.

The Medtronic Micra TPS is indeed futuristic. One-tenth the size of … Read More → "This tiny metal pill is the smallest pacemaker ever implanted"

In 1692 an artist known only as “A. Boogert” sat down to write a book in Dutch about mixing watercolors. Not only would he begin the book with a bit about the use of color in painting, but would go on to explain how to create certain hues and change the tone by adding one, two, or three parts of water. The premise sounds simple enough, but the final product is almost unfathomable … Read More → "271 years before Pantone, an artist mixed and described every color imaginable in an 800-page book"

You might know where your forebears lived a few generations prior, but how about the exact village they came from — 1,000 years ago? Thanks to DNA sequencing, it’s now possible to find that out in many cases according to researchers from the University of Sheffield in the UK. The aptly-named GPS or Geographic Population Structure tool was modeled using more than 100,000 DNA … Read More → "Scientists can trace your ancestors to within 30 miles using DNA"

Retinal scans have a lot going for them as a form of identification. You can’t forget your retinas, they’re unique, they’re a lot harder to steal than passwords, and Captain Kirk uses them. The problem is, the technology needed to run a reliable retinal scan is often bulky, expensive, and hard to use. Scientists at the Dresden-based Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems (IPMS) have shrunk down retinal scanning technology in … Read More → "MARS prototype puts retinal scanning technology in the palm of a hand"