Browse through a selection of crime scene photos from any major city and you’ll find a bunch of locations that look familiar, since most major cities have a degree of similarity to their architecture and layout.

However, if you superimpose them over a photo of the location in present day you’ll see a rich story unfolding about a city’s history, and the sordid crimes committed on … Read More → "Old New York crime scene photos superimposed on present day locations"

Get y0ur T-1000 jokes ready, because we’re one step closer to liquid metal-powered people. As a team of Chinese biomedical engineers recently used an alloy to close the gap between severed sciatic nerves in frogs. In effect, it made electronic circuits out of nerves—and it worked.

Shockingly, this sci-fi solution is … Read More → "Scientists have reconnected severed nerves with liquid metal"

If you’ve ever played Rock-Paper-Scissors, you’ll have wondered about the strategy that is most likely to beat your opponent. And you’re not alone. Game theorists have long puzzled over this and other similar games in the hope of finding the ultimate approach.

It turns out that the best strategy is to choose your weapon at random. Over the long run, that makes it equally likely … Read More → "How to win at Rock Paper Scissors"

A Vanderbilt University graduate student has created the world’s thinnest wires using a beam of electrons, a technique that could usher in new ultra-slim form factors for electronics and possibly help the chip industry build smaller, faster processors.

Ph.D candidate Junhao Lin used a scanning transmission electron microscope capable of focusing a beam of electrons down to a width of half an ångström to create the wires. The work was carried out at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), where he is a visiting scientist.

“This will likely stimulate … Read More → "Grad student creates world’s thinnest wires – just three atoms wide"

The mosquitos in Brazil (known as Aedes aegypti) carry dengue fever, and the World Cup also happens to be taking place happening in Brazil this summer, so authorities have approved the release of genetically reprogrammed mosquitoes that will wipe out their own species. The male mosquitoes are given a flawed gene and sent out to to go forth and multiply, spreading this gene into the wild. Then, mosquito … Read More → "Mosquitoes are being bred with genes that will kill them"

NASA has successfully completed the latest series of tests for its next-generation Orion Spacecraft, currently housed at the Kennedy Space Center. The latest trials focused on vibration-testing the spacecraft, simulating the stress that Orion will be subjected to during its maiden test flight scheduled to take place in December.
via gizmag

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JUMPR is an incredibly slim, portable external battery from Juno Power that can jump start a car. The battery measures 139mm by 75mm by 15mm, weighs seven ounces, includes both 12V (150-350A) and USB 5V 2.1A outputs, and has a capacity of 6000mAh. JUMPR is currently available for pre-order via Juno Power’s website.
via Read More → "JUMPR, an incredibly slim external battery that can jump start cars"

Cleopatra’s Needle is New York City’s oldest outdoor monument; it’s been around for a whopping 3,500 (!) years, and has spent the past 133 of those in Central Park. This spring, it’s getting gently blasted with laser beams—all in the name of conservation.

The Central Park Conservancy has teamed … Read More → "NYC’s 3,500-year-old monument is being cleaned with lasers"

Dhairya Dand and Henry Holtzman of the MIT Media Lab think that we don’t spend enough time looking at the world outside of our screens. Even when walking around, many of us are also looking at our smartphones instead of the physical world (thus providing for hilarious moments on video).

So Dand and Holtzman created SuperShoes. These are insoles with built-in vibrating ticklers. They … Read More → "Electronic shoe insoles that navigate for you"

Relics of Technology is a photo series by Portland-based photographer Jim Golden that documents the technology of the past like Betamax tapes and floppy disks. We previously wrote about Golden’s photos of neatly arranged collections, including one featuring only photography gear.
via … Read More → "Relics of Technology, a photo series documenting the technology of the past"