We tend to think of science fiction and fantasy as being like mystery novels — the story is over when you solve the case. So we obsess over questions that have no answers. But here are 10 questions that are better unanswered, either because the possibilities are fascinating or because the answers would be terrible.
via io9

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A new type of 3D printer can turn yarn into soft, cuddly objects. 3-D printing typically uses metals and plastics, although researchers are also using them to make food stuff, tissue and body parts. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University who designed the new printer say they wanted to extend 3D printing to a new class of materials for making objects that people would interact with.

The device … Read More → "New 3-D printer makes soft interactive objects"

The history of science is one chock-full of mice and men. Historically, biological and medical research has largely depended on rodents, which provide scientists with everything from cells and organs to behavioral data. That’s why a new study in which researchers found that mice actually fear men, but not women, has the potential to be so disruptive. It might mean that a number of researchers … Read More → "Lab mice fear men but not women, and that’s a big problem for science"

A decades-old urban legend was put to rest Saturday when workers for a documentary film production company recovered “E.T.” Atari game cartridges from a heap of garbage buried deep in the New Mexico desert.

The “Atari grave” was, until that moment, a highly debated tale among gaming enthusiasts and other self-described geeks for 30 years. The story claimed that in its death throes, the video game company sent about a dozen truckloads of … Read More → "Diggers find Atari’s E.T. games in landfill"

If you’ve ever wished to see the view from high up above but never had the guts for things like skydiving, then you might now have the next best thing. Oculus FPV is a rather genius project that combines an Oculus Rift VR headset, a DJI Phantom 2 drone, and two cameras to give you an aerial view that is almost as good as the real … Read More → "Oculus Rift plus DJI Phantom 2 equals an awesome view"

It may not look like an aircraft, but this house designed for an airplane pilot was conceived as a collection of aeronautical parts and is intended to simulate life in the clouds. Called “a villa for an aviator,” the house in New York state was designed as a deconstructed airplane to give the owner the feel of living in spaces that are surrounded by open sky.
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Counterfeiting and adulteration is so rampant in the olive oil trade — one frequently cited study found as much as 69 percent of extra virgin olive oil in the US is substandard — that companies and distributors need a surefire way to verify the authenticity of product before it hits shelves. That’s where new research from ETH Zürich … Read More → "Scientists hope to stop counterfeit olive oil with magnetic DNA labels"

Microscope lenses are typically made either by grinding and polishing glass discs, or pouring polymers into molds – both techniques can be quite involved, which is reflected in the price of the finished product. Now, however, a scientist from Australian National University has devised a new lens-making process, in which drops of silicone are simply baked in an oven. The resulting lenses can be used for a variety of applications, yet are worth … Read More → "How do you make a 1-cent microscope lens? Just bake a batch in the oven"

Sixty years ago, scientists at Bell Labs in New Jersey announced that the world finally had an efficient way to turn sunlight into electricity. On April 25, 1954, Daryl Chapin, electrical engineer, Gerald Pearson, physicist, and chemist Calvin Fuller demonstrated their invention, the first practical solar cell. It was made of silicon–which, by the way, would later become the prime ingredient in computer chips.

The following collection of images shows the wide variety of amazing, sometimes … Read More → "60 years ago today, Bell Labs unveiled the solar cell"

Doctors dream of using 3D-printed tissues to patch up injuries, but current techniques tend to kill a lot of the cells used in the process. Thankfully, researchers at Oxford University spin-off OxSyBio have found a gentler way to build these materials. Their technique 3D prints water droplets filled with chemicals that let them change shape and transmit electrical signals like real cells. The result is both kinder to living tissues and more … Read More → "Doctors want to fix you with 3D-printed tissues made from water droplets"