For centuries, people believed that maggots and fungi magically sprung from inanimate objects out of thin air. Spontaneous generation! How babies happened was also shrouded in myth, and by the mid-1600s, people had yet to figure out that, in humans, barely visible eggs and microscopic sperm were part of the process. Turns out, all it took was a pair of frog pants to get the ball rolling in the right direction.
… Read More → "18th-century scientist sewed tiny pants for frogs"

About 160 years ago, a fossil was found in New Jersey that scientists were able to use to describe the sea turtle Atlantochelys mortoni. And this week, another fossil was found in a nearby area that scientists believe to be part of the same creature. The fossil fragments are a perfect match and now give scientists more information about one of the … Read More → "Scientists reassemble a single giant turtle out of bones found 160 years apart"

As MIT proved recently with its squishy artificial fish, robots don’t need to be rigid to propel themselves along (or freak us out). A company called Super-Releaser has applied the same logic for Glaucus, its new open-source soft robot. Unlike its swimming counterpart, this bot “walks” across land using air pressure to pump up different parts of its limbs in sequence. Admittedly, that results in a locomotion speed … Read More → "Soft robot ‘slug’ oozes along with air pressure"

Despite the warm wood and cheery red accents, Smitten Ice Cream can feel a bit like a mad scientist’s shop. There’s the industrial-sized tank of liquid nitrogen that greets you inside the entrance of its new flagship location in Oakland. And there’s the billowing clouds of nitrogen when the stainless steel ice cream machines churn out personalized scoops to … Read More → "A liquid nitrogen machine that makes ice cream to order"

Will Burrard-Lucas is a wildlife photographer. Sometimes that means documenting dangerous animals, and of course, to do this, he needs a good zoom lens and a low profile perch. But it’s not ideal. He’d rather snuggle up with a pride of lions for some candid shots of family life on the Serengeti.

And now he can—virtually. Burrard-Lucas has been building robots (or BeetleCam) for wildlife photographers like himself for the last few years.

In an early version of BeetleCam, he attached a camera to an … Read More → "Watch how robots and drones are transforming wildlife documentaries"

… Read More → "Geysers and goats"

There’s the official Monopoly rules, and then there’s the way you play the game — and everyone does it just a little bit different. Now Hasbro is hoping to tap into that rich world of user-created rules with an upcoming “house rules” edition of the board game. And in order to crowdsource those ideas, it’s … Read More → "‘Monopoly’ is crowdsourcing new rules on Facebook"

Move over dot matrix, because here comes the grass matrix. The Grass Printer is an automated mower that lets you create messages and art on your lawn. The mower’s smaller sized blades (resolution matters!) can selectively cut the grass to recreate whatever you sketch on its touchscreen. Small motors move the cutter shaft horizontally and vertically to create the selective trimming. The area of the art is defined by four … Read More → "Grass printer for lawnly creatives"

The Tecnalia Centre for Applied Research has created a system of sensors which when fitted in a home can monitor changes in a person’s habits and routine. These observations can then be used to assess whether an individual is suffering from the early stages of a neurodegenerative disease such as Alzheimer’s.
via Gizmag

Read More → "Smart home to detect symptoms of neurodegenerative disease"

You can help decide. NASA is accepting votes on three potential spacesuits that draw their designs from nature, technology and everyday life. The chosen suit will integrate custom 3D printed parts for each astronaut to create the best possible fit. Voting is open through April 15.

via GigaOM