What they found was that not only can the INMI be removed by listening to other songs in addition to other methods of distraction, but many of the participants in the study responded to the same “cure songs.” I’m not sure anyone would ever want to write a song that literally counteracts catchiness, but it seems that some pretty famous musicians have done just that.

Out of the suggestions … Read More → "Science identified “cure songs” to get songs unstuck from your brain"

Facebook, one of the primary backers of the Internet.org initiative, which aims to bring affordable Internet access to the 5 billion people in the world who still lack connectivity, is in talks with a company that could help further that agenda. TechCrunch is hearing that Facebook is buying Titan Aerospace, makers of near-orbital, solar-powered drones which can fly for five years without needing to land. According to a source with access to information about … Read More → "Facebook looking into buying drone maker Titan Aerospace"

At McSweeney’s, Captain Ariel Karlin writes of her great dilemma. We all grow up with images of space captains sending their enemies out airlocks in quick but bloody deaths. But we never expect to end up doing exactly what they did:

Listen, I know how this looks. I always said I wasn’t going to … Read More → "You never think you’re going to be the type of space captain to throw someone out the airlock"

When my friend Josh turned 35 last week, a coworker organized a small surprise party at the end of the day. We all gathered in one of the offices, sent Josh an email about a “meeting,” and yelled “surprise!” as he came in. We handed him a Great Lakes IPA, and it was all thoughtful and fun.

That is, until a coworker, Lauren, felt compelled to say those five dreaded words: “Should we sing happy birthday?”

The group froze. The idea floated uncomfortably in the ether, like public flatulence … Read More → "Why we should stop singing the Happy Birthday song"

A laser beam can alter a fly’s behavior and make it mate with just about anything — even a ball of wax, according to scientists at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. The researchers have developed an experiment which involves shining an infrared laser directly at the head of a fly whose brain has been altered using heat-activated proteins. This … Read More → "Scientists can now control flies’ brains with lasers"

Of all the technologies to have emerged from the digital renaissance, additive manufacturing (3D printing) has the potential to be the most disruptive. Yet another example of how the world of manufacturing will change will be displayed at the Geneva Motor Show this week when EDAG, the world’s largest independent engineering partner to the international mobility industry, displays an example of a printed automobile. The Genesis is more a conceptual sculpture than … Read More → "EDAG’s Genesis: The 3D printed car of the future"

Scientists have now identified yet another giant virus, this time using a technique that sounds like it’s straight out of a sci-fi horror flick: they thawed some 30,000-year-old permafrost and allowed any viruses present to infect some cells. Fortunately, the cells were amoebas, and this virus is overwhelmingly unlikely to present a threat to human health. But the fact that viruses could apparently survive so many centuries in the Siberian permafrost does … Read More → "Scientists revive largest virus yet from 30,000-year-old permafrost"

Perhaps you’ve seen footage from National Geographic’s “Crittercam,” an underwater video camera that has been attached to animals such as sharks and whales. Well, scientists from the University of Hawai?i at M?noa and the University of Tokyo have gone one better. Not only have they been putting cameras on sharks to see what they get up to, but they’ve also been slipping them ingestible sensors, to monitor their dietary habits. … Read More → "Sharks help scientists and themselves, by wearing cameras and swallowing sensors"

Some parents take the carrot approach to homework enforcement, others the stick.

This is the best carrot I’ve ever seen. Some world-class parenting skills are on display right here.
via Raspberry Pi

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Thanks Scott!& … Read More → "Mission control desk"

Yes, this is a super-charged chandelier constructed with 60 plain old, garden-variety pickles as bulbs. It crackles. It spits. It smells like burnt vinegar—and it uses enough power to illuminate a city block.
via Gizmodo