… Read More → "Laser sensors automatically fertilize crops that need it most"

Flying insects are a pain this time of year, but Harvard researchers couldn’t be happier about the bug buzzing around their lab. A study published in Science today announced the world’s first controlled flight of an insect-size robot, the result of a decade-long project by the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences … Read More → "Robotic housefly buzzes to life"

Several years ago, the FOSE trade show hosted a panel on accessibility in government IT. One question in particular stuck with me to this day: A blind gentleman asked the panelist from Research In Motion (now BlackBerry) when they would put out a BlackBerry for the blind. Of course, back then no one had a good answer for him, even though the question got a near-standing-ovation from the audience.

Well, that question may soon … Read More → "World’s first Braille smart phone will soon be a reality"

A Czech Republic company says it has found an abundant, long-term source of energy in South Texas to help European utilities produce electricity.

The energy source has nothing to do with the Eagle Ford Shale.

The source is the hated mesquite wood.

“We looked all over the world for a stable and big source of biomass. We found the source in Texas,” Zdenek Mayer said. He’s business director and CEO for GreenHeart Energy LLC, the Texas division of GreenHeart Energy, based in Duchcov, Czech Republic.

… Read More → "Europe finds energy source in South Texas mesquite"

The traditional view is that words can’t survive for more than 8,000 to 9,000 years. Evolution, linguistic “weathering” and the adoption of replacements from other languages eventually drive ancient words to extinction, just like the dinosaurs of the Jurassic era.

A new study, however, suggests that’s not always true.

A team of researchers has come up with a list of two … Read More → "Linguists identify 15,000-year-old ‘ultraconserved words’"

Instructables member cunning_fellow’s cleverly named Asteroid Belt features a playable version of the classic Atari video game Asteroids.
via Neatorama

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This is a video of a drop of liquid mercury reacting to different audio frequencies. Sometimes it makes a blob, sometimes it makes a doughnut, and sometimes a starfish.
via Geekologie

… Read More → "Mercury reacts To different sound frequencies (video)"

… Read More → "Time-lapse video of a journey through the Antarctic on an icebreaker"

They say cheaters never prosper, but those people obviously never managed to score an A+ by looking at someone else’s exam. So if you’re having a bit of a rough time mastering your multiplication tables, just grab a pair of these Cheat Feet socks and don’t sweat your next test.
via Gizmodo

Read More → "Breeze through grade school with multiplication cheat sheet socks"

A group of students hailing from Estonia are about to do something remarkable. Well, two things really. They are about to launch what will be their nation’s first satellite into orbit. (A fantastic milestone in and of itself.) But what the satellite is theoretically capable of doing is just as important.

The small, cube-like satellite — fittingly named ESTCube-1 — aims to sail upon the currents of … Read More → "Lassoing solar wind with an electric tether"