Transistors were one of the most revolutionary developments in modern computing. And that was without directly implanting them in our brains. Now, the first microscopic organic transistor arrays promise to let us do just that.

Developed by French scientists building off prototypes designed by the Cornell NanoScale Science and Technology Facility, these new flexible transistors can record brain activity with unparalleled accuracy.
via Read More → "These brain-hugging transistors will make real-life cyborgs"

Since humans are responsible for much of the damage to coral reefs, it makes sense that we should try and help repair them. That’s exactly what a team from the Herriot-Watt University’s Centre for Marine Biodiversity and Biotechnology is attempting to do with the development of underwater “coralbots.” Now anyone can add their support to this worthy effort with the launch of a Kickstarter campaign that will help make the robots … Read More → "Coral-repairing robots take a step closer to reality"

Thanks to plate tectonics, the United States is drifting west at about a centimeter per year. (The people who live there, on the other hand, are on average drifting west at about a centimeter per minute.)

There are 212,309,000 licensed drivers in the US, and since we have more cars than drivers, we can in theory get them all behind the wheel at once. The average car on … Read More → "If everybody in the US drove west, could we temporarily halt continental drift? (xkcd)"

From Public Policy Polling: “Do you believe that shape-shifting reptilian people control our world by taking on human form and gaining political power to manipulate our societies, or not?” 
Do 4% 
Do not 88% 
Not sure 7%
via Read More → "12 million Americans believe lizard people run the USA (and more data about conspiracy theories)"

This is the Duck Hunt themed pinball machine made by the folks at Skit-B Pinball. The game was modded from an old Williams Valiant machine and has a screen in the backglass that plays Duck Hunt animations in response to playfield targets.
via Geekologie

… Read More → "Custom Duck Hunt pinball machine (video)"

Ever wonder how the time travel theories in one movie line up with every other movie about time travel? Here’s a pretty great flowchart that susses out exactly which type of of temporal chaos a movie wreaks.
via Gizmodo

Read More → "A flow chart explaining all time travel in movies"

Flowers, cupcakes, tombstones and a giraffe are just a few of the objects scientists have coaxed materials into impersonating. Imaged through microscopes — and with the help of a little artistic license — complicated nanostructures can sometimes take on surprisingly familiar guises.

Since 2005, the Materials Research Society has hosted a Science as Art competition at both of its biannual meetings, challenging entrants to infuse a bit of creativity into the images of … Read More → "Science as art: nanoscale materials imitate everything from flowers to frost"

A few months ago, physicist Harold White stunned the aeronautics world when he announced that he and his team at NASA had begun work on the development of a faster-than-light warp drive. His proposed design, an ingenious re-imagining of an Alcubierre Drive, may eventually result in an engine that can transport a spacecraft to the nearest star in a matter of weeks — and all without violating Einstein’s law of relativity. We contacted … Read More → "How NASA might build its very first warp drive"

In 1971 , Russia put the first lander on Mars that survived its touchdown on the Red Planet, as Mars 3 was able to transmit data back from Mars to Earth — for a grand total of nearly 15 seconds. After that amazing quarter of a minute, Mars 3 went dark for unknown reasons, and was never heard from again, becoming lost to the annals of space exploration. Now, though, a group of Russian Mars enthusiasts working with recent … Read More → "Amateur astronomers may have found long lost Russian Mars lander"

Even though hovercraft have been around for over half a century, they still have an air of the future about them. They’re used in everything from sports to oil exploration, yet they still leave a lot to be desired in terms of ride and stability. Hoverworks of Parry Sound, Ontario hopes to improve matters with its AirRider hovercraft, which uses a hybrid hull and skirt design that combines the best of conventional … Read More → "AirRider hovercraft uses hybrid design"