If you think that 3D printing is just a fad, or that it’s too specialized of a technology to truly make a different in the market in the long run, then you might want to check out the latest report from Global Industry Analysts, which projects that the 3D printing business will reach nearly $3 billion ($2.99 billion) by the year 2018. The US will be the biggest chunk of that market.
via Read More → "3D printing market to hit $3 billion by 2018"

In a space agency filled with trailblazers, Sally K. Ride was a pioneer of a different sort. The soft-spoken California physicist broke the gender barrier 29 years ago when she rode to orbit aboard space shuttle Challenger to become America’s first woman in space.

“Sally Ride broke barriers with grace and professionalism – and literally changed the face of America’s space program,” said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. “The nation has lost one of its finest leaders, teachers and explorers. Our thoughts and prayers are with Sally’s family and the … Read More → "NASA offers condolences on the passing of pioneering astronaut Sally Ride"

NASA’s inflatable heat shield took another big step forward early this morning when its Inflatable Reentry Vehicle Experiment (IRVE-3) came screaming through the atmosphere and splashed down in the Atlantic after spending 15 minutes undergoing the intense heat and pressure of atmospheric reentry. Launched from Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, the IRVE-3 mission further demonstrated that an inflatable heat shield can protect a space capsule as it enters the atmosphere at hypersonic speeds.
via Popular Science

When we think of the world of science, we often imagine white lab coats and sterile instruments, where everything is perfectly measured, monitored and executed. After all, scientists are supposed to be the smartest of us all. It’s easy to assume they aren’t plagued by stupidity and clumsiness like the rest of us. But even scientists make mistakes. Unfortunately for them, their screw-ups tend to have more serious ramifications than ours.
via Mental Floss</ … Read More → "5 scientist screw-ups to remember the next time you bungle something"

Talk about helicopter parenting. It’s one thing to do your children’s homework for them. But when you decide to take matters into your own hands and change their grades yourself, well, that’s when law enforcement gets involved.

A Pennsylvania woman faces six felony charges for doing just that. Catherine Venusto, 45, hacked into the Northwestern Lehigh School District computer system and altered the grades of her two children, ABC News reports. Venusto had worked at the district as an administrative office secretary from 2008 through April, 2011. A year before she quit, … Read More → "Mom hacks into school computer system, changes her kids’ grades"

It’s easy to get caught up in what’s new in smartphones — novel applications of near field communication, their potential as detectors of environmental pollutants — but it’s also useful to occasionally look back on what they’ve granted us already. Indeed, a recent survey found that, at least in the UK, 4 in 10 smartphone users said their phone was “more important for accessing the Internet than any other device.”

If you spent enough time in the dark ages before they were ubiquitous, you’ve probably got a sense of the sheer number … Read More → "A surprisingly long list of everything smartphones replaced"

… Read More → "Spectacular night view of Earth captured by NASA"

Usually it’s a problem when you can’t remember a password. But in this particular case, it’s by design. A new security technique mashes up cryptography with neuroscience to create passwords that are stored in users’ brains but cannot be recalled, recited, or otherwise extracted by another party.

The system is based on an idea known as implicit … Read More → "Neurosecurity lets you store a password in your brain without remembering it"

Mark Reblias knew as a photographer going to the Olympics that he would have to bring his A-game. Trying to get the best shot against some of the other top sports shooters in the world is one thing, but competing against robots, well, that’s just unsportsmanlike conduct.

At this year’s Olympic games, Reuters, in addition to its army of traditional photographers, will have 11 robots set up in places no shooter would otherwise be able to get. Photographers like Reblias are used to fixed remote-operated camera systems grabbing otherwise difficult shots. However, what … Read More → "Robo-cams at the Olympic Games make human photographers sweat"