Randy Olson, a researcher at University of Pennsylvania Institute for Biomedical Informatics, has taken his genetic algorithm previously used to find Waldo, and has applied it U.S. National Parks. In August, the National Parks Service is celebrating their 100th year, and Olson has calculated the optimal route to hit every single park in one monster road trip.</ … Read More → "The optimal route for visiting every U.S. National Park"

Both Alphabet and Amazon have committed to developing autonomous drones that can deliver packages with minimal human oversight. Unfortunately for the tech giants, the Federal Aviation Administration does not currently allow drones in the US to operate without a human pilot or beyond that pilot’s line of sight. Until today, most research, development, and testing on these projects had taken place … Read More → "Alphabet will begin testing its delivery drones inside the US"

Tokyo-based Masayoshi Matsumoto takes “balloon animals” out of backyard parties and into the colorful arena that falls between highbrow craft and art. The 27-year-old balloon-artist, who studied at Tokyo Institute of Technology, uses the same techniques that party clowns use – bending, twisting and tucking balloons into animals and other fun shapes – but he uses dozens at a time and ends up with stunning rubber sculptures that would easily fit in … Read More → "Amazing “balloon animals” – not seen at your ordinary kids party"

Traveling deeper into space may carry some unanticipated health risks. Scientists have published a study noting that Apollo astronauts have died of heart disease at an unusually high rate — of the 7 that passed away during the study, 43 percent fell to cardiovascular conditions. Only 11 percent of those deceased astronauts who stopped at low Earth orbit succumbed to heart disease, which is about on par with the 9 percent rate on the ground. There’ … Read More → "Deep space travel might play havoc with your heart"

If there’s something you want to know about dinosaurs, now’s your chance to ask one directly. According to FastCo Design, National Geographic Kids and +rehabstudio recently partnered to created Tina, a Tyrannosaurus Rex chatbot who uses artificial intelligence to answer questions about herself through Facebook’s messaging interface.

When the chat window … Read More → "T. Rex chatbot answers all of your pressing dino questions"

On July 30th skydiver Luke Aikins successfully jumped out of plane at 25,000 feet without using a parachute. He landed on a special 10,000 square foot net in the California desert that captured him falling without injury. The stunt, called “Heaven Sent”, set a new world record.
via Read More → "Skydiver Luke Aikins becomes first person to jump 25,000 feet from a plane without parachute"

Had one too many to drink and need to know if you’re OK to drive home? You might one day be able to stick an electronic tattoo on your arm to tell you. Researchers have made a disposable tattoo-based device that can accurately measure alcohol levels in sweat and relay the results wirelessly to your phone or smart watch.
via Read More → "Temporary tattoo keeps tabs on alcohol intake"

Ocean explorers on the E/V Nautilus expedition for the Ocean Exploration Trust have discovered a mysterious purple orb in the waters around the Channel Islands. The team was unable to identify the orb, but they collected it for further study, though … Read More → "Ocean explorers discover a mysterious purple orb that could be a new species"

As air pollution becomes a bigger concern in communities around the globe, creative ways to detect it are beginning to proliferate. We’ve seen smartphone sensors proposed, as well as portable personal pollution monitors and even backpack-wearing, pollution-monitoring pigeons. Now, a designer out of New York City has released a line of shirts that change to solid black … Read More → "Pattern-changing shirts react to pollution and radiation"

Sunscreen is invisible once you rub it in, so you typically only discover you’ve missed a spot after developing an awkward-looking sunburn. Sunscreenr—a new pocket-sized gadget—wants to save you from this painful fate, Mashable reports.

Developed by Voxelight, a light-based technology startup, the tiny camera lets … Read More → "Pocket-sized gadget shows if you’ve evenly applied sunscreen"