These may not be Nike’s highly acclaimed Back to the Future kicks, but their power-lacing system is going to leave you impressed. Meet the Digital Sole, a pair of sneakers created by French company Zhor Tech, who has come up with a design that can be “laced up” (note: there are no laces) right from a smartphone. What’s more, Zhor Tech’s smart shoes are able to track your steps and … Read More → "You can use your smartphone to ‘lace up’ this sneaker"

Laurie Anderson, a performance artist, once had a marvelous dream: “I have this fantasy where I look out, and the whole audience is dogs.” 8 years ago, she did so outside of the famous Sydney Opera House. Now she’s bringing that experience to the dogs of New York City. Tonight at 11:30, she will perform music that only dogs will be able to hear. Joshua Barone writes for the New York Times:

Dogs and their owners are … Read More → "A musical concert for dogs"

Researchers at HRL Laboratories have developed a 3D printing technology designed to overcome the limitations of working with traditional ceramic processing. The process includes a resin formulation that once printed can be fired and converted into a ceramic that is harder, stronger and more compatible with ultra-high temperatures…

The process developed by the HRL team can create a ceramic material that is said to be ten times stronger than similar materials and can withstand temperatures … Read More → "New 3D printing technology creates stronger ceramics"

Four new elements have been permanently added to the periodic table, after their discoveries were verified by the global chemistry organization that oversees the table. The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) last week announced that elements 113, 115, 117, and 118 have met its criteria for discovery, making them the first elements to be added to the periodic table since 2011. Their addition also completes the seventh row of … Read More → "Four new elements have been added to the periodic table"

A group of researchers noticed something strange in certain scientific papers involving small rodents (like rats or mice): the number of animals reported at the start of an experiment often did not match the number of animals at the end. This can have a significant impact on experimental results, and yet it turns out to be surprisingly common. 

A new paper in PLOS Biology</ … Read More → "Rodents that go missing in scientific papers can skew results"

In the woods of Kyushu, Japan, a team of filmmakers built a massive xylophone running down a long, steady slope. They then rolled a wooden ball down the thing, striking each tuned bar only once, and it played Bach’s “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring.” (If you’re not familiar with the tune, here’s an orchestral performance.) This is truly impressive engineering, filmmaking, and music!

via Read More → "Playing Bach on a giant forest xylophone"

You could certainly be forgiven for thinking that the term “digital sundial” is simply an example of an oxymoron, not unlike “jumbo shrimp” or “deafening silence.” That hasn’t stopped French Thingiverse member Mojoptix from building one, however. It contains no electronics or moving parts, yet it still shows the time from 10:00 to 16:00 in a changing numerical display – with a little help from the sun.

First of all, there are indeed other digital sundials, although … Read More → "Digital sundial blends 3D-printing tech with ancient ingenuity"

Baker CharlotteSometimes showed off a cake that amazingly changed color as it spun around on a plate. Sometimes didn’t offer insight on how she made the cake, but former cake decorator Nyphetamine Blue explained in the comments, “this is not fake it is done by airbrushing the cake from opposite directions using different colors…”. Commentor Filmorth  … Read More → "An amazing cake frosting that changes color when viewed from different angles"

… Read More → "Six decades worth of space junk orbit Earth"

The dream of melding biological and man-made machinery is now a little more real with the announcement that Columbia Engineering researchers have successfully harnessed a chemical energy-producing biological process to power a solid state CMOS integrated circuit.

According to study lead professor Ken Shepard, this is the world’s first successful effort to isolate a biological process and use it to power an integrated circuit, much like the ones we use in phones and computers.
via < … Read More → "Scientists create world’s first biologically powered computer chip"