experiments
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DARPA Challenge: Find 10 Red Weather Balloons, Win $US40,000
12:11AM Danny Allen | To celebrate the Web’s 40th anniversary, DARPA wants to explore social networking’s role in time-critical communication. They will award $US40,000 cash to the first group who finds 10 2.4-metre weather balloons located at fixed locations around the US More »
Science
Fibre Optic Cable In Your Skull Can Reprogram Your Brain
8:30AM Jason Chen | Stanford scientists discover that by changing a mouse’s neurons to respond to light, they could use fiber optic cables to influence the mouse to do certain things. The trick is to insert plant genes into the brain first. More »
Science
Scientists Use Lasers To Create False Memories In Flies
10:30AM Dan Nosowitz | A team of researchers experimented with fruit flies and found that by genetically engineering some flies, they were able to give those flies the “memory” of pain that they never actually experienced. It’s kind of complicated and kind of creepy. More »
Science
Mighty Mouse Has One Less Gene, Lives 20% Longer
12:20PM Rosa Golijan | Sorry, Apple. Researchers have already created a mightier mouse: By deleting a single gene from a mouse’s genetic makeup, they’ve enabled it to suffer fewer age related ailments and live 20% longer. On humans, that’d be about 16 bonus years. More »
Science
So, This Is What Those High Voltage Danger Signs Mean
11:10PM Jesus Diaz | Remember kids, never plug your head in a high voltage capacitor. On the other side, watermelons are fine and fun. More »
Science
NASA Creates Anti-Gravity Field, Makes Lab Rats Levitate
2:00AM Jesus Diaz | NASA scientists have created an anti-gravity field that works at room temperature, which is a big Where’s My Back to the Future Skateboard breakthrough. The only problem is that it only works on mice. Mice high as kites, in fact. More »
Toys
Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Lab Lets You Play Dr. Manhattan for Radioactive Funsies
11:30AM Erica Ho | They don’t make toys like this anymore: why have an E-Z Bake Oven when I can have a U-238 Atomic Energy Lab and create my own Manhattan project in the backyard? (BAM! Emeril said it.)
Science
Homemade Experiments with Aerogel, the World’s Lightest Solid
10:10AM Gizmodo US Edition | Jason Wells got to toy around with a few blocks of Aerogel, the fantastically light (and fantastically expensive) material made famous by its use as insulation in NASA spacecraft like the Mars Rover. Using just everyday materials from his house, he managed to test the futuristic product’s strength, optical properties, reaction to different liquids and temperatures, and electrical conductivity. He concludes from the experiments that it should work really well as a fire retardant or insulation, as well as pulling moisture out of pretty much anything (including his finger!). Aerogel weighs only three times as much as air, but is even more effective than your everyday pink insulation. It may only be the world’s coolest insulation material, but are you the world’s coolest anything? Didn’t think so. [Jason Wells via Crunchgear]
Science
Plastic Motor Powered Directly By Light, No Solar Middleman Necessary
8:20AM Sean Fallon | Professor Tomiki Ikeda, along with his research team at the Tokyo Institute of Technology have developed a plastic motor that runs on direct light. Unlike solar power, there is no need for storing energy before conversion. The motor can achieve this feat thanks to a plastic compound containing azobenzene which contracts when exposed to ultraviolet light and returns to its original shape when exposed to visible light. By making this material into a belt and wrapping it around two wheels of different sizes, movement can be generated when the larger wheel is exposed to ultraviolet light and the smaller one to visible light. More »
Science
