Geek Out

You Can Buy An Over-The-Counter Paternity Test In New York

I’m sure other places have this already (ahem, the South) but Duane Reade, a pharmacy in New York, has just started selling an over-the-counter paternity test.


Science

Zinc Is Probably The Most Effective Cold Treatment Known To Medicine

The moment you’re semi-sure you’re getting a cold, get some zinc lozenges, and cut the length of coughing and sneezing days by 40 per cent. That’s the result of a meta-analysis of 15 different scientific studies.


February 15, 2011
Science

A STD Love Story: Gonorrhoea Takes A Piece Of Human DNA Forever

In the first instance of gene transfer between a human host and bacteria, Gonorrhoea was recently discovered to have a human DNA fragment. What the.. how the.. huh?


Science

The World’s Oldest Artificial Heart

In honour of Valentine’s Day, Gizmodo presents you with the Liotta-Cooley heart, the world’s first totally artificial blood pumper.


February 10, 2011
Science

A Drug That Makes You Violent, Then Peaceful Again

You control your urges for violence and sex using a tiny tangle of neurons located in a very ancient part of your brain. Now it turns out that this knot of nerves, located in the hypothalamus, can be controlled with a new gene therapy technique that uses flashes of light.


February 3, 2011
Science

The Skin Gun That Sprays New Skin On Burn Victims Is Real

The spray-on skin gun is simply amazing technology. It literally sprays new skin cells onto burn victims to regrow skin. Old methods like skin grafts take weeks and months to heal, the skin gun only needs a little over an hour.


January 25, 2011
Science

Guy Designs Own Heart Implant, 23 Other People Now Using It

It’s fantastic enough that a British engineer designed his own heart textile implant in 2004 when he realised it was better than an aortic valve replacement. But even cooler is that since then, 23 other people have had them implanted.


January 22, 2011
Science

Roger Ebert’s New Chin

A battle with cancer left film megacritic Roger Ebert without much of the lower half of his face. But he will appear on his new TV show looking quite like his old self. How? A meticulously sculpted prosthetic chin.


January 21, 2011
Science

Woman Speaks First Words In 10 Years After Voice-Box Transplant

Brenda Jensen is speaking again, after 10 years using an electronic voicebox, thanks to an ambitious larynx transplant. And before you ask – it’s her own voice, and not that of the larynx donor, even though that would be cool.


Science

Malaria Parasite’s Brutal Blood Cell Invasion Finally Caught On Video

The eerie video you’re about to watch captures the moment when a malaria parasite invades a human red blood cell – this is the first time that such an event has been caught in moving pictures.