RGS-14 protein
Imagine if you could look at something once and remember it forever. You would never have to ask for directions again. Now a group of scientists has isolated a protein that mega-boosts your ability to remember what you see.

Being terrified is infectious
The smell of fear really does exist, according to a new study, which also suggests that being terrified is infectious.  The study, conducted by Dr Bettina Pause and colleagues at the University of Dusseldorf in Germany, suggests that people subconsciously detect whether others are scared by picking up chemicals they release from [...]

Military-backed researchers have built a tiny drone that looks and flies like a hummingbird, flapping its little robotic wings to stay in the air. So far, the mock bird, built for Pentagon mad-science division Darpa, has only stayed aloft for 20 seconds at a time. But that short flight was enough to show the potential [...]

Producing hydrogen from urine
You do two things at motorway services: fill up one tank and empty another. US chemists have combined refuelling your car and relieving yourself by creating a new catalyst that can extract hydrogen from urine.

Overall Winner: The Swimming City — András Gyõrfi
The Seasteading Institute, committed to the ongoing development of ocean communities, has just announced the winners of their first annual design content. Could people really end up living in these hypothetical off-shore communities? (Pics)

Sony’s music player has beaten Dolby sound, compact discs and the ubiquitous iPod to come top of the list of “ten most important musical innovations of the last 50 years” published by T3 magazine. Its victory comes in the week that the Walkman celebrated its 30th birthday.
The first Walkman was the blue-and-silver model TPS-L2, which [...]

Fossils of three new species of dinosaurs have been discovered in Australia
Fossils of three new species of dinosaurs have been discovered in Australia, including a meat-eater larger than Velociraptor from the Jurassic Park movies, suggesting Australia may have a more complex prehistoric past.
 
 

The red is a thermal radius.
North Korea’s aiming their test missile near Hawaii. The US military says they can protect the islands, and locals aren’t too worried, but if something happens, the thermal, shockwave and radioactive fallout will look something like this.
 

Why Cry Baby Analyzer
When a new born baby arrives in to the world, the baby’s parents soon learn that they cry for various reasons that often you might not be aware of. This “Why Cry Baby Analyzer” is a monitoring device that sits next to your baby at night and analyizes why the baby is [...]

An aerial view of a patch of deforested jungle
More than 800 animal and plant species have gone extinct in the past five centuries with nearly 17,000 now threatened with extinction, the International Union for Conservation of Nature reported on Thursday.
 
 

Oops I dropped my iPod…
 Staff at a design and marketing company in Newcastle spent a day working together naked after being told it would improve their morale. David Taylor, a business psychologist, told workers at design and marketing onebestway, in Newcastle upon Tyne, that a Naked Friday idea would boost their team spirit.

(YouTube link)

Artist’s impression of the new source HLX-1
A new class of black hole, more than 500 times the mass of the Sun, has been discovered by an international team of astronomers.

How much light is reflected and how much is absorbed depends on two factors
It appears to be a paradox: ultra-thin material that absorbs all the incident light. Nonetheless, it does exist.

Mice fed on a diet high in polyunsaturated fatty acids can sprint faster
Between the 1932 and 2008 Olympic Games, world record times of the men’s 100m sprint improved by 0.6 seconds due to improved training techniques and technological advances. Imagine if this improvement could be achieved by a simple change in diet. Scientists at the [...]

The Transporter TW
With concept designers crafting their fantasies into a consumable form, we believe that the era of tomorrow would be completely different than present days. Harsha Vardhan, a car designer, thinks that apart from the cities, cars too would be completely different and powered by technologies no car manufacturer has tried till date. He [...]

The Mexican Free-tailed Bat (Tadarida brasiliensis) lives a very long life compared to closely related animals such as mice
Scientists from Texas are batty over a new discovery which could lead to the single most important medical breakthrough in human history—significantly longer lifespans. The discovery, featured on the cover of the July 2009 print issue of [...]

An illustration of a dust storm on Mars.
For the first time, direct evidence of lightning has been detected on Mars, say University of Michigan researchers who found signs of electrical discharges during dust storms on the Red Planet.

Sears Tower Skydeck 
The Sears Tower Skydeck opens its lure for thrill-seekers Thursday. It’s called the Ledge and it gives the illusion of standing on air a few feet outside the building, 103 stories off the ground. (Pics)
 

Salamander: superhero of regeneration
 The salamander is a superhero of regeneration, able to replace lost limbs, damaged lungs, sliced spinal cord — even bits of lopped-off brain. But it turns out that remarkable ability isn’t so mysterious after all — suggesting that researchers could learn how to replicate it in people.
 

According to study, shampoo destroys brain cells
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh say that a common chemical found in Shampoo and hand lotions, Methylisothiazoline, destroys brain cells and is a risk to unborn babies.
 
 

Maybe there is still hope for solving the
dead spots that separate communities
Vice President Joe Biden outlined a $4.7 billion loan and grant program Wednesday to develop the infrastructure needed to deliver broadband, or high-speed, Internet access to areas that are under served or without access.

 flowers show signs of evolution.
Scientists at UC Santa Barbara have zeroed in on the genes responsible for changing flower color, an area of research that began with Gregor Mendel’s studies of the garden pea in the 1850’s.

Desert Rhubarb 
Scientists have discovered the world’s first ’self-watering’ plant in Israel’s Negev desert – one of the driest regions on earth. The Desert Rhubarb can hold 16 times more water than its rivals and has developed a unique ability to effectively water itself in its barren habitat.