The caterpillar zombies are coming!
Think that zombies are just fiction? Not for caterpillars, it isn’t: there’s actually a virus that can turn healthy caterpillars into zombies.
The biology of the disease is quite fascinating as researchers found that all the virus had to do is modify a single gene in the caterpillar’s genome to turn it into a zombie..
Continue reading… “Virus turns caterpillars into zombies using a single gene”
Wouldn’t it be more fun if every 100th egg came with a surprise creature inside?
“Anyone who goes to a psychiatrist ought to have his head examined.” – – Samuel Goldwyn
Continue reading… “Top 10 Photos of the Week”
Remember this day, friends. Remember when the cyborg beetles early first took flight in our labs and flew right into their world domination destiny. Look! Even now one of the brood is stealing a quarter, no doubt for financing purposes.
But total world domination won’t happen just yet. First, their human scientist handlers must perfect the way that the tiny piezolectric generators implanted on their backs create energy using nothing but the insect’s own wing flaps.
How’s it going so far? Pretty good for the beetles, reports Discover…
Continue reading… “Cyborg Beetles powered by a wing and a piezoelectric prayer”
Love bug salad
Would you like a bowl of scorpion soup? How about a mixed locust salad with bee crème brûlée for dessert?
Playing poker is really a thing of beauty… well, maybe not
Continue reading… “Top 10 Photos of the Week”
Las Vegas has seen its share of heavy construction equipment as it bulldozed its way through one giant casino project after another. But with the recession having gutted the construction industry, excavators and bulldozers near the Strip are being put to use as toys for thrill-seeking visitors. (Pics)
Continue reading… “Life-sized sandbox for thrill-seeking adults in Las Vegas”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2HoZ4cU1r4&hd=1 [/youtube]
There’s nothing better than sitting on the beach, watching the surfers tear it up except for sitting on the beach and watching the surfers light it up.
Continue reading… “Flare surfing – the hottest thing on water”
According to Marc Abrahams, the founder of the Ig Nobel Prize and the Annals of Improbable Research, some Korean businessmen own special suits that emit a pleasant aroma when rubbed. These suits allow the owners to remain fresh after very long days at work and play. Here’s Abrahams demonstrating the effectiveness of his peppermint-scented suit to a test subject.
Continue reading… “Scratch & Sniff business suit”
Confusion arises in the city for songbirds.
Noise pollution from humans is guilty of many things — causing whales to lose their way, killing giant squid, leading baby fish away from good habitat, and generally stressing out animals. But while we know noise pollution in the oceans is causing whales to yell their songs, scientists have only just discovered that it is also causing birds to change their tune — and it seems to lead to a problem with fidelity and mate selection.
Researchers have discovered that noise from roads and highways has caused some birds, including the Great Tit to change their songs to a higher pitch so that they can be heard over the din. However, the change makes them less attractive to mates…
Continue reading… “Noise pollution causing songbirds to cheat on each other”
Scott Beale says: “Cornell Creative Machines Lab wanted to see what would happend if two Cleverbot AI ChatBots had a conversation with each other.”
I think I’ve just seen the beginning of the end…
Continue reading… “Two AI chatBots attempt to have a conversation with each other”
Marketing can make you or break you.
We’ve all heard a marketing campaign at some point and thought, “that is just stupid,” but most bad advertising strategies just result in a few less sales than a successful campaign would have brought in. Sometimes though, a company will run a campaign that’s so idiotic that the company ends up losing thousands, if not millions of dollars. Take, for example, the Silo marketing campaign that said customers could get a new stereo for only “299 bananas.” When customers started actually showing up with bundles of bananas, the store had no choice but to give them stereos in exchange for fruit…
Continue reading… “5 idiotic marketing disasters”
The first image of an electron’s path.
It was only two years ago that IBM showed us an image of a complete molecule, atomic bonds and all, but today’s news does that one infinitesimally-sized breakthrough better. Ladies and gents, behold the first image of an electron’s path.
Utterly amazing stuff! The IBM breakthrough was amazing enough, but now we have images of the electron’s orbital path around a nucleus! This is good, good news, because until now physicists only had models and hypotheses to work with…
Continue reading… “Fascinating first-ever images of an electron in orbit”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.