If you happen to be anywhere near the coastal town of La Teste-de-Buch in France, you will see an astonishing sight - One that may make you think you are in the Sahara Desert rather than the middle of Europe - A giant sand dune!
Read news articleIf you happen to be anywhere near the coastal town of La Teste-de-Buch in France, you will see an astonishing sight - One that may make you think you are in the Sahara Desert rather than the middle of Europe - A giant sand dune!
Read news articleOn Wednesday, May 1st, 2013, a group of nanophysicists from tech giant IBM unveiled their first production - A Boy And His Atom. However, the one-minute blockbuster that has already won the Guinness World Record Award for the smallest stop-motion film, is not an attempt by the tech company to get into the movie business, but a way to showcase future technology and more importantly, get young kids interested in a future in science, by demonstrating how fun it can be.
Read news articleThe fact that plants do not live a passive life has been known for sometime now. In 2012, a team of researchers led by Professor Nick Smirnoff from The University of Exeter, was able to visually prove that they communicate with each other and now two totally separate research studies reveal that these silent communicators may actually be 'talking' to each other and us!
Read news articleIn the wild, lions, tigers and striped hyenas are fierce competitors, all seeking out the same prey and often even stealing each other's kills! But don't tell that to these five youngsters who believe that they were born to be best of friends.
Read news articleMay is National Inventors Month, which means it's time to celebrate the innovators, tinkerers and creative thinkers that have enhanced our quality of life with their brilliant ideas. We would like to pay homage to each and everyone of them but alas, there are simply too many. So here are a few, whose inventions, ideas and vision impact most of us, on a daily basis.
Read news articleWhat can you balance on a mere feather? Hardly anything, unless it is in the expert hands of Maedir Eugster. The balance artist recently used one as a base for an entire kinetic sculpture, comprising of 15 bare palm frond spines all arranged masterfully, atop each other.
Read news articleUnless you are a vegetarian, the concept of a cafeteria with no meat, probably evokes images of broccoli (eww) and spinach (yuck). However, ask the kids at Active Learning Elementary School in Flushing, New York and they will tell you that it's much more than that. They would know because their school cafeteria offers only vegetarian food!
Read news articleCell phones have sure come a long way since the first 2.5 lb monster was unveiled just 40 years ago. Thanks to innovative companies like Apple Inc., we have evolved from keypad to touch-screen. But if you think that we are done with phone innovation, think again - Thanks to some Canadian inventors we may soon be swapping our rigid & thick (yes thick!), smart devices with flexible, paper-thin versions.
Read news articleHere's some great news for all of you that have constructed virtual worlds on Minecraft - You can now bring them to life in 3D, thanks to Printcraft, the world's first multiplayer Minecraft server that converts your intricate creations into STL files, ready for 3D printing.
Read news articleOn April 26th, 2013, 89 school and colleges teams from 23 US States, Puerto Rico, Canada, India, Germany, Russia and Mexico, gathered at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama to participate in NASA's Great Moonbuggy Race.
Read news articleGiven that most of the work is done by machines, doing laundry is relatively effortless. Yet, most people hate the chore with a passion, which is probably why this new shirt unveiled by American apparel company, Wool & Prince, is generating so much interest.
Read news articleHere's some news that may make those of you dreading the upcoming hurricane season, feel a tad better - Even Saturn gets hit with them! Except in the case of the ringed-planet, they are much bigger, more powerful and last indefinitely.
Read news articleAttention all comic book lovers! Saturday May 4th, 2013, is Free Comic Book Day! Yes, that means you can get one (or more) free comic book(s) by simply visiting a participating retailer. The best part is, that the occasion is not just celebrated in the USA, but also, Canada and many other countries around the world.
Read news articleWe have all become so reliant on YouTube for things ranging from tutorials to cooking tips and of course, entertainment, it appears as though the video-sharing site has been around forever. But believe it or not, it was just eight years ago, on April 23rd, 2005, that the first 20-second video was uploaded on this now popular destination.
Read news articleThe 40,000 piece hand-cut jigsaw puzzle that beautifully depicted the scenes from Queen's Royal Jubilee celebration was definitely a work fit for royalty . . . Until, it crumpled right before the eyes of its creator, 63-year-old Dave Evans.
Read news articleIt weighs less than air and is extremely strong, yet flexible enough to bounce back to its original shape, after being compressed. And, it does not float away either, because a 10cm×10cm×10cm cube does not displace 1000 cubic centimeters of air, since a lot of air stays in the pores of the 'sponge'. But best of all, it can absorb up to 250-500 times its own weight of oil at a rapid pace of 68.8 grams per second. This is not a material scientist's dream, but a description of the most recent 'lightest' solid created by a research team from China's Zheijang University.
Read news articleIt is a well-documented fact that humpback whales gather their prey by creating 'bubble nets'- that is, blow bubbles underwater to confuse shoals of fish and cause them to herd together, giving the whales a perfect opportunity to devour them in one gulp.
Read news articleThough there are about 400 languages from all over the world that are in danger of disappearing completely, Zoque-Ayapaneco, an indigenous Mexican language is considered the most likely to become extinct, because the only two people in the world that speak it fluently, do not talk to each other!
Read news articleOn Monday, April 22nd, 47 drooling, wrinkle-skinned bulldogs convened inside Drake University's athletic field house with one purpose in mind - To be crowned the 'World's Most Beautiful Bulldog', an honor that among other things, earns them the right to be the official mascot of the 104th Drake Relays - The nation's oldest and most prestigious track and field competition.
Read news articleOn February 8th 2013, scientists from European Space Agency (ESA) announced that their weather satellite that is equipped with an instrument specifically designed to sense ozone concentrations showed revealed the seasonal ozone 'hole' above the Antarctica had shrunk to record levels!
Read news articleCoral reefs are not just beautiful to look at, but also, extremely useful. Considered the marine equivalent of tropical rainforests, they cover only 2% of the ocean bottom but harbor almost 25% of all marine life. However, like many other species, this amazing ecosystem that has been around for five hundred million years is in danger of being eradicated completely, if something is not done soon.
Read news articleIf you have always dreamt of discovering a bottle with a message during one of your jaunts to the seashore, you are in luck - Because right about now, there is a ginormous bottle, one so large that it had to be registered and insured as a boat, floating around somewhere in our oceans, just waiting to be discovered.
Read news articleWith a population of over 1.2 billion, the South Asian country of India is not only the world's largest democracy, but also, the third largest economic power. It is therefore hard to believe that from 1850-1947, this powerhouse had been a British colony. Though there had been some isolated regional struggles for independence, it was a seemingly insignificant 'March To The Sea' protest organized 83 years ago by civil rights leader Mohandas Gandhi, that instigated a countrywide nationalist movement. This eventually, led to the birth of India as an independent nation.
Read news articleThough there are thousands of video games created and released each year, very few evoke the same nostalgic memories that Pac-Man, the first video game to go mainstream, seems to. For how else can you explain Michael Birken's quest to create this incredible stop motion video using just Post-It notes.
Read news article