Every Cliche and Gimmick in Sci-fi Movies Today Came From This One Book
Remember the hype surrounding Prometheus ahead of its release two months ago, and how quickly that faded when people realized it was yet another generic Hollywood sci-fi movie? Well, Cracked.com has revealed that every cliche and plot device we've grown to love and/or hate--and love to hate--came from one novel.
Edison's Conquest of Mars, written in 1898 by American author and astronomer Garrett P. Serviss, is that novel. It was an unauthorized "sequel" to H. G. Wells' seminal War of the Worlds--meaning it was written to cash in on the success of another piece of work, without consent. |  |
Why Physicists Say Everything We Know about Black Holes Is about to Change
In a series of Reviews and Perspectives currently featured in Science, the golden standard by which all hopeful science journals should measure themselves, expert astronomers are holding court over the accepted truths and credible speculations in regards to everything we know about black holes. Here's why all the scientific dogma we've been accumulating about them over the last forty years or so is about to be rocked to the core.
Some of the conversation between the leading astrophysicists concerned itself with what they believe would happen if two black holes were ever to collide (it wouldn't be pretty, but it would probably be beautiful to look at). |  |
By the Next Olympics, Athletes May Be Getting Routine Gene Doping Tests
Overabundant skepticism about genetic manipulation in sports may be as dangerous as the hype that heralded its arrival.
After Ye Shiwen shocked the Olympics with her performance in the 400 meter individual medley, swimming the last 50 meters faster than Ryan Lochte, the men's champion in the event, a long-time American coach ominously hinted that perhaps a new kind of performance enhancement had arrived on the athletic scene. "If there is something unusual going on in terms of genetic manipulation or something else, I would suspect over eight years science will move fast enough to catch it," John Leonard, the American executive director of the World Swimming Coaches Association, said. |  |
Has the Loch Ness monster finally been caught on camera?
Nessie hunter George Edwards waited 26 years for this moment - and he now believes he has the best picture ever taken of the Loch Ness monster.
He spends his life on the loch - around 60 hours a week - taking tourists out on his boat Nessie Hunter IV, and has led numerous Nessie hunts over the years. But this image is the one that's convinced him that there really is a monster or monsters - out there. It shows a mysterious dark hump moving in the water towards Urquhart Castle. |  |
Does this coin prove that Samson lived... and did he fight the lion?
A tiny seal has been uncovered that could be the first archaeological evidence of Samson, the Biblical slayer of Philistines.
Archaeologists discovered the ancient artifact while excavating the tell of Beit Shemesh in the Judaean Hills near Jerusalem, Israel. It appears to depict the Old Testament story of Samson, whose might was undone by his lust for the temptress Delilah, and his fight with a lion. The seal, which measures less than an inch in diameter, shows a large animal with a feline tail attacking a human figure. |  |
Fishing boat sinks same day as owner's burial
A shrimp boat sank this weekend while it was tied up at the wharf in St. John's, just hours before its owner was buried after a long battle with cancer, in an incident that the family describes as "spooky."
His son, also named Stan Bennett, said the circumstances — especially the timing — were bizarre. "She's been out in storms, the spring of the year and the fall of the year. Hurricanes. For her to sink tied up at the wharf, in the middle of the summer, the word of the day is spooky," Bennett told CBC News. |  |
Clive's going Jurassic with DNA
THE suggestion would be considered unbelievable - if it involved anyone other than Clive Palmer.
The controversial billionaire is rumoured to be planning to clone a dinosaur from DNA so he can set it free in a Jurassic Park-style area at his new Palmer Resort in Coolum.
Mr Palmer has, apparently, been in deep discussion with the people who successfully cloned Dolly the sheep to bring his dinosaur vision to life.
The controversial billionaire is rumoured to be planning to clone a dinosaur from DNA so he can set it free in a Jurassic Park-style area at his new Palmer Resort in Coolum.
Mr Palmer has, apparently, been in deep discussion with the people who successfully cloned Dolly the sheep to bring his dinosaur vision to life.
Harvard Study Finds Fluoride Lowers IQ - Publ. in Federal Gov't Journal
A surveillance device that uses WiFi radio waves has been devised to see through wHarvard University researchers' review of fluoride/brain studies concludes "our results support the possibility of adverse effects of fluoride exposures on children's neurodevelopment." It was published online July 20 in Environmental Health Perspectives, a US National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences' journal (1), reports the NYS Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation, Inc. (NYSCOF)
"The children in high fluoride areas had significantly lower IQ than those who lived in low fluoride areas," write Choi et al.
"The children in high fluoride areas had significantly lower IQ than those who lived in low fluoride areas," write Choi et al.
Insect spy drone flies, spies and injects poison
The US military is developing micro drones, according to RT.com.
Drones come in all shapes and sizes. Some rain hellfire from the sky, others buzz around your ear, masquerading as mosquitos. Back in 2007 the Telegraph reported the US had been accused of "secretly developing robotic insect spies." Government agencies admitted nothing at the time, but they're not gainsaying now. |  |
See-through-wall surveillance with WiFi shown at UCL
A surveillance device that uses WiFi radio waves has been devised to see through walls to detect, in military and surveillance parlance, moving personnel targets. The device serves as a radar prototype designed by two UK scientists at the University College London (UCL). The scientists devised the radar prototype as a way to track Wi-Fi signals in order to spy through walls. Their device identifies frequency changes to detect the moving objects. An important feature of their work is that since the device itself does not emit radio waves, it cannot be detected; it operates in stealth.
Seeing Mars through the eyes of a geologist
John Grotzinger is leading a march up a mountain near Death Valley, the rocks around him streaked red, brown and purple-gray.
The geologist has often brought staff members up here, away from the blinking control rooms and glaring light of test beds at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory about 250 miles to the southwest. Engineers who normally fiddle with electronics will smash rocks with geologists' hammers. Planetary scientists will practice tracking layers of rock to piece together the story of the land. |  |
Nasa's Curiosity rover on course for Mars landing
Nasa says the big robot rover it is sending to Mars looks in excellent shape for its Monday (GMT) landing.
The vehicle, known as Curiosity, was launched from Earth in November last year and is now nearing the end of a 570-million-km journey across space. To reach its intended touch-down zone in a deep equatorial crater, the machine must enter the atmosphere at a very precise point on the sky. Engineers told reporters on Thursday that they were close to a bulls-eye. |  |
How to watch the Mars rover landing
Excitement among space enthusiasts is growing as NASA prepares to land its Mars Science Laboratory robot Curiosity on the red planet this weekend.
The rover is expected to touch down on Mars at 1:31 a.m. ET Monday, and NASA will begin its coverage of the event at 11:30 p.m. ET Sunday. It will be streaming the landing live from mission control at the California Institute of Technology's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. |  |
Lasers, Cameras & Particle Detectors: Mars Rover’s Super Hi-Tech Science Gear
Assuming it safely passes through its terrifying and complex descent sequence, NASA’s newest rover, Curiosity, should get its wheels on the Martian surface in just two short days, at 10:32 p.m. Pacific on Aug. 5. The size of a small SUV, Curiosity is packed with 10 state-of-the-art instruments that will allow it to answer questions about Mars’ wet history, current atmosphere and climate, and the possibility of ancient or contemporary life.
Curiosity represents a scientific and engineering leap over the previous rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, and its nuclear-powered battery will allow it to rove day and night. Over the course of its two-year initial mission, the probe will climb up a 3-mile-high mountain in the middle of Gale Crater, poking, prodding, and drilling into the soil and rocks. |  |
Signs changing fast for Voyager at solar system edge
Two of three key signs of changes expected to occur at the boundary of interstellar space have changed faster than at any other time in the last seven years, according to new data from NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft.
For the last seven years, Voyager 1 has been exploring the outer layer of the bubble of charged particles the sun blows around itself. In one day, on July 28, data from Voyager 1's cosmic ray instrument showed the level of high-energy cosmic rays originating from outside our solar system jumped by five percent. During the last half of that same day, the level of lower-energy particles originating from inside our solar system dropped by half. However, in three days, the levels had recovered to near their previous levels. |  |
Grow 10,000 heads of lettuce in your parking spot
Want a steady supply of veggies on a crowded, warming planet? Then ditch your car and invest in a parking-spot sized hydroponic cube that can grow 10,000 heads of lettuce per year.
With an initial cost between about $70,000 and $100,000, Daiwa House Industry’s Agri-cube is unlikely to solve any looming food crises in the developing world.
But it is a piece of technology similar to the vertical farms concept to consider when thinking about the food needs of a species increasingly packing into the world’s megacities.
With an initial cost between about $70,000 and $100,000, Daiwa House Industry’s Agri-cube is unlikely to solve any looming food crises in the developing world.
But it is a piece of technology similar to the vertical farms concept to consider when thinking about the food needs of a species increasingly packing into the world’s megacities.
Video: The Hidden Environmental Costs of Hamburgers
Americans love hamburgers — we each eat an average of three a week. But what are the hidden costs?
It turns out that industrial beef creates about as much greenhouse gas pollution as cars, planes and other forms of transport. It also takes a heavy environmental toll on land and water worldwide. How can we reduce our impact?
Learn more in this animated short from the Center for Investigative Reporting.
It turns out that industrial beef creates about as much greenhouse gas pollution as cars, planes and other forms of transport. It also takes a heavy environmental toll on land and water worldwide. How can we reduce our impact?
Learn more in this animated short from the Center for Investigative Reporting.
Despite Extreme Melt, Signs of Hope Emerge for Greenland Ice
One of the primary forces behind climate change-driven sea level rise is the Greenland Ice Sheet. Covering 80 percent of Greenland, it’s the world’s second-largest chunk of ice (after the Antarctic Ice Sheet) and dumps 240 billion tons of fresh water into the oceans every year, accounting for a full fifth of annual sea level rise.
climate_desk_bugAnd in recent years it’s been melting faster than ever, enough to make it a primary target of the IPCC, which has tapped teams of scientists to see what the full effect of the increased melting could be. Some reports say the rise worldwide from a disappearing Greenland Ice Sheet could be as much as a meter, enough to wreak havoc on places like New York City and low-lying Palau. But a study out this week in Science paints a more optimistic picture: Even with global warming, the ice sheet may be able to slow its melting rate much faster than previously thought. |  |
Cheetah Sets New Land Speed Record, Beats Bolt by 4 Seconds
The fastest athlete this summer isn’t competing in London: She’s a cheetah at the Cincinnati Zoo.
The 11-year-old cheetah named Sarah ran 100 meters in 5.95 seconds, breaking her own record as fastest land mammal. In 2009, she ran it in 6.13 seconds. By comparison, the world’s fastest man, Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, has a top time of 9.58 seconds for that distance — almost four seconds slower than Sarah. The cheetah reached a top speed of 61 mph while chasing a furry dog toy on a course that was certified by the Road Running Technical Council of USA Track & Field. |  |
One (imaginary) race with every medalist ever
Based on the athletes’ average speeds, if every Olympic medalist ever raced each other, France’s Alain Bernard (from the 2008 Games) would win, with a wide distribution of Olympians behind him, including Wednesday's winner, Nathan Adrian. Below, where each swimmer would be when Bernard finishes his race.
Cloned Horses Coming to the Olympics?
This week at the London Olympics, a German horse called Sam rode off with the gold in the individual equestrian eventing final. His performance was stellar, and now we're left with a new question: Will breeders clone Sam in an attempt to re-create his ride?
In July 2012 the Féderation Equestre Internationale (FEI) lifted a ban on cloned horses and their progeny competing in the Olympic Games. Deep-pocketed breeders can now try their hand at copying a favorite horse to take a second shot at glory. But cloning isn't easy, it isn't cheap, and there are no guarantees that the clone will match the talent of the original.
In July 2012 the Féderation Equestre Internationale (FEI) lifted a ban on cloned horses and their progeny competing in the Olympic Games. Deep-pocketed breeders can now try their hand at copying a favorite horse to take a second shot at glory. But cloning isn't easy, it isn't cheap, and there are no guarantees that the clone will match the talent of the original.
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