#43: Next-Level Quantum Spookiness
Photons instantaneously send signals over 11 miles. Einstein remains perplexed.
#50: Confirmed: 1969 Meteorite Brought Genetic Building Blocks From Space
More evidence that asteroids may have led to the emergence of life on earth.
#51: Physicists Build the World’s Smallest Transistor
The tiny device measures an astonishing 10 atoms by 1 atom. (note from neko: that’s ten ‘cubic’ atoms – or about 40 cubic angstoms, or 4 cubic nanometers – will vary slightly depending on the atoms in question, of course)
#56: Memory Training Can Make You Smarter
Your intelligence isn’t just what you’re born with.
#58: Smart People Are Better Able to Keep a Beat
Good neural functioning is good neural functioning. (note from neko: this is the shit, glad I took up music, gonna have to learn percussion)
#62: Researchers Discover Why Wound-Licking Works
Compounds in saliva actually do speed healing.
#65: Long-Prophesied Circuit Element Could Revolutionize Computing
Instant booting and decreased power consumption may soon be realities with the new “memristor.”
#68: Solved: The Mystery of Gravity-Defying Sap
One synthetic tree accomplishes what loads of scientists never could. (note from neko: moisture farming here we come)
#69: Physicists Create a Perfect Place to Store Electricity
New “superinsulator” can hold a charge forever without leakage
#70: A Single Electron Is Caught on Film
Scientists make one of the world’s most remarkable movies. (note from neko: best scientist quote of last year “We don’t know exactly what we’ll use it for,” he says. “We push the limits because the limits are there to be pushed.”)
#71: Slime Molds Show Surprising Degree of Intelligence
A creature with no brain can learn from and even anticipate events. (note from neko: mind isn’t A thing, it’s many things acting together synergistically)
#77: X-Rays Reveal Ship-Wreckage to Be 2,000-Year-Old Astronomy Computer
The Antikythera Mechanism tracked heavenly movements like clockwork. (note from neko: I’m pretty sure the Antikythera mechanism is my favorite ancient mechanism)
#80: Invented: Self-Healing Rubber Made From Vegetable Oil and Pee Ingredient
Hydrogen bonds let ripped material re-form. (note from neko: can’t wait until this puts and end to flat tires due to puncture. Just wait a minute or two, pump back up and ride off)
#81: Smart-Matter Robots Reassemble Themselves
Like the Terminator T-1000, these robots can fix themselves after being scattered. (note from neko: Hey rachetcat, shades of Accelerando? they’re calling it a ‘smart matter’ robot)
#83: Bulletproof Paper Is Stronger Than Kevlar
New nanopaper is not only super-strong, but made from renewable materials. (note from neko: in the 90s W. Gibson novel Virtual Light a bike messenger had a bike made out of paper, guess he was right again. Oh, and this stuff is cheap, made out of the most plentiful natural polymer on the planet, and can be made in a blender with some enzymes – it forms itself into this stuff when pressed to form paper, just like regular paper)
#86: You, Too, Have a Photographic Memory
When put to the test, your brain remembers images with astonishing accuracy. (note from neko: I never ‘study’ for tests (I listen and write down stuff I don’t yet know in class, sometimes I take notes while reading books), and am a consistent B or higher student. And everything I’ve read in these articles today just leads me to believe that excessive studying and cramming just makes you suffer and stress unnecessarily)
There ya have it folx. Have fun! This shit should keep you busy for an hour or so.
Damn, didn’t realize all those links were to the “top 100 list” instead of individual articles. I have since licked my wounds and fixed things. Sorry about that ya’ll, and if I missed something (i.e. another link goes to the same page as the first one) let me know and I’ll fix it.