-
io9TrailersBliss Looks Like The Matrix on Vacation
From now until eternity, anytime anyone makes a movie about humans potentially living in a simulation, comparisons to The Matrix are inevitable. Such is the case with Bliss, which stars Owen Wilson and Salma Hayek. Its premise is sort of like The Matrix, but if The Matrix were a way more pleasant place to be. … Continued
-
Tech NewsGuy Uses Physics and Computer Simulations to Design a Never-Miss Basketball Hoop
Does it really take years of practice and dedication on the basketball court to compete with the talents of NBA players? Apparently not. All you need is some basic knowledge of physics, access to computer simulation software, and enough tools to build a curved backboard that directs every shot through the hoop. It’s a creation … Continued
-
ScienceSpace & SpaceflightRidiculously Detailed Apollo 15 Simulator Could Help Us Return to the Moon
Scientists at the European Space Agency are using a powerful new simulator to relive the Apollo 15 mission in excruciating detail. By revisiting this and other missions, the researchers are seeing old data with new eyes, and the exercise will also help in the planning of future missions. Developed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the … Continued
-
ScienceHealthWe’re Not Ready for the Next Pandemic
If the seeds of a pandemic illness were planted tomorrow, how would the world fare? Well, according to a simulation carried out on Friday by Johns Hopkins University, the answer is: terribly. At a hotel near New York City’s Central Park, the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security hosted a pandemic exercise dubbed Event 201. … Continued
By Ed Cara -
ScienceSpace & SpaceflightBreathtaking Simulation Recreates Neil Armstrong’s View of the Apollo 11 Landing
Choppy video taken by a camera next to Buzz Aldrin’s window is the only visual record we have of the first Moon landing. Using archival data and new high-res images, a team from NASA has recreated the Apollo 11 landing, showing Neil Armstrong’s perspective for the very first time. The visual record of the Apollo 11 … Continued
-
ScienceBiologyRunning Dinosaur Robot Reveals a Possible Way Dinos May Have Evolved Flight
Using robotic and animal models, researchers have shown that some dinosaurs were already flapping their rudimentary wings as a side effect of running, prior to evolving the ability to fly. The finding offers a unique perspective on the origins of flight, but experts say more evidence is needed. New research published today in PLOS Computational … Continued
-
ScienceBiologyFascinating Experiment Uses a Robot to Recreate the Walking Style of an Early Land Dweller
Using computer simulations and a robot, researchers have recreated the likely gait of a 300-million-year-old animal considered to be among the planet’s earliest terrestrial walkers. Hundreds of millions of years ago, aquatic animals began transitioning to land. But how did the world’s first quadrupedal vertebrates walk? The question sounds simple enough, but no one was … Continued
-
ScienceSpace & Spaceflight
Black Holes Might Temporarily Bring Dead Stars Back to Life
What happens when a dead star meets a black hole? The answer appears to be a brief zombie awakening, according to a new paper. Let me explain. A team of scientists was interested in how white dwarfs—small, dense objects thought to form when bigger stars run out of fuel—interact around black holes weighing between one … Continued
-
io9Watch 20,000 Jedi Battle 20,000 Sith to Finally Decide Who Rules the Galaxy
Cameos from aging, check-cashing celebrities who helped make the original Star Wars trilogy great have made it especially challenging for fans working hard to convince themselves the recent Star Wars sequels were anything other than a disappointment. Disney and Lucasfilm should really just give us two hours of over-the-top Sith vs. Jedi battles like this. … Continued
-
Tech News
It Costs Seven Cents to Make a Nickel, So the U.S. Mint Had a Computer Simulate Cheaper Coins
As the value of precious metals fluctuates over time, the U.S. Mint has to constantly find new ways to keep currency manufacturing affordable. A five-cent nickel that costs as much as seven cents to make is a problem, but so is a coin that suddenly looks and feels different because its metallurgic ingredients were changed. … Continued
-
io9Star Wars’ Ships Have Terrible Aerodynamic Designs
When you’re flying around in space, where there’s no air or wind resistance, aerodynamics aren’t important. That’s why the Star Trek Borg ship is just a giant cube and still works just fine. But when ships are also visiting planets with atmospheres, aerodynamics do come into play—and apparently neither the Rebels nor the Empire in … Continued
-
ScienceSpace & SpaceflightIncredible New Universe Simulation Is the Most Advanced of Its Kind
We’re probably not living in a computer simulation, despite some people’s insistence to the contrary. But that doesn’t mean we can’t create our own awe-inspiring simulations of the universe. Physicists from across the world have released an advanced new universe-scale simulation called IllustrisTNG, perhaps the most sophisticated of its kind. It’s unlikely you’re in the … Continued
-
Tech NewsBleak New Game Trains Teachers How to Survive School Shootings
The essence of virtual reality’s appeal is immersing yourself in a role you normally wouldn’t or couldn’t in real life. Close your eyes and suddenly you’re a viking or a detective dressed as a bat. But, in our somber reality, teachers across the country may soon find themselves forced into virtual roles they never chose … Continued
-
Tech NewsSploidA Computer Randomly Generated These Nebulae That Look More Spectacular Than Hubble Images
Unless we find a way to travel infinitely faster than the speed of light, there’s no way you’ll ever see the farthest reaches of the galaxy in person. But that harsh reality is made somewhat easier to digest thanks to this short film by Teun van der Zalm, featuring fly-bys of computer-generated nebulae that even … Continued
-
Tech NewsThis Star Wars-Inspired Simulation of Human Reproduction Is Awesome
The microscopic processes involved in human fertilization are a difficult thing to convey visually, but a group of scientists, using Star Wars as their inspiration, have managed to do just that, creating a highly entertaining and informative video—while accidentally stumbling upon a new scientific discovery in the process. The three-minute video called “The Beginning” was … Continued
