Private military contractors wearing haptic vests in the show “Westworld.” Credit: HBO
Most of the HBO show “Westworld” focuses on artificial intelligence and android robots that seem indistinguishable from humans. But the show has also occasionally snuck in some real-world technology that seems futuristic enough to blend in with the science fiction setting. One example of such real technology in “Westworld” comes in the form of haptic vests t ...read more
A bluetongue skink in a classic anti-predator display. (Credit: Shane Black)
When most animals feel threatened, their responses can be divided into two general categories: fight or flight. Bluetongue skinks, though, buck the trend in a most unusual way — when attacked, they stick their tongues out.
Their tongues are bright blue, and the sudden flash of color can be just enough to give potential predators pause and allow the lizards to escape. Now researchers find these tongues don&r ...read more
A scene from the first episode of season 2 of the HBO show “Westworld.” Credit: HBO
One of many hats that neuroscientist David Eagleman wears in real life is science advisor for HBO’s science fiction show “Westworld.” The show takes place in a futuristic theme park staffed by robotic hosts who seemingly exist only to fulfill the dark and violent fantasies of wealthy human guests who want to indulge adventure and vice in a Western-style playground for adults. ...read more
(Credit: Viesturs Ozolins/Shutterstock)
We like to think, as humans, that our big brains separate us from the animals. Sure, we’re basically mobile meat just like them, but we can think. But the more we’ve learned about the other species out there, the more brainpower we’ve detected too.
Not only can some animals be trained and do tricks, but a few can communicate and even do simple math. An elite club can even understand the concept of zero, embodied nothingness: various pri ...read more
(Credit: thunderbrush)
Researchers at MIT have created a psychopath. They call him Norman. He’s a computer.
Actually, that’s not really right. Though the team calls Norman a psychopath (and the chilling lead graphic on their homepage certainly backs that up), what they’ve really created is a monster.
Tell Us What You See
Norman has just one task, and that’s looking at pictures and telling us what he thinks about them. For their case study, the researchers use Rorschach ...read more
Tumors, called fibropapillomatosis, on sea turtles are similar to human cancers. (Credit: Jen Zuber)
Hard shells. Tails. Flippers. Sea turtles differ from humans in many ways, but scientists recently discovered a genetic vulnerability shared by humans and these marine dwelling animals.
Wild animals are increasingly seeing new forms of disease emerge, further threatening vulnerable species like the sea turtle. And now it’s hit our flippered, shelly friends. First documented in Florida ...read more
An artist’s reconstruction of the 360 million-year-old Late Devonian world in which the first known polar tetrapods lived. Tutusius, right, eyes potential prey while Umzantsia, left, dives deeper into the brackish estuary the animals called home. All animals and plants shown have been found as fossils at the same South African site. (Credit: Maggie Newman)
Hey, tetrapod! Yeah, I’m talking to you. There’s a big update to the story of the earliest tetrapods — the first fou ...read more
A selfie of the Curiosity Rover taken on Vera Rubin Ridge. (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)
In a much-hyped press conference held on Thursday, NASA announced its Curiosity rover had uncovered new evidence of methane — a potential sign of life — as well as signs of organic compounds buried in ancient mudstone.
The space agency did not say it had found evidence of alien life. However, these new results are still tantalizing.
Curiosity landed on Mars back in 2012 and it’s been sl ...read more
