The Otherworldly Glow of the Solar System’s Auroras, Bottled in a Lab

The Otherworldly Glow of the Solar System's Auroras, Bottled in a LabIf this image makes you think of the Northern Lights, you shouldn’t be surprised. Because this is in fact a planeterrella: a large glass dome containing spheres and charged particles, which mimics the auroral glows present within our solar system.

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A Periodic Table of Booze

A Periodic Table of Booze

You can fit an awful lot of information into the classic Periodic Table—and here, Brazil-based designer and illustrator mayra.artes has taken advantage of it to communicate the contents of… booze.

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Smithsonian X-rays space suits, shows Savile Row’s got nothin’ on NASA

DNP NASA xrays space gear, we stare slackjawed

Give a national museum a 3D scanner and it’ll archive its entire collection. Give it an X-ray machine though, and it’ll show you the innards of a space suit. As part of its Suited for Space exhibit, the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum ran a series of astronauts’ work-wear through a CT scanner. The results (above and below) are more than a little haunting, with all manner of hidden buckles, straps and sensors exposed against ghostly transparent fabrics. Why X-rays? Because according to Wired, the Smithsonian wanted to see how the suits were put together, but deconstructing them without damage wasn’t exactly feasible. Seeing the level of detail required to keep our spacewalkers safe on the job via online pictures is one thing, but scoping it out in person is likely much cooler. If you want an up-close look for yourself, you have until December 1st to make the trip to Washington, D.C.

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Via: The Verge

Source: Wired, Smithsonian

7 Up Used to Include Prescription Mood Stabilizers

7 Up Used to Include Prescription Mood Stabilizers

Today I found out that the soft drink 7 UP used to include a psychiatric medication as one of its ingredients.

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A Super-Accurate Gravity Map Shows You Where You Can Weigh Less

A Super-Accurate Gravity Map Shows You Where You Can Weigh LessGravity’s often assumed to be constant across the entire planet, but because the Earth varies in shape and density, that’s not really the case. Now, this super-accurate gravity map reveals that the fluctuations are even more extreme than scientists previously thought.

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What Happens When You Stick Your Head Into a Particle Accelerator

What Happens When You Stick Your Head Into a Particle Accelerator

Today I found out what happens when you stick your head into a particle accelerator.

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Scientists Have Recreated St Elmo’s Fire in the Lab

Scientists Have Recreated St Elmo's Fire in the LabA team of US researchers has finally worked out how reproduce ball lightning—sometimes referred to as St. Elmo’s fire—in the lab.

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Scientifically Accurate Finding Nemo Would Be Horrifyingly Incestual

Scientifically Accurate Finding Nemo Would Be Horrifyingly Incestual

Okay, so, um, here’s your perception warping, good times stomping news of the day: Finding Nemo is a damn lie. Not in a oh fish can talk sort of harmless lie but in an oh my god Nemo would grow up to bone his dad sort of awful lie. The Fisheries Blog broke down the science of Finding Nemo and pretty much exposed that Nemo’s mom would die, Nemo’s dad would switch sex and Nemo would eventually mate with his female dad.

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Anti-Wrinkle Cream Might Be the Key to Treating Parkinson’s Disease

Anti-Wrinkle Cream Might Be the Key to Treating Parkinson's Disease

A new study suggests that kinetin, a chemical frequently used in anti-aging creams, could be used to develop a treatment for Parkinson’s Disease. Forget regenerating your youthful skin—this chemical could be used to reverse the cell-death that causes, the deadly disorder which afflicts more than a half-million people in the United States.

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Four Fun Food Hacks to Teach Your Kids Science

Four Fun Food Hacks to Teach Your Kids Science

With the fall term gearing up, you’ve got precious little time left to hang out with your kids before they’re trundled off to school. Entertain the ankle-biters and get their brains primed for learning with these amazing scientific food hacks.

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