omf.

did you know giraffes can chase?

did you know there's more than one kind of giraffe?

puppies on the cutting edge of science

they trained these brave little guys (and girls) to stay real still so they could take brain scans in an MRI machine. I'M IMPRESSED WITH THOSE PUPPIES! cute outfits to boot.

i already saw that movie.

just got a NYT notification to tell me:

Another Earth could be circling the star right next door to us.

Astronomers announced on Wednesday that they had detected a planet orbiting Proxima Centauri, the closest neighbor to our solar system. Intriguingly, the planet is in the star’s “Goldilocks zone,” where it may not be too hot nor too cold. That means liquid water could exist at the surface, raising the possibility for life.

Although observations in recent years, particularly by NASA’s Kepler planet-finding mission, have uncovered a bounty of Earth-size worlds throughout the galaxy, this one holds particular promise because it might someday, decades from now, be possible to reach. It’s 4.2 light-years, or 25 trillion miles, away from Earth, which is extremely close in cosmic terms. (via)

your daily puss

HAPPY FUCKING CEPHALOPOD WEEK!!!!!!!!!111111111

new octopus hotness!

Late in February, the Okeanos Explorer made the season's first dive, almost 2.5 miles down into the ocean, northeast of Hawaii's Necker Island. Down in the depths, the Explorer's remotely operated vehicle happened upon "a remarkable little octopod sitting on a flat rock," the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reports. It was small, ghost-like and almost definitely a species that no scientist had ever seen before. (via)

nscience makes good gif

I've created two things today. A story on brain fingerprints (http://t.co/qXm6nBSf8e) and this gif. pic.twitter.com/9EjwuHOKm8

— Nsikan Akpan (@MoNscience) October 12, 2015

2Pz friends on tv

nscience discusses the gender politics of sea turtles with gwen ifill on PBS.

dalphins used to be puppehs!

don't believe me? listen to THIS:

heow!

good news: i'm right and you're wrong

it's blue and black, ya stupid idiots.

omg you have got to read all of this.

this scientist thinks he knows what happened to that malaysian airliner. READ IT!!

make sure to stay on the tip of podcast trendz

here's a sneak peek of a hot new science podcast from NPR, invisibilia. premieres january 9th.

you guys we can land spaceships on comets now.

TOUCHDOWN for @Philae2014! #CometLanding pic.twitter.com/ZMBeB8ng3h
— ESA Rosetta Mission (@ESA_Rosetta) November 12, 2014

i saw the video feed of this on my taxicab tv last night and i was all "huuuuuuhh????"

time for a science lesson.

what's the deal with animals and mirrors?

Gordon Gallup invented the test that shows whether an animal recognizes itself in the mirror: He marked primates’ faces and ears with dye and watched whether they used a mirror to investigate the spots. If they did, it revealed that the animals understood that the faces in the mirror were their own. (via) 

your fortnightly boat

or at least, boat-related...

The recent installation of 216 state-of-the-art electronically-controlled wave boards has made this the most sophisticated scientific wave-testing basin of its size in the world. Scaled-down fiberglass models, cruisers the size of canoes, ride waves that max out at a few feet high. But it’s the motion of the ocean that matters. The hinged wave boards, each with its own motor synced up to software, can precisely recreate eight ocean conditions (from flat calm to typhoonlike) across all seven seas, pushing the water and moving up and down like giant piano keys whose scales and chords are waves.

The Navy tests models in the basin to be sure that billion-dollar ships will float before it builds them, but also to assess whether sailors can launch missiles and land helicopters in particular circumstances, and how vessels handle with a full tank versus running on fumes. Pitch, roll, sway, heave, acceleration, displacement—the calculations alone are enough to make you queasy. (via)

thx lube!

WHAT ON EARTH IS HAPPENING IN SPACE

For the 1st time, Fermi scientists see pulsar system changing state: http://t.co/qsTivi5PUz pic.twitter.com/atKoPPVwcD

— NASA Goddard (@NASAGoddard) July 22, 2014

weird sci-fi from the wachowski siblings with mila kunis and channing tatum

im IN

where do you belong?

if you take this short quiz, science will tell you which state you are most tempermentally compatible with. I got DC, which i wasnt happy with so i changed some answers and got california.

2Pz National Treasure

this little science fair queen is inventing all kinds of science and it being fierce while doing so.

very important scientific poll : kim zolciak

 please weigh in, above.

have you heard of the pitch drop?

i was just listening to this radiolab about how we understand speed, and they mentioned one of the longest running science experiments called the pitch drop.

The first Professor of Physics at the University of Queensland, Professor Thomas Parnell, began an experiment in 1927 to illustrate that everyday materials can exhibit quite surprising properties. The experiment demonstrates the fluidity and high viscosity of pitch, a derivative of tar once used for waterproofing boats. At room temperature pitch feels solid - even brittle - and can easily be shattered with a blow from a hammer. It's quite amazing then, to see that pitch at room temperature is actually fluid!

In 1927 Professor Parnell heated a sample of pitch and poured it into a glass funnel with a sealed stem. Three years were allowed for the pitch to settle, and in 1930 the sealed stem was cut. From that date on the pitch has slowly dripped out of the funnel - so slowly that now, 80 years later, the ninth drop is only just forming.

you can follow along at home by clicking here.