• Entertainment & Gaming

    Levitation and Precession

    By Paul Adams Posted on 4.22.2009 3 Comments

    For a beautiful demonstration of both magnetic force and gyroscopic motion, let's contemplate the Levitron. This novelty toy (which even now sits on my shelf waiting for a quick spin around the block) consists of a magnetic base upon which you spin a magnetic gyroscope. Both the bottom of the gyroscope and the top of the base contain magnetic north poles, and therefore they repel each other. However, try as you might, you'll never be able to balance the magnet above the base without spinning the top. Why is this?

  • Entertainment & Gaming

    Get Smart(er)

    By taylorhengen Posted on 1.22.2009 1 Comments

    Games and puzzles have a long history of “teasing” your brain so that it gets bigger and badder, and eventually smarter. Lumos Labs, a San Francisco-based cognitive neuroscience research company, recently released a series of games—under the title Lumosity—designed to improve a whole gamut of brain functions.

  • Science

    Pharaoh’s Feminine Figure Explained

    By Abby Seiff Posted on 1.5.2009 6 Comments

    The Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaton’s voluptuous body shape and elongated head and neck, recorded in ancient depictions of the male ruler, have long perplexed historians. But now Irwin Braverman, a professor of dermatology and an expert on visual diagnosis at the Yale University School of Medicine, is offering a theory on the characteristics, which are not found in representations of other pharaohs: Akhenaton may have suffered from two genetic disorders that affect body shape.

  • The Environment

    Salt Water Rising

    By Paul Adams Posted on 1.5.2009 29 Comments

    Dear EarthTalk: With all the talk of rising seas, what could happen to the rivers that flow into the oceans? Will they reverse flow? Will rising seas back up into fresh water lakes? And what happens to our groundwater should saltwater flow backwards into it? -- Sandy Smith, concerned Michigander

  • Science

    This Machine Might* Save the World

    By Paul Adams Posted on 12.23.2008 46 Comments

    The source of endless energy for all humankind resides just off Government Street in Burnaby, British Columbia, up the little spit of blacktop on Bonneville Place and across the parking lot from Shade-O-Matic blind manufacturers and wholesalers. The future is there, in that mostly empty office with the vomit-green walls -- and inside the brain of Michel Laberge, 47, bearded and French-Canadian.

  • Entertainment & Gaming

    The Science of Star Trek

    By Paul Adams Posted on 12.17.2008 19 Comments

    As a long-time aficionado of the original Star Trek series, it's always exciting for me when I hear that Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock are going to make a reappearance on the big screen. Although it'll be a bit strange without William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy running the show, what recourse is there? We've got the next generation playing the previous one. Anyway, in the trailer we get a glimpse of the juvenile origins of the future Captain Kirk's daredevil thrill-seeking persona, not to mention his incredible physical prowess. In the scene in question we see young James T. leap out of his classic convertible sports coupe moments before it projects itself off of a several-thousand-foot precipice. James saves himself by gripping the sandy ground and pulling himself to a stop just as he reaches the edge of the cliff.

  • Gadgets

    My Dream Camera

    By Paul Adams Posted on 12.12.2008 4 Comments

    No, it's not a wish list. It's the Panasonic LX-3. Zoom range too small? Whatever.

  • Science

    Shopping Cart Science

    By Paul Adams Posted on 12.3.2008 0 Comments

    Here we have a beautifully illustrated example of Newton's First Law of motion involving shopping carts. Did some force push those carts out the back end of the trailer? Not at all.

  • The Environment

    The Amphibial Canary is Dead

    By taylorhengen Posted on 11.23.2008 7 Comments

    While canaries are yet to raise the red flag on pesticide exposure, new research from the University of Pittsburgh shows that "ten of the world's most popular pesticides can decimate amphibian populations when mixed together even if the concentration of the individual chemicals are within limits considered safe." 'Decimate', here, is not hyperbole.

  • Science

    On My Bookshelf

    By Paul Adams Posted on 10.22.2008 6 Comments

    In our office is a bookshelf. On that bookshelf are all the books we get sent to review. Most of them won't end up on curriculum book lists, but here are some of my favorites.


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February 2012: The Future of Fun

Science is reinventing play, from extreme sports to gamification to ridiculous roller coasters to the playgrounds of tomorrow, and this issue is chock full of fun. Also, on a less fun note: Did global warming destroy my hometown?


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