http://www.gizmodo.co.uk Mon, 17 Jun 2013 22:00:29 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/06/if-bees-die-out-this-is-what-our-supermarket-shelves-will-look-like/ http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/06/if-bees-die-out-this-is-what-our-supermarket-shelves-will-look-like/#comments Mon, 17 Jun 2013 12:45:51 +0000 Sam Gibbs http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/?p=174665 It’s really easy to dismiss the claims that a rapidly declining bee population is a bad thing. You’re not a fan of honey, so it’s not like they really do anything for you, right? Wrong. This barren foodscape is pretty much what we’ll be left with if bees go extinct. The trouble is that bees [...]]]> http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/06/if-bees-die-out-this-is-what-our-supermarket-shelves-will-look-like/feed/ 24 http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/06/these-beautiful-iridescent-clouds-are-actually-foreboding/ http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/06/these-beautiful-iridescent-clouds-are-actually-foreboding/#comments Sun, 16 Jun 2013 22:00:03 +0000 Lily Newman http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/?p=174528 It used to be that you could only see these shimmering cloud formations, called noctilucent clouds, if you were in the North or South Pole. But lately they’ve been on the move, and though they’re pretty to look at, their presence away from the Poles may be sign of climate change. The clouds are appearing [...]]]> http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/06/these-beautiful-iridescent-clouds-are-actually-foreboding/feed/ 0 http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/06/mozilla-wants-scientists-to-be-more-open/ http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/06/mozilla-wants-scientists-to-be-more-open/#comments Sun, 16 Jun 2013 19:00:44 +0000 Lily Newman http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/?p=174512 When researchers needed an easier way to share data and resources, and generally collaborate they invented the internet. And then they all went home and let the memes and brunch photos take over. Which is weird. Sure, initiatives like CERN are able to coordinate thousands of scientists toward common goals as a result of the [...]]]> http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/06/mozilla-wants-scientists-to-be-more-open/feed/ 2 http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/06/scientists-have-found-the-ancient-secret-of-indestructible-concrete/ http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/06/scientists-have-found-the-ancient-secret-of-indestructible-concrete/#comments Sun, 16 Jun 2013 15:00:41 +0000 Eric Limer http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/?p=174474 For the most part, we humans are better at things than we were thousands of years ago. But there are some things the ancients had down pat. Roman concrete, for instance, is just way better than anything we can whip up today. Finally, after some 2,000 years, modern-day scientists have figured it out. And it’s [...]]]> http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/06/scientists-have-found-the-ancient-secret-of-indestructible-concrete/feed/ 10 http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/06/so-what-would-happen-if-superman-punched-you/ http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/06/so-what-would-happen-if-superman-punched-you/#comments Sat, 15 Jun 2013 16:00:02 +0000 Casey Chan http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/?p=174334 Man of Steel is out and if you want to get your eyes pummelled with insane fight sequences, I suggest you watch it. But what if Superman actually wanted to pummel your face instead? What would a punch by Superman feel like? A lot worse than even getting punched by Mike Tyson. If Superman’s fist [...]]]> http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/06/so-what-would-happen-if-superman-punched-you/feed/ 5 http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/06/the-impossible-history-of-perpetual-motion/ http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/06/the-impossible-history-of-perpetual-motion/#comments Fri, 14 Jun 2013 19:00:29 +0000 Gizmodo http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/?p=174207 On November 12th, 1717, clockmaker and mechanic Johann Bessler placed a 12-foot diameter, strange-looking wheel into a room. With a tender push, he started the contraption rotating, then confidently turned and strolled outside. Guards promptly secured and locked the door behind him. Nobody would be allowed to enter the room for two weeks, lest the [...]]]> http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/06/the-impossible-history-of-perpetual-motion/feed/ 5 http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/06/why-is-there-a-limit-to-human-strength/ http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/06/why-is-there-a-limit-to-human-strength/#comments Fri, 14 Jun 2013 15:00:22 +0000 Leslie Horn http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/?p=173983 Want to be swole as hell? You can bulk up all you want, but once you get to a certain point, muscle growth is out of your hands. ASAP Science explains that our level of strength is basically pre-determined by our genetics. Our muscles are under the watchful eye of a protein called myostatin, which [...]]]> http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/06/why-is-there-a-limit-to-human-strength/feed/ 0 http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/06/why-the-sunset-looks-the-same-on-mars-as-it-does-in-beijing/ http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/06/why-the-sunset-looks-the-same-on-mars-as-it-does-in-beijing/#comments Fri, 14 Jun 2013 14:30:16 +0000 Leslie Horn http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/?p=174000 On the left is the sunset as seen from Mars. On the right is the same view from Beijing. Were it not for the latter’s urban setting, you might not be able to tell the difference. Crazy, right? Fortunately, science can explain why. Joe Hanson is Ph.D biologist brain behind PBS’s It’s Okay to be [...]]]> http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/06/why-the-sunset-looks-the-same-on-mars-as-it-does-in-beijing/feed/ 3 http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/06/ice-sheets-were-terrifying-thick-20000-years-ago/ http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/06/ice-sheets-were-terrifying-thick-20000-years-ago/#comments Fri, 14 Jun 2013 12:30:46 +0000 Jamie Condliffe http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/?p=174130 Since our planet was born, it’s gone through periods of extreme cold known as ice ages—but you might not realise just how of the cold stuff came with them. Spoiler: a lot. This neat visualisation by Randall Monroe of XKCD fame shows just how thick the ice sheets covering our planet were 20,000 years ago. [...]]]> http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/06/ice-sheets-were-terrifying-thick-20000-years-ago/feed/ 23 http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/06/this-slow-mo-test-tube-explosion-barks-like-a-guard-dog-of-fire/ http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/06/this-slow-mo-test-tube-explosion-barks-like-a-guard-dog-of-fire/#comments Thu, 13 Jun 2013 20:00:25 +0000 Eric Limer http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/?p=173964 It’s one thing when a dog barks; it’s another one entirely when a giant pipe full of fire does it. And it’s even better in slow motion. “The Barking Dog” is a pretty standard science experiement you might have seen in a chem class. All you do is light up a giant test tube full [...]]]> http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/06/this-slow-mo-test-tube-explosion-barks-like-a-guard-dog-of-fire/feed/ 5 http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/06/science-discovered-a-new-human-body-part/ http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/06/science-discovered-a-new-human-body-part/#comments Thu, 13 Jun 2013 17:30:41 +0000 Adam Clark Estes http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/?p=173727 A funny thing happened in the field of anatomy during the first half of this year. Researchers found a previously unknown human body part. It’s inside the eyeball, and it’s very small. At 15 microns thick, the newly discovered layer of material is so small that even calling it a new body part feels inappropriate. [...]]]> http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/06/science-discovered-a-new-human-body-part/feed/ 8 http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/06/planet-earth-cant-afford-its-new-gigantic-particle-accelerator/ http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/06/planet-earth-cant-afford-its-new-gigantic-particle-accelerator/#comments Thu, 13 Jun 2013 13:00:01 +0000 Adam Clark Estes http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/?p=173725 A team of scientists unveiled the technical designs for the International Linear Collider (ILC), a proposed particle accelerator that could unravel the deepest mysteries of the universe. At just under 20-miles long, it’s about 30 per cent larger than the world’s biggest particle accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland. Extra [...]]]> http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/06/planet-earth-cant-afford-its-new-gigantic-particle-accelerator/feed/ 27 http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/06/how-to-make-instant-barrel-aged-cocktails/ http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/06/how-to-make-instant-barrel-aged-cocktails/#comments Sat, 08 Jun 2013 19:00:44 +0000 Brent Rose http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/?p=172366 If you’ve been spending too much time in bars lately—and we certainly hope you have been—you’ve likely noticed the rise of barrel-aged cocktails. The technique takes some of your favourite mixed drinks, mellows them out, and adds some layers of complexity. There is, however, a barrier to entry for most at-home barkeeps: Patience. Unless you [...]]]> http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/06/how-to-make-instant-barrel-aged-cocktails/feed/ 2 http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/06/population-growth-and-climate-change-explained-using-lego/ http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/06/population-growth-and-climate-change-explained-using-lego/#comments Fri, 07 Jun 2013 20:00:27 +0000 Jamie Condliffe http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/?p=172191 There’s seemingly no limit to the power of Lego, and in this video Hans Rosling uses it with great panache to explain the problems of population growth and climate change. They’re two of the biggest, most complex subjects we currently face on this planet, but somehow Rosling manages to make it all seem extremely straightforward. [...]]]> http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/06/population-growth-and-climate-change-explained-using-lego/feed/ 2 http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/06/slo-mo-lightning-footage-is-why-high-speed-cameras-were-invented/ http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/06/slo-mo-lightning-footage-is-why-high-speed-cameras-were-invented/#comments Fri, 07 Jun 2013 18:00:13 +0000 Andrew Liszewski http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/?p=172248 The odds of capturing a lightning bolt on a high-speed camera in the wild are probably pretty similar to getting hit yourself — slim to nil. So to vastly improve their chances, the slo-mo team at BBC Earth Productions visited the Morgan-Botti Lightning Lab in England where the electrifying bolts are produced every day. The [...]]]> http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/06/slo-mo-lightning-footage-is-why-high-speed-cameras-were-invented/feed/ 3 http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/06/heres-a-120000-year-old-tumour-found-inside-a-neanderthal/ http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/06/heres-a-120000-year-old-tumour-found-inside-a-neanderthal/#comments Fri, 07 Jun 2013 11:30:07 +0000 Casey Chan http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/?p=172003 Neanderthals weren’t smoking cigarettes. They weren’t breathing in pollution. They weren’t eating processed foods. They weren’t dealing with pesticides. Nope. But apparently, Neanderthals still got cancer. This 120,000-year-old bone fragment reveals a cancerous tumour: Neanderthals, they’re just like us. The case of fibrous dysplasia in this Neanderthal bone is believed to be the oldest tumour [...]]]> http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/06/heres-a-120000-year-old-tumour-found-inside-a-neanderthal/feed/ 3 http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/06/a-time-cloak-made-from-lasers-can-erase-data-from-history/ http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/06/a-time-cloak-made-from-lasers-can-erase-data-from-history/#comments Thu, 06 Jun 2013 22:00:37 +0000 Casey Chan http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/?p=171696 Time cloaks are so much cooler than invisibility cloaks because they use freaking time to hide things, not silly dumb vision tricks. This new method of using a time cloak is the first that can cloak data at rapid rates. It might change security altogether. The idea behind a time cloak is sort of simple [...]]]> http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/06/a-time-cloak-made-from-lasers-can-erase-data-from-history/feed/ 4 http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/06/the-science-of-hangovers/ http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/06/the-science-of-hangovers/#comments Thu, 06 Jun 2013 12:30:58 +0000 Casey Chan http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/?p=171702 Hangovers only exist because they keep us from partying and drinking and going nuts every single night. It’s a fail-safe for humans so we don’t all devolve into permanently-drunk wrecks. It’s payment for fun. It sucks. But what’s the real science behind it? It all boils down to three things. Dehydration. Acetaldehyde. Congener. Damn those [...]]]> http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/06/the-science-of-hangovers/feed/ 6 http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/06/scientists-have-found-the-oldest-primate-skeleton-ever/ http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/06/scientists-have-found-the-oldest-primate-skeleton-ever/#comments Thu, 06 Jun 2013 08:30:33 +0000 Ashley Feinberg http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/?p=171677 Today’s smallest primate, the pygmy mouse lemur, can reach up to about 5 inches in height — and that’s even on the larger side. But the primate skeleton that researchers just uncovered, the oldest ever found on record, stood even smaller than our pygmy friend as it scampered around the earth — a whole 55 [...]]]> http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/06/scientists-have-found-the-oldest-primate-skeleton-ever/feed/ 3 http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/06/awesome-window-skins-let-sun-keep-you-warm-in-winter-cool-in-summer/ http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/06/awesome-window-skins-let-sun-keep-you-warm-in-winter-cool-in-summer/#comments Thu, 06 Jun 2013 07:00:58 +0000 Andrew Liszewski http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/?p=171654 In the cold winter months you’ll do everything you can to maximise your exposure to the sun. In the scorching summer, though, it’s just the opposite. So what if there were a way to harness/banish the sun’s rays without a constant battle with curtains or venetian blinds? Researchers at Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial [...]]]> http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/06/awesome-window-skins-let-sun-keep-you-warm-in-winter-cool-in-summer/feed/ 2