Tag: Science
Imagine a future city where all pets are replaced by robots. The city is too crowded and too expensive for anyone but the wealthiest to have pets, so robots like Sony’s AIBO robotic dog have replaced them. Dogs don’t have to be walked. Litter boxes don’t have to be cleaned. The shelters are empty. Ferrets […]
Although the DEA classifies shrooms as a Schedule 1 drug — a classification that’s supposed to be reserved for the most dangerous of substances — according to scientists, it’s not nearly as dangerous as the the government claims. Researchers Teri Krebs and husband Pål-Ørjan Johansen argue in a letter to Lancet Psychiatry journal, that the […]
You know that episode of Black Mirror, “The Entire History of You,” where everyone has a memory implant that records everything they see and do and can be played back for the entertainment of their friends and psychological torment of their families? That, apparently, is closer to reality than it has ever been before, according […]
CityLab has obtained a circa-1870 “stench map,” which shows the locations of what were called “offensive trades,” or industries that made the city stink. 19th century medical science believed that bad smells and tainted air caused diseases like cholera. The map was created by the New York Metropolitan Board of Health and can be found […]
Today in AAAAHHHHH: Toxoplasmosis is a horrifying parasitic disease that causes rats to lose their fear of cats so that they get eaten. Basically it makes rats into suicide zombies. In humans, it causes flu-like symptoms, usually in people with already weakened immune systems. It’s usually communicated through undercooked meat and unwashed vegetables. Researchers at […]
Imagine the following scenario: A chemistry grad student sneaks into the 3D printer lab late at night. He’s downloaded a file he got off the internet, a molecule that’s never been synthesized. It’s a modified version of an existing drug, an analogue, a single tweak on a corner of a benzene ring. The machine whirs […]
According to National Geographic, a new study confirms that two species of vampire crabs — which are already popular as pets — are previously uncatalogued by scientists. Vampire crabs, so named for their bright yellow Nosferatu eyes, have become popular as pets among aquarium hobbyists in recent years. Their small size, freshwater habitat, and vibrant, […]
Republican Millenials — a dickish demographic too young to be as cynical as they are — tend to be much cooler with ending the prohibition on pot than the older curmudgeons in their party, according to a Pew Research poll. A whopping 63% of young GOPers showed support for the legalization of weed compared to […]
At a state senate hearing in Utah, the Drug Enforcement Agency provided compelling testimony about a bill being proposed that would allow human patients to ingest weed-laced edibles to treat certain medical conditions. Special Agent Matt Fairbanks said, in public, that the legalization of therapeutic pot could have a drastic effect on woodland creatures because […]
According to a new study, the obvious is true even if top government officials don’t want to admit it: weed is nowhere near as dangerous as legal drugs like alcohol and cigarettes. The findings, published in Scientific Reports and reported by the Washington Post, show that pot is “roughly 114 times less deadly than booze.” […]
