2023 was a stellar year for NASA images. Upper-right, clockwise: NASA/Keegan Barber, NASA/Bill Ingalls, NASA/Bill Ingalls On September 24, 2023, a capsule from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission floated back to Earth, landing safely in the Utah desert. The mission was the first time the U.S. brought back a piece of an asteroid and a big moment for the space agency. The history-making success of OSIRIS-REx features prominently in NASA HQ’S Best of 2023 photos album, recently curated and shared on Flickr. Other milestone moments documented in the photos include the Psyche spacecraft launch, the Spa ..read more

New imaging tools uncovered text that revises the timeline of Plato's life. Deposit Photos A research team’s “bionic eye” deciphered thousands of new words hidden within an ancient scroll carbonized during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius—and the new text points to the long lost, potential final resting place of the philosopher Plato. The 1,800-scroll collection, located in the estate now known as the “Villa of the Papyri,” was almost instantaneously incinerated during the historic Mount Vesuvius eruption in 79 CE, before being buried in layers of pumice and ash. The latest discovery is part of ..read more

Animals inspired robots consistently filament outperform their organic inspirations despite often having better individual components. Animal Inspired Movement and Robotics Lab, CU Boulder Modern robotics is awash with human-made machines mimicking the animal world. From stadium-surveying robot dogs to daddy long-legs-inspired exploration bots and just about everything in-between, there’s no shortage of mechanized animal doppelgängers roaming the world. Advancements in AI systems, new synthetic materials, and 3D printing have greatly improved these machines’ ability to run, climb, and shimmy ..read more

A spike-tooth salmon fossil on display at the University of Oregon’s Museum of Natural and Cultural History. University of Oregon About five million years ago, the North American Pacific Northwest was teeming with some pretty big fish that would have made the continent’s biggest salmon runs look small. An eight to 10-feet-long prehistoric salmon species called Oncorhynchus rastrosus stalked the seas and streams of the Miocene. It weighed upwards of 400 pounds and was almost twice as long and three times heavier than today’s largest salmon species–the Chinook/king salmon.  Oncorhynchus ra ..read more

Amanda Reed We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn more › I am currently obsessed with all things mini right now. Look at this video of someone mopping their very tiny kitchen with a tiny heavy-duty mop. And here’s a miniature plant room complete with real wood floors, something I will never have in my own lifetime. Don’t even get me started on Mini Brands reveal videos and my personal favorite, Poppin Cookin’ “meals.” Not everything teensy tiny happens to be usable, however. That’s not the case with this Craftsman mini chai ..read more

This artist’s concept shows the Advanced Composite Solar Sail System spacecraft sailing in space using the energy of the sun. ASA/Aero Animation/Ben Schweighart NASA hitched a ride aboard Rocket Lab’s Electron Launcher in New Zealand yesterday evening, and is preparing to test a new, highly advanced solar sail design. Now in a sun-synchronous orbit roughly 600-miles above Earth, the agency’s Advanced Composite Solar Sail System (ACS3) will in the coming weeks deploy and showcase technology that could one day power deep-space missions without the need for any actual rocket fuel, after launch ..read more

GM Technical Center and Design Center in Michigan. GM On the floor of General Motors’ new Design West building, various concepts and work-in-progress next-generation vehicles dot the vast, open space. From a level above and behind glass, all is quiet. Everyone appears to be wearing soft-soled, comfortable shoes, as the place is huge and walking is required. It’s not until you step onto the cement floor that you hear a confluence of murmurs and sounds from hundreds of people all working toward the same goal: to propel the legacy automaker forward as quickly and efficiently as possible.  H ..read more

The coral Iridogorgia magnispiralis. Deep-sea octocorals like this are known to be bioluminescent. NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, Deepwater Wonders of Wake Many marine organisms–including sea worms, some jellyfish, sea pickles, and more–can emit ethereal glow through a process called bioluminescence. The evolutionary origins of this light production remain a mystery, but an international team of scientists have found that bioluminescence may have first evolved in a group of marine invertebrates called octocorals at least 540 million years ago–nearly 300 million years earlier t ..read more

When it’s completed, Brightline estimates its $12 billion high-speed rail could take travelers from Las Vegas to Los Angeles in just over two hours. Brightline Builders have officially broken ground on a new $12 billion train that could zoom travelers between Las Vegas and Los Angeles in just under two hours by the end of the decade. The new train, which is considered the first “high-speed” rail in the United States, could cut down commute time for travelers and reduce greenhouse gas emissions that would otherwise be emitted from cars and planes. Brightline, the firm responsible for the proje ..read more

Amanda Reed We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn more › Best overall Ninja BL660 Professional Compact Blender SEE IT Create a smoothie for one or for all with this powerful blender. Best for making smoothies NutriBullet NB9-1301K Pro SEE IT A large cup means more room for fruits and veggies. Best budget Ninja QB3001SS Ninja Fit Compact Personal Blender SEE IT You don’t have to spend $100-plus on a great personal blender, which this cheap-but-mighty option from Ninja proves. A personal blender ..read more