The Quest for Randomness

Scott Aaronson: "The Quest for Randomness"

Medical 3D Printing

A couple of recent stories on applications of 3D printing in medicine:

"$50 3D Printed Hand vs. Traditional, One Thousand Times More Expensive Prosthetic"

"Custom 3D Printed Kidneys Help Surgeons Remove Tumors"

Virtual Doctors

"Genetic experts are eyeing computer Webcams and videoconferencing to assess patients in Alaska and other remote places"

All-Drone Band

io9: "The First All-Drone Band Is Actually Pretty Good"

Don't Charge Your Phone From An Anesthesia Device

ProTip: "Bug can cause deadly failures when anesthesia device is connected to cell phones"

NYC Etiquette

Useful illustration of basic NYC etiquette and tips.

No Powdered Alcohol For You!

NPR: "Feds Say Powdered Liquor Not Actually Legal"

MRI of Jugglers' Brains

Imaging the brains of jugglers.  (Via Debby Witt.)

Escaping Viruses

"A Brief, Terrifying History of Viruses Escaping From Labs". (Via M.H.)

Dancing Robot

Wired: "Watch the Astounding Dexterity of Honda's Dancing Humanoid Robot".  (Via H.R.)

Nobody Lives Here

"Nobody lives here: The nearly 5 million Census Blocks with zero population"

(Green = unoccupied; click through to see larger version)

USB Type-C

"USB Type-C: Simpler, faster and more powerful"

[Off Topic] Hsieh Forbes OpEd: Should Doctors Limit Medical Care To Save Money For 'Society'?

[Off topic] My latest Forbes health care column is now up: "Should Doctors Limit Medical Care To Save Money For 'Society'?"

What Happened To The First 10 Apple Employees

"What Happened To The First 10 Apple Employees"

Axe 2.0

"Physics-exploiting axe splits wood in record time". Click through to see the video.

A Day In The Life Of A Stormtrooper

"Photographer Uses Star Wars Figurines To Depict A Day In The Life Of A Stormtrooper"

My favorite:

High Tech

Wired: "How Silicon Valley entrepreneurs are rushing to cash in on cannabis"

The Other Captain America Movie

"The other Captain America movie -- this 1973 Turkish version in which he teams up with a Mexican wrestler and fights evil Spiderman".

I'm guessing this wasn't authorized by Marvel Comics.

DNA Analysis Of Dollar Bills

WSJ: "Scientists are discovering a surprising number of microbes living on cash"

From the article:

In the first comprehensive study of the DNA on dollar bills, researchers at New York University's Dirty Money Project found that currency is a medium of exchange for hundreds of different kinds of bacteria as bank notes pass from hand to hand.

By analyzing genetic material on $1 bills, the NYU researchers identified 3,000 types of bacteria in all—many times more than in previous studies that examined samples under a microscope. Even so, they could identify only about 20% of the non-human DNA they found because so many microorganisms haven't yet been cataloged in genetic data banks.

Easily the most abundant species they found is one that causes acne. Others were linked to gastric ulcers, pneumonia, food poisoning and staph infections, the scientists said. Some carried genes responsible for antibiotic resistance.

"It was quite amazing to us," said Jane Carlton, director of genome sequencing at NYU's Center for Genomics and Systems Biology where the university-funded work was performed. "We actually found that microbes grow on money."

(Via Marginal Revolution.)

Professional Actors Reading Yelp Reviews

Professional actors reading Yelp reviews.

I especially liked this one and this one (below):

Dronies

Old: Selfie.
New: Dronie.

3D Printed Candy

"Meet the Inventors of a 3-D Printer for Hyper-Complicated Candy"

Reynolds On 3D Printed Guns

Glenn Reynolds: "Should We Be Afraid of the 3D Printed Gun?"

Habitable Planet?

Alex Knapp: "NASA Has Discovered The First Potentially Habitable Earth-sized Planet"

Google X

"Google X: An Exclusive Look Behind The Secretive Lab's Closed Doors". (Via H.R.)

Wired on Google Modular Phone

Wired: "Google's New Modular Phone May Be the Last You’ll Need to Buy".  As the article notes, it's still a work-in-progress.

New US Time Standard

"NIST launches a new US time standard: NIST-F2 atomic clock"

13 Mac Keyboard Tricks You Should Know

"If You Have A Mac, Memorize These 13 Keyboard Tricks"

Snail Shell Magnified

"This is what a snail shell looks like x 2500"

Terrible Real Estate Agent Photographs

Terrible real estate agent photographs.

Stradivarius vs. Modern Violin Quality

Blind test: "Professional violinists cannot actually tell the difference between a Stradivarius and a modern instrument, experts find"

What Does Sound Look Like?

Video: "What Does Sound Look Like?"



Nice use of Schlieren visualization!  (Via @SupaTrey.)

Best SWA Safety Briefing

Awesome Southwest Airlines safety briefing -- better than some stand-up comedy I've paid for!

Kids React To Walkman

"21st century kids try to figure out what a Walkman is". You should feel old now. (Via Doug M.)

The 23 Types of Baristas

"These are the 23 types of baristas"

Computer Support Call Leads to Burglary Arrest

"Computer support call leads to burglary arrest".

What It Takes To Become An Astronaut

USA Today: "So you want to be an astronaut? Here's what it takes." (From a few months ago.)