"Double whirlpools" observed for first time

For the first time, scientists have recorded a bizarre phenomenon in fluid dynamics, which up until now had only ever been theoretically predicted, but never observed in the wild. Huge whirlpools known as eddies, which can measure hundreds of kilometers across, are relatively common, however now it turns out that, under certain conditions, pairs of these swirling vortices can actually join together to form double whirlpools capable...

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Helicopter drone could one day explore Titan

NASA is considering a mission to Saturn's moon Titan that would use a drone to scout across large areas. Titan is a place that, on the outset, appears to possess many things that seem uncannily familiar - oceans, rivers, snow-capped mountains and even an active weather system. Take a closer look however and it soon becomes apparent that Titan couldn't be more alien. Its rivers and oceans aren't filled with liquid water but with an...

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Glowing trees could replace street lights

By using embedded nanoparticles in leaves, scientists at MIT have created plants that glow in the dark paving the way for trees to replace streetlights. The breakthrough, which could pave the way for environmentally-friendly public lighting solutions that don't even require electricity, has the potential to revolutionize how we light up our homes and cities. To give the plants their glowing ability, Professor Strano (the senior...

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'Extinct' mammal found alive in Australia

The crest-tailed mulgara was once widely distributed across sandy deserts in inland Australia. The crest-tailed mulgara - a small carnivorous marsupial - was thought to have died out a century ago. At a time when species are disappearing from our planet on a regular basis, the news that this particular variety of mulgara has survived against all odds is particularly welcome. It was discovered by a team from the University of New South...

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The Ropen

The Ropen (Flying demon) is the local name of a cryptid on Umboi Island, Papua New Guinea that glows while flying, and which is held by many cryptozoologists as a possible living pterosaur. Appearance: It is said to produce a light, possibly to attract fish. According to the book Searching for Ropens, it is "any featherless creature that flies in the Southwest Pacific, and has a tail-length more than 25% of its wingspan." On the Island,...

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Google's AI has built another, superior AI

Google's AI can learn and improve over time. The Google Brain project has created an AI that is capable of designing a 'child' AI superior to itself. The new artificial intelligence, which is known as AutoML (Automated Machine Learning), acts as a controller neural network that can develop a child AI network for specific tasks. To demonstrate the system, Google researchers tasked AutoML with developing a child AI known as NASNet...

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Large sphinx head recovered in California

The head is made of Plaster of Paris. Archaeologists discovered the artifact in Santa Barbara County, however all is not quite as it seems. Far from being a relic built by the ancient Egyptians, the 300-pound sphinx head is actually something a little more recent - a prop from the pioneering 1923 movie The Ten Commandments. In an effort to mimic Egypt's sandy landscape, part of the Hollywood blockbuster was shot in the Guadalupe-Nipomo...

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