Results tagged “aliens” from 60 Second Science

Researchers at the University of Sunderland have developed a helmet that, once benoggined, may actually be able to reverse the degenerative effects of Alzeimer’s. By the looks of it, the headgear can probably also help coordinate a systematic takeover of Earth with distant and predatory alien races, condemning mankind to extinction. But that’s a horse of a different color. (This color, to be exact.)

Anyhoo, the helmet, which only needs to be worn ten minutes a day, delivers low-intensity infra-red light to the brain, stimulating growth in damaged cells. Infra-red therapy tests in mice have proved promising, and eight of nine recent human test subjects suffering from dementia showed improvement after donning the device. Not bad for a therapy supposedly designed to treat cold sores.

Continue reading 'Possible treatment for Alzeimer's may cause apocalypse' >

"Maybe somebody's looking at us right now, finding out what our rotation rate is -- that is, the length of our day," asks Sara Seager, associate professor of physics and the Ellen Swallow Richards Associate Professor of Planetary Sciences at MIT.

We know at least somebody's watching, but Seager means ET. And when the aliens look at us. They won't see much, but it could just be enough.

Continue reading 'Earth is a tiny, information-rich pixel' >

(See the full gallery here.)

When most people think of aliens, they think of little green men with almond eyes.

But when physicist, cosmologist and astrobiologist Paul Davies sat down to imagine what they might actually look like, he turned to the world of the very small.

Artist and illustrator Jean-Francois Podevin took Davies' ideas about improbably tiny alien bacteria, silicon based life-forms, and the potential that life arose more than once, and turned them into some of the most stunning illustrations ever seen in Scientific American.

Related: November cover story, Are Aliens Among Us?

The Japanese are way ahead when it comes to thinking, dancing robots, but when it comes to kicking ass, we still rule. An evil-sounding, Utah-based company called Sarcos spent six years developing a dextrous, highly responsive robotic exoskeleton for military applications. The idea of military exoskeletons is nothing new, but watching one in action is pretty freaking sweet. Let's go to the tape:

Continue reading 'Ripley was right: High-powered exoskeleton in action' >

New Mexico is one of my favorite places -- between them selling turpentine-strength liquor in gas stations and me doing wicked amounts of pretty deese peyote in the desert, I find the place hard to beat. But the Land of Enchantment (and hantavirus) faces stiff competition for tourism dollars from its shinier stepsisters Colorado, Arizona and Utah, so they've stepped up their campaign to feature what they're best known for: aliens.

The ad, commissioned by the board of tourism and funded with state dollars, has generated a bit of controversy. Check it after the jump.

Continue reading 'Why go to New Mexico? Aliens, dumbass!' >