We hit double digits. Champagne all around!
In this episode: A timelapse video of the U.S.'s carbon footprint, a plan to turn pollution into DVDs (and fleece Al Gore?), a warning against nanotoxic socks, and a duel between two green-tech press releases.
Created, written & designed by John Pavlus / Screencasts produced by Smashcut Media / Music by Jeff Alvarez
We were down for a week there, but we're back, baby!
In this episode: The cutest animal ever to be trained to use tools in a laboratory setting; rogue Olympians whose genes may let them pass doping tests; suspended animation via sewer gas; and a another reason feel superior for buying that overpriced laptop (besides the fact that it fits in an envelope).
Created, written & designed by John Pavlus / Screencasts produced by Smashcut Media / Music by Jeff Alvarez
Posting today's Monitor in John Pavlus' stead...
Space methane suggests the possibility of space cows, space robots are serving their NASA masters (for now), and why is everything in space made of matter? RIP Arthur C. Clarke.
Subscribe to our weekly podcast of The Monitor via a iTunes or RSS.
Created, written & designed by John Pavlus / Screencasts produced by Smashcut Media / Music by Jeff Alvarez
Yup, you read that right. If those fuzzy bastards get put on the Endangered Species List, it's bye-bye freedom, hello socialist police state.
...at least, that's what we learned a couple weeks ago at the Heartland Institute's International Conference on Climate Change.
Thanks so much for all the name suggestions, everyone! However, we decided that this whole name-change plan was flawed from the get-go. Watch our rationalization below. And you can view all the name suggestions after the jump.
Also in this episode: the Hobbit controversy rages on, science+religion = new sins, and drugs in your tap water.
Created, written & designed by John Pavlus / Screencasts produced by Smashcut Media / Music by Jeff Alvarez
Subscribe to our original video feed via iTunes or RSS.
Continue reading 'The Monitor #7: We get a new name (sort of)!' >
Thanks so much for the massive outpouring of new name suggestions! Keep sending 'em. We're taking next week off, but then after that... a newly named show will emerge from the glistening chrysalis of the old.
And now, the all-apocalypse episode: a doomsday vault for seeds, tracking a killer asteroid, targeting antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and contemplating a real-life Cylon attack.
Created, written & designed by John Pavlus / Screencasts produced by Smashcut Media / Music by Jeff Alvarez
Welcome to a very special episode of BlossomThe Monitor.
This week: Rounding up of the best stories from the AAAS annual meeting, questioning social networks, and an open call to viewers-- help us rename this show!
No, really. "The Monitor" needs a new name--preferably one that actually shows up in a Google search. Send your ideas to help.SciAm@gmail.com !
Created, written & designed by John Pavlus / Screencasts produced by Smashcut Media / Music by Jeff Alvarez
More details on the AAAS stories after the jump.
Subscribe to our original video feed via iTunes or RSS.
Continue reading 'The Monitor #5: Is Digg making us dumber?' >
What up, infotainment? The Monitor now appears every week.
In this episode: A scientific sting operation, a reality check on Bush's science budget, AIs programmed for neurosis, and some disturbing sex news out of Iceland.
Created, written & designed by John Pavlus / Screencasts produced by Smashcut Media / Music by Jeff Alvarez
Halo machinima clip from Red vs. Blue
By popular demand, The Monitor returns!
In this episode: Vegging out shrivels your face, brain-shaped cold cuts, dumb (but self-directed) college students, and an attempt at sober newsreading that goes predictably awry.
Created, written & designed by John Pavlus / Screencasts produced by Smashcut Media / Music by Jeff Alvarez
At Instant Egghead, we keep it simple. We've already shown you how to explain dark matter with the remnants of your breakfast, evo-devo with an extension cord, Moore's Law with some old newspaper, and synthetic biology with your desktop PC.
Now, watch as SciAm reporter JR Minkel breaks down the spooky powers of a quantum computer, using only the spare change in his pocket.
As always, you can subscribe to our original video feed (which now also includes The Monitor) via iTunes or RSS.
We've already shown you how to explain dark matter and evo-devo, and we've braved self-driving cars and meditating in Times Square.
Now, back to the news.
Today we're premiering The Monitor, an original science newscast. It'll appear every other week (more or less) and round up some of our favorite news items in a way that you probably haven't seen before... but should feel very familiar.
Let us know what you think in the comments; subscribe via iTunes or RSS.
Created, written & produced by John Pavlus / Music by Jeff Alvarez
Synthetic biology has been in the news lately - i.e., building designer genomes from scratch, leading (as people like Craig Venter hope) to fully man-made, programmable life forms.
But it took nature billions of years to make inanimate chemicals "jump to life." How are WE gonna do it?
Instant Egghead to the rescue!
Written, produced and edited by John Pavlus / Camera by Steven Boling
Diggin' our video originals? Subscribe via iTunes, or via RSS.
Alvarez may have (deservedly) stole our CES thunder with his Wii-tech post, but we saved the money shot for our final day of convention coverage.
Remember DARPA's self-driving vehicle challenge? Here's the winner. We rode in it. Beat that.
As you can see, it ain't called "The Boss" for nothing. Want to know how it works? Dig our interview with one of the engineers, after the jump.
Continue reading 'Video: GM's self-driving robocar will own you' >
With a headline like that, could this come from anywhere but CES 2008?
The TN 3rd Space gaming vest's unintentionally funny tagline says it all: "Get Pounded On Your Own Terms." Strap this on, and you'll feel the impact of every frag as it shatters your onscreen spinal column, every bullet as it whines past your in-game ear. It transmits force-feedback via a network of 8 pneumatic cells in the vest pockets.
Amazingly, this gear was invented by a vascular surgeon named Mark Ombrellaro, who wanted a device that could let him perform physical examinations on patients remotely. But it's still stuck in the FDA approval process, so Dr. Ombrellaro decided to bide his time by repurposing his invention as a gamer joygasm interface.
Watch SciAm reporter Nikhil Swaminathan interview TN's VP about the device, and take a few slugs in the process.
Another CES video dispatch: Emotiv Technologies showed off their latest collaboration with IBM, a brainwave-reading gaming interface. It sits on your head (looking sort of like the SQUID rig from Strange Days... did anyone else ever see that besides me?) and lets you control virtual stuff with your mind.
For example, an onscreen avatar will smile when you smile, or adopt a Matthew-McConaghey-like body posture when it senses you're feeling relaxed. (Emotiv says the rig could be also be used for autism research, among other non-gaming applications.)
Or you can concentrate and move game objects telekinetically a la The Force. Check out this video - near the end, Marco The Emotiv Rep does a damn good Skywalker impression.
More from the CESpool: we scored a personal interview with Mr. Microsoft himself, Billy G. His PR handler informed us that in addition to discussing robotics and stuff, we'd do well to engage the Master on Microsoft Surface, a giant touchscreen table-puter he just happened to have in the interview room.
Watch Bill Gates design a snowboard with his bare hands.
If we didn't fear that he'd murder us with his mind Darth Vader style, we'd also have asked him if he ever saw this fake PR video for Microsoft Surface in which is it accurately marketed as "a big ass table."
I'm in Vegas (baby, Vegas) trailing intrepid SciAm reporter Nikhil Swaminathan as he roves the gadget-festooned halls of CES 2008. All our coverage can be found here, but I thought I'd cross post as well when I'm not cursing the Sahara Hotel's shitty internet service and scarfing Clif bars like it's my job.
In short, CES is straight nutty. This preview will give you an idea of the scene.
Episode VI of our video podcast covers the ground-penetrating radar scientists are using to predict eruptions...
Click To Play or Click to embed this video or share it via e-mail
Written and produced by Christie Nicholson. Camera by Lara Kohl, Sarah Campbell and Riccardo Vecchio.
Diggin' our video originals? Subscribe via iTunes, or via RSS.
Episode V of our new video podcast comin' atcha:
If you like what you see, you can subscribe via iTunes, or via RSS.
Episode 3 of our new video podcast, Instant Egghead (subscribe!) tackles the most important development in scientific thinking about evolution since the Modern Synthesis.
As always, the brains behind this operation are writer/director/producer John Pavlus (more posts by him at 60 Second Science here) and cameraman Steven Boling.
Special thanks to PZ Myers, who screened a first draft of the script and made me feel like this just might work...
Subscribe via iTunes, or via RSS.
Rolling right along, here's the second episode of our video podcast, "Instant Egghead."
Ever wonder why Apple puts out a newer, tinier iPod every two freaking seconds? Or why you're watching this on a laptop instead of a blinking, blooping Star-Trek-style wallputer? Moore's Law is the reason. Christie Nicholson explains how it works-- in pretty much the lowest-tech way possible.
Written, produced and edited by John Pavlus // Shot by Steven Boling
Subscribe via iTunes, or via RSS.
Subscribe: Instant Egghead, the Video Podcast, on iTunes
Subscribe: Instant Egghead via RSS
Scientific American editor George Musser explains dark matter using nothing but stuff lying around his office and his rapier-sharp wit. It's like Macgyver, if Macgyver had to explain abstruse subjects instead of, you know, escaping.
Look for episode 2 to go up later today -- in which the talented host of 60 Second Psych, Christie Nicholson, explains Moore's Law.
Update Our iTunes feed for this video podcast is now live! Get it here:
Subscribe to the 60 Second Science video podcast via iTunes
(Or get it via RSS.)
Woohoo! After more blood sweat and tears than the monkeys who turn out this site would care to recount, we're finally ready to start posting the fruits of our ongoing project, a new video podcast that includes a segment we call Instant Egghead.
Our first installment: Scientific American editor George Musser explains Dark Matter in about a minute, using nothing but stuff he has lying around his office -- not a trivial feat!
Instant Egghead is produced, scripted and edited by John Pavlus, and shot by Steven Boling.
