AltWeek

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  • Alt-week 3.22.14: Inner-selfies, new fashion for astronauts and the glory of Venus

    by 
    James Trew
    James Trew
    03.22.2014

    Alt-week takes a look at the best science and alternative tech stories from the last seven days. We're not saying medicine is jumping on the bandwagon, but a new camera could usher in the era of the "inner selfie." What's more, astronauts are getting the 70's sci-fi fashion they deserve, and Venus shows off its glory. This is alt-week.

  • Alt-week 02.15.14: our brains on emoticons and making Fantastic Voyage a reality

    by 
    James Trew
    James Trew
    02.15.2014

    Alt-week takes a look at the best science and alternative tech stories from the last seven days. The theme this week has something of an evolutionary tone to it. When did live birth in reptiles really begin? When might we be able to control tiny rockets inside living cells in the body? And, most importantly, how did we start recognising this: :-) as a face? You know the drill: this is alt-week.

  • Alt-week 02.08.14: ancient aliens, power-generating spores and the 'pruney finger' mystery solved

    by 
    James Trew
    James Trew
    02.08.2014

    Alt-week takes a look at the best science and alternative tech stories from the last seven days. A new theory is forcing us to reconsider one of life's big questions -- are we alone? Perhaps, it's more appropriate to ask are we alone right now? If that's too big of a question to consider on the weekend, what about the slightly more evanescent "why do my fingers go wrinkly in the bath?" Whichever one you're asking, you're in the right place. This is alt-week.

  • Alt-week 01.26.14: Hawking says there are no black holes, and a 3D printed liver could be on the way

    by 
    James Trew
    James Trew
    01.26.2014

    Alt-week takes a look at the best science and alternative tech stories from the last seven days. Science. What good is it if the end result is Robosapien and a sweet 3D printed phone cases? Thankfully, there are great minds at work to put it to far better use. Like robo-legs and 3D printed body organs. The best part? The technology is almost ready for prime time. This is alt-week.

  • Alt-week 12.21.13: Rainbow sun, edible batteries and the world's toughest encryption cracked by a microphone

    by 
    James Trew
    James Trew
    12.21.2013

    Alt-week takes a look at the best science and alternative tech stories from the last seven days. When constructing a feature whose very reason for being is to explore the most far out aspects of our universe, it's fair to say that we're leaning towards the red pill. But that doesn't mean there's nothing here for those of the blue persuasion. We think you'll love the rainbow sun, for example -- until you realize, technically that's very real too. This is alt-week.

  • Alt-week 12.14.13: who cares if intelligent life is out there, when everything's just a hologram

    by 
    James Trew
    James Trew
    12.14.2013

    Alt-week takes a look at the best science and alternative tech stories from the last seven days. There are big questions, and then there are big questions. Pastrami or ham? That's a big question. Solid universe or hologram? That's a big question. New research has made some headway toward one of those. Spoiler alert, it's not the one about sandwich-meat. This is alt-week.

  • Alt-Week 12.7.13: Wormhole short-cuts, watery planets and history as seen by Google Books

    by 
    Steve Dent
    Steve Dent
    12.07.2013

    Alt-week takes a look at the best science and alternative tech stories from the last seven days. Don't pack your bags just yet, but Hubble has found indirect evidence of water on five different planets -- a lot of it, in some cases. Bigger brains than ours are also speculating that like black holes, distant particles can be bridged by a wormhole, creating space short-cuts. Back on earth, a new book called Uncharted tackles nothing less than all the trends in recorded history using eight million Google books. No big whoop, right? It's Alt-Week.

  • Alt-week 11.30.13: one well preserved baby dinosaur, and the forbidden gadgets

    by 
    James Trew
    James Trew
    11.30.2013

    Alt-week takes a look at the best science and alternative tech stories from the last seven days. Technology and science doesn't care how old you are. Whether you're a pre-historic beast, or a juvenile rebel -- technology applies to you. It's also what will, hopefully, finally make those lunar-vacation dreams a reality. This is alt-week.

  • Alt-week 11.23.13: Woman videotapes the news for 35 years non-stop

    by 
    James Trew
    James Trew
    11.23.2013

    Alt-week takes a look at the best science and alternative tech stories from the last seven days. Missing the end of the game, thanks to your VCR was part of the accepted technology norm during the format's hey day in the 80s. Not for Marion Stokes, though, who managed to keep the VCR wheels turning for over three decades straight, amassing quite the archive of news coverage as she did so. Also, we've got one new island, and an Ice Age DNA puzzle. Where else but alt-week?

  • Alt-week 16.11.13: Need another Earth-like planet? Study says there could be plenty

    by 
    James Trew
    James Trew
    11.16.2013

    Alt-week takes a look at the best science and alternative tech stories from the last seven days. Suddenly things just got real. A new study claims one in five sun-like stars could have a planet capable of supporting life. Hugging your loved ones while thousands of miles away is closer reality, and smog? Apparently we can vacuum that stuff up now. Yeah? This is Alt-week.

  • Alt-week 10.26.13: Somewhere, is a galaxy far, far away and how time is just a side effect

    by 
    James Trew
    James Trew
    10.26.2013

    Alt-week takes a look at the best science and alternative tech stories from the last seven days. In the red corner, we have quantum theory. In the blue, it's relativity. But, if new experiments are to be believed, the two feuding concepts might not need to slug it out after all. In unrelated news, Google could be taking your data out to sea. This is alt-week.

  • Alt-week 10.19.13: A bird's eye view of Grasshopper, cyber poaching and why you probably need more sleep

    by 
    James Trew
    James Trew
    10.19.2013

    Alt-week takes a look at the best science and alternative tech stories from the last seven days. Rockets. Just the word sounds exciting. Rock-et. SpaceX's vertical-take-off-and-landing Grasshopper is how many of us here at Engadget vicariously live our unfulfilled engineering dreams, so any chance to see it from more angles is welcome. There's also some less welcome news this week, and a new take on why you need more sleep. This is alt-week.

  • Alt-week 10.12.13: water found in deep space, lonely planets and Juno's fly-by

    by 
    James Trew
    James Trew
    10.12.2013

    Alt-week takes a look at the best science and alternative tech stories from the last seven days. If this week's gaggle of science news gives you a neck ache, we apologize. That's because we're fully up amongst the stars, with three different tales of astronomic endeavor. Water-bearing space rubble, satellite sling-shots and lonely planets, to be precise. This is alt-week.

  • Alt-week 10.05.13: Facebook science, hands-on search and real 'piano hero'

    by 
    James Trew
    James Trew
    10.05.2013

    Alt-week takes a look at the best science and alternative tech stories from the last seven days. Your Facebook status updates may seem like witty prose to you, but to a bunch of scientists they're nothing but typographical DNA, waiting to reveal everything about you. Less sinister sounding stories from the last seven days include hands-on tangible web-searching and a new spin on learning the piano. This is alt-week.

  • Alt-week 09.15.13: Record-breaking glass, nature's gears, and Hubble's huge find

    by 
    Joe Pollicino
    Joe Pollicino
    09.16.2013

    Alt-week takes a look at the best science and alternative tech stories from the last seven days. This week's alternative roundup focuses on exploration, experimentation and discovery -- both on land and in space. Here on Earth, Cornell's stumbled upon a new glass that breaks records and researchers in Europe have discovered an insect with cob wheel-styled gear joints for movement. Meanwhile, above our atmosphere, NASA's Hubble telescope made a large discovery of its own. This is alt-week.

  • Alt-week 09.07.13: 3D printed cars, invisibility cloaks, and LADEE launches

    by 
    James Trew
    James Trew
    09.07.2013

    Alt-week takes a look at the best science and alternative tech stories from the last seven days. We're all about the launches this week, at both ends of the spectrum. At the small-scale, we see what happens when a pinewood derby gets the 3D printing treatment. At the other end, NASA's LADEE begins its voyage to the moon. This is alt-week.

  • Alt-week 08.31.13: We're all Martians, Mega Drive music and reinventing the ruler

    by 
    James Trew
    James Trew
    08.31.2013

    Alt-week takes a look at the best science and alternative tech stories from the last seven days. Some things become obsolete, some things rise to live again. Two of our stories over the fold demonstrate new tricks from old dogs. The third? Just, y'know, suggests that we're all actually from Mars. No biggie. This is alt-week.

  • Alt-week 8.17.13: Fukushima's permafrost plan, the rodent afterlife and quantum teleportation

    by 
    Jamie Rigg
    Jamie Rigg
    08.17.2013

    Alt-week takes a look at the best science and alternative tech stories from the last seven days. Two years on, the Fukushima nuclear meltdown is still causing problems, and the Japanese government is looking at a particularly cool way (literally) to address them. Similarly chilling is the prospect that 'dead' rats aren't quite as lifeless as you might think. Do rodents go to heaven? That, we can't answer, but what we can tell you is that new research shows we're edging ever closer to a quantum-computing future. This is alt-week.

  • Alt-week 8.10.13: The Mini Lisa, going ape and how Google Glass will turn you into an ant

    by 
    James Trew
    James Trew
    08.10.2013

    Alt-week takes a look at the best science and alternative tech stories from the last seven days. Science and art truly meet with the smallest Mona Lisa you'll ever see. Meanwhile, other scientists are taking primatology to the pool. Possibly of more concern, however, is how a game for Google Glass could finally confirm our destiny as mere worker ants in our technological future. This is alt-week.

  • Alt-week 8.3.13: giant robot 'crabsters,' walking planes and a year on Mars

    by 
    James Trew
    James Trew
    08.03.2013

    Alt-week takes a look at the best science and alternative tech stories from the last seven days. We didn't intend for there to be a theme this week, but there is. It's been all about unusual craft this last seven days. Whether it's nature-inspired sea drones, interplanetary exploration, or walking planes, ground control isn't calling Major Tom, it's gone way weirder that. This is alt-week.