22.05.11

Enoki Mushrooms may grow 350 metres in Rome

Many people enjoy eating mushrooms, but would you want to live inside one? These mushroom houses aren’t for the pixies living in the forest, they’re for life-sized human beings. The long white enoki mushrooms that have starred in many Asian dishes are now providing the inspiration for
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VW's 260-MPG Diesel Hybrid Concept May Actually Get Built

Volkswagen's latest eye-catching creation, the ultra-efficient diesel-hybrid XL1, debuted at the Qatar Auto Show, immediately garnering attention both for its looks and its specs. But according to German publication Automobilwoche
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Researchers Call For Creation of Standardized METI Protocol For Talking To Extraterrestrials

Since the first binary code sent from Puerto Rico in 1974, our messages to aliens have been increasingly complicated and cryptic, possibly so much that extraterrestrials won't get what we're saying. A trio of astrophysicists from the US and France hope to change
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Just In Time For Spring Break, Water-Powered Jetpack Finally Goes On Sale

Waterskiing is so passé. This summer, you'll be able to fly with Raymond Li's water-powered jetpack, which is going on sale in March. It's only $99,500! The JetLev jetpack
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3-D Printer Sets Record For Building World's Biggest, Most Complicated Rubik's Cube

They said it couldn't be done, but Oskar van Deventer-a longtime puzzle maker living in the Netherlands-created it anyhow: a 17-by-17-by-17 tile Rubik's cube that, as far as we know, is an unofficial world record for the world's largest and most complex Rubik's puzzle.
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To Silence Protesters, Egypt Unplugs Itself From the Internet Entirely

Add "shutting down the Internet" to batons and tear gas as the protest-silencing methods of the modern era. In response to protests simmering throughout Egypt this week, with calls for the president to resign and outcries over the jailing of political dissidents,
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What Could Possibly Go Wrong: Genetically-Modified Mosquitoes

Genetically engineered mosquitoes could even spread genes to other insects As carriers for diseases such as malaria, dengue fever and yellow fever, mosquitoes are the deadliest creatures on the planet, responsible for millions of human deaths every year. And as the planet
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Malaysia Releases 6,000 Genetically Modified Mosquitoes into the Wild

Over the protests of environmental groups and NGOs, Malaysia has released 6,000 genetically modified mosquitoes into the wild,
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Sponsored Post: The iRobot Roomba and Scooba

The iRobot Roomba and Scooba will leave you floored The modern American home has become a minefield of microscopic ordnance. Dust bombs... pet hair parapets... corn chips strewn like spent shell casings. It's an unruly battlescape that requires the kind of constant
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Bat Ears Could Inspire New Sensing Technology For Robots and Autonomous Vehicles

Bats - you know we love ‘em - have a remarkable ability to turn, swirl and dive on a dime while in mid-flight, dodging obstacles and grabbing food from the air. Engineers would like to give robots and autonomous
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All About the A380

Everyone is talking about the A380 today. Find out why here I live in the upper North Shore
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DIY Helicam Takes Awesome Aerial Videos

A couple of weeks ago, we wrote about the BeetleCam, a remote-controlled roving camera that lets photographers take pictures of wild animals up close. While clawed critters present one sort of obstacle to a great photo, the perfect shot is often blocked by something
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Science Confirms the Obvious: Men Look At Porn

Also: The Sky is Blue, Water is Wet? An overseas study into the differences between the
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Atomtronics, Or Atoms Spun By Laser Beams, Could Replace Electronics

A new type of circuit involving a whirling donut of supercold gas could lead to the world's first "atomtronic" devices, potentially more powerful
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Hubble 3D IMAX Trailer Released, Looks Amazing

Just refrain from trying to touch the screen NASA launched one of its boldest space missions in 2009 to repair and save the aging Hubble Space Telescope. Now everyone can get a glimpse of astronaut derring-do in a preview trailer for the upcoming Hubble 3D IMAX film
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Grandad's Wild Ride!

Meanwhile a motorcycle enthusiast with a passion for the unusual has smashed one of the world's weirdest speed records. Colin Furze of Britain has claimed the new top speed record for a personal mobility scooter, usually driven by the elderly. The rules are
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A huge week in photography

In the days leading up to the industry-stopping Photokina event, the major players have lifted the lid on all-new and exciting camera bodies that are sure to command the attention of conference attendees when it finally kicks off.
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Video: Military's New Water Guns Can Rip Through Steel, Disabling IEDs

Need to disarm an IED? Make sure you've got your Super Soaker handy. Sorry, make that your "Fluid Blade Disablement Tool." The Stingray, the military's newest bomb-fighting tech, is a small water gun developed
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Build a life-size paper clone of yourself for under $40

A young German guy has a detailed Instructable online this week that explains how you can exercise your inner narcissist and make a 3D paper clone of yourself. It's worth checking out
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At physics conference, scientists say they are closing in on 'God particle'

As particle physicists gather this week for a conference in Paris, they're reporting progress toward finding the elusive Higgs boson, with two groups suggesting a Higgs discovery may not be far off. Physicists from Fermilab in Illinois announced they combined the results of two experiments
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Attack of the clones

I was recently reinformed that the word ‘science’ is derived from the Latin word ‘scientia’ which translates simply to ‘knowledge’. This is a rather apt name for science as it is, at its core, concerned with the gathering of knowledge. We can attribute this gathering of knowledge
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Astronauts have it easy

When we’re knee-high to a grasshopper, our dream jobs are often more impractical than we understand at the time. Doubtlessly, many of us can relate to playing the “When I grow up I wanna be…” game, with common responses often along the lines of “Hollywood movie star”, “Prime Minister”,
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Technological advancements aren’t as exciting as they used to be

It was only last week that I was looking for suggestions for science-fiction technologies that could help to advance science actual. But upon reading
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Humans are antiquated technology that should be replaced

Regardless of whether you’re a football (read: soccer) fan, you’ll doubtlessly have some awareness that the World Cup is scheduled to kick off this year. And even though the thought of the 2014 World Cup is far from most minds, it hasn’t stopped news cropping up about a World Cup that
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What’s the deal with the iPad?

You’ve got to hand it to Apple and their cunning marketeers; put simply, they’ve got the formula right. Once upon a time the humble Mac used to be a niche computer when compared to the dominance of the PC, but now it’s difficult to walk into a university or office without seeing a plethora
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LEGO is still the coolest toy for kids (and kids at heart)

For years now I’ve been trying to come to terms with the fact that I find it hard to resist the urge to walk through the so-called ‘kids’ section of your average K-Mart, Target or Big W to check out the toys. Toys have always been of interest to me and even though I’m no longer an adolescent,
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Technology + lifestyle efficiencies = all work and no play

At one point or another in our lives, most of us would have had the hypothetical conversation surround which era of time we’d like to visit or have been born in. For some, living at the time of knights and fair maidens has chivalrous appeal. For others, living at a time when technology was
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Technological advancements continue to encourage ‘irrational’ fears

You know you’re destined to spread your opinions on a larger scale than your average Joe when you find yourself capable of coming up with a darker/weirder/funnier real-life story when partaking in story swapping. I’m sure that most people can relate to having that one friend who seems to
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New approach to treating human disease wins top international computational science prize

Dr Peer Bork, a bioinformatician from
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Welcome to the new PopSci website!

Welcome to the new popsci.com.au – bigger and better than ever! Apologies for any issues you may have encountered during the last few days while we have been testing the site. Hopefully we have now resolved all the glitches and you will enjoy our new look and many great new features. Make
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