CNN profile of a couple moving from a 1,500 to 168-square foot home

There are many who dream of owning the smallest home they can find; a strong reaction to those who dream of owning a two-story mini-mansion. Here is a CNN profile of a young couple who did just that – moving their two kids, cat and dog into a 168 square foot home (on 3 acres …

Scientists discover the motion of sperm cells using 3-D technology

If nature finds the best way, then move in a spiral pattern to get there the quickest, from the UCLA Newsroom: The team developed a lensless computational imaging platform that accurately tracked more than 24,000 individual sperm cells in a large volume. This involved observing the individual rotations of each sperm cell, including helical movement …

R.I.P. Tom Sims – a short video about his life

Tom Sims is a legend in all board sports. He had the largest skateboard company in the world – in the early 80s. Built the first snowboard when he was 12, and created half-pipe and freestyle snowboarding, and the first professional snowboard. A 25-minute short video covers his early years, from Vice’s Powder & Rails: …

The Periodic Table as Illustrated Cartoons

In Bunpei Yorifuji’s new book, Wonderful Life with the Elements, each element in the periodic table has personality. From the scary poison of Beryllium to the battery power of Lithium. And not to forget Carbon: It’s wonderful book and worth buying for only $10. More images from the book are available at Brain Pickings. I …

European Solar Decathlon – Solar home creates twice the energy it uses

Our homes were never designed for energy efficiency. So what happens when designers, architects, and engineers approach the problem? From the European Solar Decathlon: “The house generates twice as much energy in Hungarian conditions and three times as much in Madrid as the house itself spends,” the Odooproject team states. “This amount is able to …

Climate change is now an acceptable conversation topic

From a Calgary Herald report: “The Holy Grail is figuring out how to get the public engaged on this issue. The problem is that the typical output of climate studies is statistical information that’s impenetrable to most people,” said Karen Akerlof. “If you can help people feel they’ve actually experienced what’s happening, they may be able to …

Help the new PBS web series – A Moment of Science – go viral!

I’m excited for the new PBS web series, A Moment of Science. It will feature short video clips on YouTube discussing basic science concepts. I love the idea of skipping television and going straight for the web audience. But I think it all depends on the videos going viral. They are off to a decent start …

Research: cheaper food means less nutrients

A few weeks ago, I shared a study that found nutrients in the U.S. food supply are declining. Which could explain why millions of Americans, who prefer to be thin, are overeating to get more nutrients. Another study found that industrial farming techniques – including the use of petroleum-based fertilizer – reduces nutrient levels in food, …

Forget critic reviews – enjoy the beautifully written narrations of AllMusic, AllMovies, & AllGames

One of the joys a Pandora listener experiences is hearing a song for the first time. That moment when the music genome offers up his ideal genetic match from an artist he’s never heard before. And when he clicks the bio to learn more, the AllMusic database loads up a charming piece of prose: Undeniably …