Living People Linked to 5,500 Year-old DNA
By George Dvorsky from io9.com: Members of the Metlakatla community recently collaborated with scientists in ongoing genetic studies of Native peoples in British Columbia. Those pictured asked that their names be withheld. Credit: Metlakatla Treaty Office. Back in the 1980s, the 5,500 year-old remains of an aboriginal woman were found on a British Columbia island. Now, […]
“Umami” Was Coined by the Inventor of MSG to Describe Its Taste
By Matt Novak from Paleofuture.com: In 1908, Japanese chemist Kikunae Ikeda created monosodium glutamate, more commonly known to English-speakers of the 21st century as the often-maligned MSG. Ikeda thought that his discovery was so special that the taste deserved to be described with a brand new word, a word that a century later has become quite […]
How iOS 7’s Font Change Looks in the New Beta 3
By Kyle Wagner from Gizmodo.com: iOS 7’s switch to the Helvetica Neue Ultra Light typeface was one of the bigger design points for the new OS. But it came with a catch: It looked, in places, pretty bad on non-retina screens. The fix was simple enough. Just change it back to regular weight. Here’s what […]
X-Ray Reveals How Bats Take Flight
By Megan Garber from Mashable.com: If you have seen a bat in nature — which is to say, if you have seen a bat that will go on to haunt your nightmares, mercilessly — you have probably seen the creature in one of two situations: in mid-flight, or hanging upside-down, sleeping. It’s unlikely, though, that if […]
The Largest Structure Ever Built Has Opened in China
By Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan from Gizmodo.com: At what point does a building become a city? At 1.2 million square feet, the New Century Global Centre certainly toes the line. New Century, which has been under construction since spring of 2012 (which isn’t long, for a building of this size), opened officially on July 1. The 18-story, glass-and-steel […]
‘Shortcat’ utility replaces mouse clicks with keyboard presses
As a visual person, this is completely counterintuitive to me, but others may find it useful. By Marco Tabini from MacWorld.com: Review Product Specs At a Glance Shortcat 0.4.3.1If you’re a keyboard junkie, Shortcat allows you to use keys to access almost any any onscreen element, avoiding a mouse or trackpad (almost) altogether. Nearly two […]
Undervalued Inventor Nikola Tesla’s 157th Birthday
Nikola Tesla, unlike contemporaneous inventor Thomas Edison, was unconcerned with fame and financial gain. Edison co-opted many of his inventions. An innovators’ group in Nebraska has painted a mural of Nikola Tesla’s life and work on their building: This mural, dedicated to the life of Nikola Tesla, is freshly painted on the outside of our […]