nature

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The Late Movies: Dogs Being Cute

Let's just get this over with. I saw a cute dog video (the first below), and decided that y'all needed some more cute dog videos in your lives. Now, on with the show! Labrador With Human Hands Wow. Puppy Can "Whistle" This little guy can mimic human whistles with his high-pitched... READ ON

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Video: Inside the Chernobyl "Zone of Alienation"

On April 26, 1986 a massive accident occurred at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in what is now the Ukraine. A nuclear reactor exploded, sending radioactive fallout into the atmosphere and killing more than 50 people, with another 800,000 exposed to radiation and increased risk of cancer. Around the Chernobyl plant is a 30-kilometer Zone of Alienation (I'm not making this name up), established to prevent people from entering the most heavily contaminated area (and hurriedly evacuated, as you can see by... READ ON

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8 Amazing Octopus Videos

Hiding Under Coconut Shells Scientists caught these octopuses near Indonesia using coconut shells similar to how herbit crabs use shells -- as a place to hide. Octopus Opening Jar to Get Food It's well-documented that octopuses can learn how to open jars to get to food inside. Here's just one of many such videos on... READ ON

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Is Your Child a Dandelion or an Orchid?

An article in the December 2009 issue of The Atlantic poses a fascinating scientific question: do some children's genes give them a greater risk of failure, but also a greater chance for success, if they're raised under the right circumstances? Such children are dubbed "orchid children" David Dobbs's piece The Science of Success. The comparison is to a Swedish folk saying about "dandelion children" who will thrive anywhere (although, yes, good parenting helps them too -- just not as much). Dobbs... READ ON

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Giant Leopard Seal Brings Penguins to Photographer

In this two-minute video, National Geographic photographer Paul Nicklen relates the story of a giant leopard seal who tried to teach him (Nicklen) how to hunt for penguins. While Nicklen was in Antarctica photographing the seal, she (the seal) kept bringing him penguins as food offerings, thinking that Nicklen was an incompetent predator who couldn't find food for himself. Watch this short science video and be amazed. (Via Boing Boing and our own Morning Cup of... READ ON

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Amazing Lakes From Around The World

The natural world is full of amazing colors and beauty, particularly within bodies of water. A recent post on Simon Seeks features some of the most incredible lakes from all over the world. The lakes featured above are the Plitvice Lakes in Croatia. As you can see in the photo, the lakes are known for their cascading waterfalls and stunning colors. What's truly fascinating about these lakes though are their constant changing of colors depending on the minerals and organisms in the water. Even the angle... READ ON

Article

Required Viewing: "Powers of Ten"

If you've never seen the classic short "Powers of Ten," I've got a treat for you. Created in 1968 for IBM by Charles and Ray Eames (yes, of Eames Chair fame), the film has a very simple premise: start at a static scene, then start zooming out, at one "power of ten" per ten seconds -- for example, from 102 meters to 103 meters. As we zoom out, we see the earth, the solar system, the galaxy, and so forth. Once we reach 1024 meters (the size of the observable universe), the camera then begins a faster... READ ON

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2,000fps Slo-Mo Video of Water Drops

So it turns out that when a drop of water falls into a pool of water, some very weird things happen. Rather than merging directly with the pool of water beneath, the drop very briefly becomes a sphere resting atop the pool, with an air layer between. When the sphere touches the water below (because of gravity, it forces the air layer away), most of the drop joins the water below and a second sphere is created, which again "floats" briefly on the pool. The cycle continues until eventually the water drop... READ ON

List

5 Classic Poisons and the People Who Used Them

Long before our modern industries developed the cleaning products, industrial solvents, and drugs that can kill when misused, people used simple plants to murder each other. Some plants were especially effective. 1.... READ ON

Article

"The Botany of Desire" Documentary, TONIGHT at 8pm on PBS

Update: the entire documentary is now available online for free! A new PBS* documentary, The Botany of Desire, premieres Wednesday night (tonight!) at 8pm on PBS stations throughout the US. It's based on the popular Michael Pollan book of the same name, and I urge you to carve out two hours (in most markets between 8pm - 10pm) on Wednesday night to watch it. The program is packed with science, history, and beautiful photography. I've seen the film in advance, and I highly recommend it,... READ ON