Tibi Puiu -- author profile on ZME Science

The Oscar winning algorithm that makes smoke and explosions seem real

You'll recognize the work instantly if you've seen movies like Avatar, Super 8 or Superman Man of Steel.

CO2 emissions turned into stone at experimental plant in Iceland

The Hellisheidi power plant is the largest geothermal system in the world, but also the site of a unique science experiment.

Elon Musk visits Pentagon to talk about a 'flying metal suit'

This Wednesday, serial entrepreneur Elon Musk met behind closed doors with United States Secretary of Defense Ash Carter down at the Pentagon.

Hero Rats detect landmines and TB for a living

Detecting landmines can be difficult, dangerous and expensive, but an unsung hero is set to change all this.

Switzerland soon to open first carbon capture plant: interesting engineering or plain stupid?

No later than October, Climeworks expects to open the first ever commercial carbon dioxide capture plant in the world, near Zurich.

A monster supermassive black hole was surprised feeding on an unusual supper: cold gas

Astronomers used to think black holes feed exclusively on a hot gas and dust, but it seems they sometimes like to go out for ice cream.

The Black Plague that killed a third of Europe's people can be traced to a single bacterial strain

One single bacterial strain is responsible for the death of millions.

The world's oceans have way more light producing fish than we imagined

There are scores of marine species that have evolved light emitting abilities -- as many as four in five ocean fish are bioluminescent

Tallest tree in the Tropics is only a few meter shorter than Big Ben

A Yellow Meranti tree that towers at about 89.5m tall was discovered by Cambridge researchers in Malaysia.

Google scientists propose adding a 'kill switch' for A.I.

When in danger of A.I. overlords, press the big red button.

Microsoft sniffs for cancer clues in your search queries

Microsoft researchers data mined health queries and detected pancreatic cancer symptoms before the user even thought about it.

Worst pain known to man is caused by the world's largest ant

The bullet packs the most painful punch in the animal kingdom.

Late-term babies are likelier to be classed as 'gifted' in school, but also at risk of health problems

Parents should know this if they want to make an informed decision.

Weird electric eel experiment proves 200-years-old anecdotal account by famous naturalist

One of the most famous biology myths was just confirmed. It was rather shocking.

Action video games like Call of Duty slightly improve cognition in young and older adults alike

Many parents view high-paced action video games as a pernicious pastime for their children, but science says otherwise.

Ultra-thin flat lens leads to smaller, better, cheaper optical devices: from telescopes to VR goggles

Flat lenses could revolutionize optics, researchers say.

Leading scientists will synthesize human genomes from scratch by 2026

Scientists want to build and deploy a fully synthetic human genome in human cell lines within 10 years.

Marijuana use doesn't affect your physical health, except for one aspect: your gums

A longitudinal study which tracked 1,037 New Zealanders from birth to middle age found marijuana use did not cause physical problems, with one notable exception: periodontal health.

The Inglorious Legacy of the 'Iron Curtain' in 20 Maps

Having their troops and secret agents infiltrated through half of Europe all the way to Germany, the Soviet Union as a matter of convenience decided to keep control of all of these regions it had "liberated" during the war. The spoils of war go the victor, and the Soviet Union took this very, very seriously.

Rooftop solar is getting dirt cheap. That's good news for consumers, but trouble for businesses

The low prices are making a lot of rooftop residents jubilant, but the same can't be said about the largest solar contractors in the states whose stocks have plummeted by more than 50 percent.

Climate change is making food crops toxic

A startling report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) says food crops like wheat and maize are generating toxins to protect themselves from extreme weather. Ingesting food made from toxic crops can lead to neurological diseases, but the greatest concern is cancer says Alex Ezeh, executive director of the African Population Health and Research Center.

Here's why Elon Musk thinks we might be characters in a giant computer simulation

At Recode's Code Conference serial entrepreneur Elon Musk gave his own two cents on why our existence could be in fact a simulation on some advanced civilization's supercomputers.

Why goats have really weird rectangular pupils

Goat eyes can be pretty freak. But there's a very good reason why they have this distinct square shape.

Mysterious Planet 9 that's hiding somewhere in our solar system might be stolen from another star

One group from Lund University in Sweden says Planet 9 or Planet X, as it's sometimes called, might actually be an exoplanet, initially formed in another solar system but captured by our sun in an interstellar gravity tug of war.

Painkiller abuse leads to first rise in U.S. death rate in a decade

The United States, a nation who's used to reporting lower mortality ever year, had a larger death rate in 2015 compared to the previous year. This was the first time in ten years and the third time in 25 years.

Culture drives distinct genetic evolution in killer whales -- the first non-human animal to do so

Researchers at University of Bern, Switzerland, found Orcinus orca (killer whales) populations have evolved distinct genetic lineages due to unique hunting strategies.

Both Democrats and Republicans use simpler grammar than 50 years ago. Trump most of all, to good effect

Analysists from Grammarly looked at all the general election debate transcripts since the 1960s word for word and found Presidential candidates have greatly simplified their language since.

Zika virus might cross from mother to fetus by hiding in immune cells

A massive breakthrough in the fight against the Zika virus was made by Emory University School of Medicine who recently report a possible mechanism for the viruses' migration from mother to baby.

What sorting algorithms look and sound like

I wish these were around during my first computer science course.

Bumblebees detect flowers' electric field with their tiny hairs

Research showed flowers, and plants in general, generate an electric field and bumblebees can sense it with their tiny hairs.

Physicists add another box to 'Schrödinger's cat', as if one wasn't spooky enough

Now, the cat is both dead and alive and sits in two boxes -- all at the same time. Here goes nothing.

In 2002 Airbus patented a trap door to keep terrorists away from the cockpit

Take that, terrorists!

Genetically modified bacteria converts CO2 into liquid fuels

Daniel G. Nocera, the Harvard professor who made headlines five years ago when he unveiled an artificial leaf, recently unveiled his latest work: an engineered bacteria that converts hydrogen and carbon dioxide into alcohols and biomass.

Global warming kills half of coral on the Northern Great Barrier Reef

A study of 84 reefs along the Great Barrier Reef revealed one-third of the coral reefs of the central and northern regions have died due to a huge bleaching event. Corals to the north of Cairns, which account for two-thirds of the Great Barrier Reef, are also massively affected with 35 percent dead or dying.

Why rats can't vomit, and how they make up for it

Rats can't vomit and it's pretty surprising.

Climate change on the Red Plant: Mars is emerging out of an ice age

Swirling patterns in the ice of Mars' North Pole suggest the planet is emerging out of a long ice age that began some 370,000 years ago. The findings are extremely important for climate change, improving our understanding of both Mars' and Earth's climate.

Archimedes' legacy: inventions and discoveries

Archimedes was the greatest mathematician of his age.

The U.S. Military is still using floppy disks to coordinate its nuclear arsenal

Some might be surprised to learn that the country's entire nuclear arsenal is still programmed on floppy disks, and army personnel is still reliant on the antiqued IBM Series/1 computer to implement the launch codes.

Who invented the induction motor

The induction motor is one of the most important inventions in modern history.

How to slow down light until it stops

In vacuum, light always travels at a constant speed of 299,792,458 metres per second. Nothing can travel faster than this constant c, as denoted by physicists. These two postulates are basic building blocks of modern physics and were first announced more than a hundred years ago by Albert Einstein. Yet, there are ingenious ways to slow light to the point of trapping it in a dead stop. Prepare for some weirdness.

Decade-long study shows how air pollution is killing you

A decade-long study of thousands of Americans has found direct evidence of how air pollution causes heart disease. The link between the two has been established a long time ago, but it's only now that the biological mechanisms have been explained thoroughly.

A minivan-sized sea sponge was found by NOAA -- the biggest ever

It's the largest any human has come across.

Amazing lighting strikes filmed at 7,000 frames per second

Researchers at the Florida Institute of Technology had an awesome day on the field with their 7,000 frames per second high-speed cameras.

Galactic warming triggered by supermassive black holes leads to stellar infertility

The analysis suggests some supermassive black holes, which lie at the heart of virtually any galaxy, turn their host galaxies into "red geysers" which suppress star formation.

Most powerful X-ray machine blasts water droplets for science

Stanford researchers fired extremely bright flashes of light from the world's most powerful X-ray laser onto droplets of liquid. These vaporized instantly, but not before the whole process was imaged in full detail.

Biodegradable plastics don't break down in the ocean, U.N. says

According to a 179-page report released by the U.N., biodegradable plastics degrade far too slow in the oceans, voiding any apparent practical benefit. In the ocean at least, they're just as bad, if not worse in some instances, than traditional plastics.

Supermassive blackholes are giants from birth

At the heart of virtually every galaxy, including the Milky Way, is a supermassive blackhole that's anywhere from hundreds of thousands to billions of times more massive than the sun. How these cosmic bodies start off is still a subject of debate.

8 out of 10 internet users might be suffering from Cyberchondria aka 'seeing Dr. Google'

Almost all doctors we've spoken to advise against "internet diagnoses", and this infographic is telling in this respect.

Hydrogen peroxide made from seawater might one day power fuel cell cars

Using energy from the sun, researchers converted seawater into hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) -- a fuel that can be used in fuel cells, instead of elemental hydrogen.

Hypersonic rocket reaches Mach 7.5 -- that's Sydney to London in 2 hours

A joint venture between US Department of Defense and Australian Defence Science and Technology Organization launched a rocket to a mind-boggling Mach 7.5. That's a speed seven and half times faster than the speed of sound or 5,710 mph (9,200 kmph).

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