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Posts Tagged “

Australia

panspermia

Proto-DNA from Meteorites Kick-Started Life on Earth

How life got started on Earth is still a big problem for scientists. The story goes something like this: "Well, there was this primordial soup of amino acids and stuff, then maybe there was some lightning, or something, and then ::mumble, mumble:: and then we had life." Awkward! But that awkwardness may be over: Research on the Murchison meteor, which landed in Australia in 1969, has found that the rock carried the building blocks of DNA on board. The finding puts panspermia firmly in the spotlight as a possible origin for life on Earth, and makes a lot more sense than that old tale of thunderstorms and arm-waving. More »

mad robotics

Suburb-Eating Robots Run on Fat Reclaimed from Liposuction

It may look like a smiling mecha puppy of vast proportions, but this suburb-eating robot is a vicious destroyer of suburbs and suburbanites whose giant legs pulverize housing tracts in order to plant new forests. The creation of Australian firm Andrew Maynard Architects, the suburb-eating robots will be deployed to clean up abandoned, decaying suburbs in Australia when peak oil forces people to stop driving cars and move into the urban centers. These mega-bots are going into production in 2019, and their engines will be fueled entirely by human fat. More »

found footage

Greatest "What the Hell is in Your Pants" Moment from an Alien Invasion Flick

Travis is a rather confused lad who isn't quite sure what he wants: his hot blond roommate, his semi-hot brunette best guy friend, or the hot older Christian lady who keeps trying to convert him. What the hero of Australian indie Demons in My Head is sure about is that the alien helmet he found in a meteorite is giving him special powers to conjure stuff up from another dimension. In this clip, Travis gazes longingly at a picture of the hot blond roommate, then uses his conjuring helmet to get . . . this (work safe) scene. More »

architecture

Alien Blob Water Tank Keeps a Whole House Intact

This house in Australia, designed by Paul Morgan Architects, has a giant white alien blob as the centerpiece in its living room. But the alien blob doesn't just look cool, it is actually a multi-functional, integral part of the building's entire structure. What does it do? More »

concept art

Robo-Kangaroos from the Terraformed Australian Outback

These robo-kangaroos have evolved to use language (they vocalize through the speakers near their throats), and carry tiny nuclear power generators on their backs. Plus, they've got stabilizing actuators on their legs so they can do long-distance hopping. And they look damn stylish with those fingerless gloves. So when are we going to see them in a video game? More »

australia is doomed

Seven Reasons Why Australia is the Most Apocalyptic Country

Ever since On the Beach was published in 1957, Australia has been the country we think of when we think "global apocalypse." That might be because people fantasize it's the one continent that will escape nuclear fallout. Or because it's so remote that people north of the equator imagine it as a savage wasteland of mutations. Either way, Australia is the coolest spot to stage the end of the world. The inspirations for that come from fiction and nonfiction. Check out our list of the reasons Down Under is going down. More »

The Real KITT Life imitates Knight Rider. Australian police are testing a new super-car that can recognize 5000 license plates in a day, respond to voice commands and calculate whether other cars are speeding. Best of all, the ESCV can fire a small dart with a GPS locator into other vehicles, so the cops can locate them later without a chase. [Courier-Mail]