According to an article in the New York Times, Moholy-Nagy was one of the least well-regarded members of Germany's Bauhaus school during his life, but The New Vision, his posthumous book on the future of art, design education, and the new media of photography and film, helped change that. And now he's being hailed as an important forefather to today's digital artists.

So what does the Light-Space Modulator do? It allows you to study the motion of light. Moholy-Nagy explains:

This piece of lighting equipment is a device used for demonstrating both plays of light and manifestations of movement. The model consists of a cube-like body or box, 120 x 120 cm in size, with a circular opening (stage opening) at its front side. On the back of the panel, mounted around the opening are a number of yellow, green, blue, rot, and white-toned electric bulbs (approximately 70 illuminating bulbs of 15 watts each, and 5 headlamps of 100 watts). Located inside the body, parallel to its front side, is a second panel; this panel too, bears a circular opening about which are mounted electric lightbulbs of different colors. In accordance with a predetermined plan, individual bulbs glow at different points. They illuminate a continually moving mechanism built of partly translucent, partly transparent, and partly fretted materials, in order to cause the best possible play of shadow formations on the back wall of the closed box. (When the demonstration occurs in a darkened space, the back wall of the box can be removed and the color and shadow projection shown on a screen of any chosen size behind the box.) The mechanism is supported by a circular platform on which a three-part mechanism is built. The dividing walls are made of transparent cellophane, and a metal wall made of vertical rods. Each of the three sectors of the framework accommodate a different, playful movement study, which individually goes into effect when it appears on the main disc revolving before the stage opening.

Image by HC Gilje on Flickr. [New York Times]

OK, I'll admit it. This cat is genetically engineered in that old-school breeder way, and it doesn't really have antenna dishes in its ears. Though that WOULD BE COOL.

What you're actually seeing is 4-month-old long hair American Curl showcat Sarah Jessicurl Parker. This photo was shot during a media preview for "Meet the Breeds" in New York. The event is the world's largest showcase of cats and dogs, and will take place at the Jacob Javits Center in New York this weekend.

via AP Photo/by Mary Altaffer

The images above, illustrating the limits of the field where the Radio Frequency ID tag is able to interact with the reader, when the tag is held parallel and perpendicular to the reader. A group of researchers at Berg, including io9 contributor Matt Jones, decided to study the patterns an RFID reader makes, as a means of seeing RFID tags the way they "see" themselves.

There are four billion RFID tags in the world, and they'll soon outnumber people — they include your bus pass, the inventory tags embedded in your clothes, your work ID, and many other forms of unique identification that a reader can ping. As people move through cities, carrying these tags around, they create data trails, which linger like ghosts. As Berg's Jack Schultze puts it, referring to the Oyster public transit pass:

Having produced these visualisations, I now find myself mapping imaginary shapes to the radio enabled objects around me. I see the yellow Oyster readers with plumes of LED fluoro-green fungal blossoms hanging over them – and my Oyster card jumping between them, like a digital bee cross-pollenating with data as I travel the city.

[Berg London]

Wired Senior Editor Nicholas Thompson wrote an article for the magazine's latest issue about the Soviet defensive weapon, known as Perimeter, but also frequently referred to as The Dead Hand. Thompson, author of The Hawk and The Dove: Paul Nitze, George Kennan, and the History of the Cold War, the system used sensors around Russia to look for evidence of nuclear attack. But don't worry: it had several safeguards built in:

Perimeter ensures the ability to strike back, but it's no hair-trigger device. It was designed to lie semi-dormant until switched on by a high official in a crisis. Then it would begin monitoring a network of seismic, radiation, and air pressure sensors for signs of nuclear explosions. Before launching any retaliatory strike, the system had to check off four if/then propositions: If it was turned on, then it would try to determine that a nuclear weapon had hit Soviet soil. If it seemed that one had, the system would check to see if any communication links to the war room of the Soviet General Staff remained. If they did, and if some amount of time-likely ranging from 15 minutes to an hour-passed without further indications of attack, the machine would assume officials were still living who could order the counterattack and shut down. But if the line to the General Staff went dead, then Perimeter would infer that apocalypse had arrived. It would immediately transfer launch authority to whoever was manning the system at that moment deep inside a protected bunker-bypassing layers and layers of normal command authority. At that point, the ability to destroy the world would fall to whoever was on duty: maybe a high minister sent in during the crisis, maybe a 25-year-old junior officer fresh out of military academy. And if that person decided to press the button ... If/then. If/then. If/then. If/then.

Here's Thompson appearing on NPR to explain more about this hair-rising device:

The really interesting part is that Perimeter wasn't a deterrent — nobody in the U.S. government ever knew the Soviets had built the thing, and even Russia's own arms negotiators didn't know. Rather, it was intended to cool down hotheads in the Soviet military, by reassuring them that they could still strike back at the U.S. later, even if they personally died first. That way, they'd be less likely to order preemptive strikes.

And yes, the Dead Hand still exists, and it's continuously being upgraded. The only question is, if the system were activated and some happenstance (an earthquake, a glitch) were to convince it that a nuclear attack had happened, would whoever's in charge be level-headed enough to avoid pressing the final button?

The whole article, over at Wired, is well worth reading. [Wired]

Physorg has the report from the Zootaxa journal detailing this clever little descendant from the sharks, chimaera, who has been around since the days of the dinosaurs. The new chimaera has been found off the coast of Southern California and Baja California, Mexico.

More about the new species, technically called Hydrolagus melanophasma:

Like sharks, chimaeras have skeletons composed of cartilage and the males have claspers for internal fertilization of females. Unlike sharks, male chimaeras also have retractable sexual appendages on the forehead and in front of the pelvic fins and a single pair of gills. Most species also have a mildly venomous spine in front of the dorsal fin. Chimaeras were once a very diverse and abundant group, as illustrated by their global presence in the fossil record. They survived through the age of dinosaurs mostly unchanged, but today these fishes are relatively scarce and are usually confined to deep ocean waters, where they have largely avoided the reach of explorers and remained poorly known to science.

You say chimaeras I say....

Snork. Come on how is that not some crazy cousin of the Snork? Still that's one bad ass genitalia rocking chimaeras, with possibly the best name in the ocean. More proof that evolution works.

What do you think: Real or food coloring?

[via Geekologie]

The Daily Mail has the report on why three parents are better than one. Four monkeys have been wiped clean of any mitochondrial genetic diseases, by swapping out the nuclear DNA from the mother's egg with that of another egg donor. See the graph:

Fascinating stuff, but we say why just three? Why not go a third step and gestate the swapped egg in a surrogate, whose body chemistry affects how the genes are expressed in a variety of ways? That way, you increase your chances of having a genetically superior offspring.

I'm for any kind of Nuclear DNA sucking where the child retains the physical characteristics of the original parent, but ditches genetic diseases. Mainly because one, I know I'll be long dead before any serious GATTACA shit will hit the fan, two the more superior my offspring are the better chance I have to live off the money from their future achievements as an athlete or super brain, and three I'd love to see diseases that are possibly stemmed from mitochondrial malfunction gone forever, such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and osteoporosis.

Look at this insanity — it's called a Phyto Purification Bathroom. The whole set up uses rushes, reeds, water hyacinths and lemnas to clean and reuse bathing/sink water. This is one of those "good in theory" ideas that eventually end up biting you in the ass later. But if only it really did work, since it would be pretty awesome to spend each morning in my own little naked bathroom garden.

According to its site, this is how the tiny ecosystem operates:

- the rushes are planted in sand which filters larger particles. the root system of the rushes
contain various bacterias which break down these particles for absorption by the plant.

- the reeds are planted next to the rushes as they have the ability to filter the heavy metals
from the water.

- the floating water hyacinths draw through their roots some of the water borne particles
which are still present in the water.

- the lemnas, which are also aquatic plants, bind to the remaining aquatic micro-organisms
to complete the filtering process.

- finally, a carbon filter stops the remaining micro-particles.

[Apartment Therapy]

According to the scientific paper from Contraception journal that describes this device:

Over a period of 7 years, broken condoms returned to a supplier (SSL, Durex) via consumer complaints were examined to determine the cause of failure. Also, some consumers who reported breakage but did not return condoms were sent a questionnaire on the causes of breakage. Finally, theories proposed for the mechanism of breakage were investigated on a laboratory coital model. RESULTS: Nearly 1000 (n=972) returned condoms made from natural rubber and polyurethane were examined. Visible features on those that were broken, were classified. Evidence combined from examining returns, questionnaire responses and the coital model strongly suggests a single predominant mechanism of failure we named "blunt puncture," where the tip of the thrusting male penis progressively stretches one part of the intact condom wall until it ultimately breaks.

I love that this machine is called a "coital model." I feel like there might be an aftermarket for it on eBay.

[via NCBI ROFL]

Scientists at the Université Libre de Bruxelles have created a computer program that combines existing technologies, allowing them to map your gait with scanning technologies, and create 3-D images of your entire body. Other scientists in Britain are using similar technological marriages to create virtual models of how blood moves through both brain aneurysms and the heart. With enough time and effort, scientists think they could entirely replicate functioning human bodies in the virtual world, possibly eliminating the need for animal research... or any kind of life outside your computer.

Virtual body parts take the guesswork out of medicine [New Scientist]

In a study published in the PLoS Computational Biology, Yossi Yovel, Mariana Laura Melcon, Matthias O. Franz, Annette Denzinger and Hans-Ulrich Schnitzler show that the greater mouse-eared bat (native to Europe, where myths about bats taking human form originated) use their echolocation skills not just to navigate, but to communicate. In their paper, the scientists write:

We used a direct paradigm to show that greater mouse-eared bats (Myotis myotis) can easily discriminate between individuals based on their echolocation calls and that they can generalize their knowledge to discriminate new individuals that they were not trained to recognize. We conclude that, despite their high variability, broadband bat-echolocation calls contain individual-specific information that is sufficient for recognition. An analysis of the call spectra showed that formant-related features are suitable cues for individual recognition.

In slightly less academic language, each bat has a unique "voice," which is recognized by other bats and used for decision-making.

Scientists have wondered for quite a while whether bats were just speaking in a language humans couldn't hear:

Researchers were always fascinated by the social behaviors exhibited by bats. There are, for instance, some reports of bats leaving the roost and flying to and between foraging sites in groups of between two and six individuals. Little is known about how bats might perform the strenuous task of remaining in a group when flying at high speeds in darkness, or about how they avoid interference between each others' echolocation calls. The finding that bats can recognize their conspecifics based on their echolocation calls might have some significant implications in this context.

Yeah, like, if we can start listening in to their code, perhaps we can find out where their master is located and drive a stake through his heart.

The Voice of Bats: How Greater Mouse-eared Bats Recognize Individuals Based on Their Echolocation Calls [PLoS Computational Biology]

Image via naturgucker.de]

The picture was taken at Tokyo's Beautyworld Japan Expo, and it shows a woman undergoing the ReGen Light Treatment system, made by U.K.-based Energist. Says Energist:

This versatile ReGen™ system is a breakthrough in LED technology, delivering a constant stream of rejuvenating light which is proven to have beneficial bio-stimulation effects on the skin to alleviate the damage caused by acne, ageing, and the sun. Powered by an array of high intensity LED's using red and blue light, ReGen™ has the power and flexibility to initiate new collagen production and speed up skin repair, effectively stimulating cellular mechanisms to regenerate the skin.

I always knew those old LEDs were good for something.

Picture by Michael Caronna/Reuters [Wall Street Journal]

This is like something out of Battle Royal, only real. Here's how the invention, which failed to make itthrough German Patent Law, would have worked:

The basic model would consist of a tiny GPS transceiver placed in a capsule and inserted under a person's skin, so that authorities could track him easily.

Model B would have an extra function - a dose of cyanide to remotely kill the wearer without muss or fuss if authorities deemed he'd become a public threat.

The inventor said the chip could be used to track terrorists, criminals, fugitives, illegal immigrants, political dissidents, domestic servants and foreigners overstaying their visas.

Yeah, got to look out for those dissidents. Sheesh, this guy is mental. The German media was first to report this, and luckily it looks like this patent will not be approved, nor should it be - unless they make it available to everyone for ex-boyfriend "monitoring."

[Fox News]

Image by Rhona Wise, of the Verichip (this is an implantable chip, but not the "killer chip").

Yes, the evil aliens in Decoys (and Decoys 2) mate by sticking their tentacles down a human male's throat and then impregnating him with their eggs. And for some reason they have to use their shapeshifting and telepathy to turn themselves into the guy's ultimate fantasy first - so he'll be really, really excited. And the mating must take place at sub-zero temperatures. Got it? Good.

The most awkward scenes of alien mating run the gamut from cheesy space-opera mating to full-on I-can't-believe-they-went-there porn. And yes, some of the clips below are not work-safe, so exercise discretion.

Star Trek: The Next Generation:

Trek, in all its various incarnations, has always been full of unfortunate alien mating moments. But for my money, this is the worst - it's actually the scene that inspired me to track down all the rest of these clips. Riker, blessed with the power of Q, decides to give Worf a Klingon girlfriend... who crawls around the Enterprise bridge in a Klingon aerobics instructor outfit. "Is this your idea of sex?" Geordi asks, awestruck. "This... is... sex!" Worf howls. Ummm. yeah.

Breeders:

Oh dear. An alien has been capturing women and attemting to mate with them. Here they are, in the alien's mental thrall, coating their naked bodies with its extraterrestrial sperm. And yes, it's NSFW:

Futurama:

Poor Dr. Zoidberg. His "erotic display" just doesn't turn out that well.

Weird Science:

In one episode of the short-lived TV series, their friend Chet starts dating an alien woman. Unfortunately, she wants to devour him after sex. Luckily, his ex-girlfriend intervenes just in time.

Babylon 5:

A similar mating practice crops up in this scene from B5's pilot. Commander Sinclair, he's a life-saver.

Space Thing:

An alien in human form, Col. Granilla, comes aboard a human spaceship commanded by women. It's up to this nice Kansas girl to teach him the ways of human mating. Clip is NSFW:

Something Is Out There:

Hand sex! Maryam D'Abo comes from an alien race who keep their erogenous zones in their hands. Here she is, getting it on with her boyfriend before their ship suffers a prison break. Clip is very work-safe, unless hand-sex offends you.

Quark:

This Star Trek spoof featured an episode where Ficus, the unemotional plant man (who's the counterpart of Mr. Spock) has to seduce Princess Libido, who's fallen in love with him. His objective is to use his sexual wiles to convince Libido to help him and his crewmates escape from her evil father. There's just one problem: Ficus doesn't have sex like normal people. He reproduces by pollinating. He's only too happy to show Libido how.

Species 2:

Eve, a clone of Sil, gets so excited she squishes a baseball. It's all because an astronaut, Patrick, has brought something alien back to Earth with him, and it manifests itself while he has sex with a debutante, and then her sister. The debutante suddenly gets very, very pregnant, while the sister notices that Patrick is growing rather a lot of tentacles during sex. Later, Patrick and Eve get together, and Eve's nipples grow tentacles, which I've never seen before. Clips are very, very NSFW:

Society:

Walking in on your parents having sex is bad enough — but what if you've learned your parents are aliens, who have sex by melting their flesh and blending together into weird and monstrous forms? And your sister is also an alien, and her head comes out of your mother's crotch? And asks you if you have any Oedipal fantasies? You might be put off sex for quite some time. This clip may actually be work safe, hard to say.

Inseminoid:

A human gets tied up and subjected to mating with an alien whose penis is a giant bong. This NSFW clip already featured as a "found footage," but I had to include it for completeness. Warning: very NSFW!

The Outer Limits:

Commenter Roklimber suggested this bizarre NSFW scene from a 1995 episode. Alyssa Milano is a nice college girl, until she gets hit with a spore from outer space. And then she suddenly wants to have sex with lots of guys... by absorbing them into herself.

Evil Aliens:

Nerdy Gavin finally gets to have sex with an alien woman, but finds out it's not all it's cracked up to be. And meanwhile, a woman named Foxy gets implanted with an alien fetus. And yes, it's NSFW.

Additional reporting by Alasdair Wilkins.

I had two gut reactions while watching this video about Japan's new Child-robot with a Biomimetic Body (CB2). First I thought, No way could that be real — that's a tiny disturbed man in a suit. Followed by, We must kill this now, before it tries to eat the children of the world. Frankly this is the creepiest robot video I've ever seen.

According to the report:

The robot can record emotional expressions using eye-cameras, then memorise and match them with physical sensations, and cluster them on its circuit boards. The professor, also a member of the Japanese Society of Baby Science, said his team has made progress on other fronts since first presenting CB2 to the world in 2007.

In the two years since then, he said, CB2 has taught itself how to walk with the aid of a human and can now move its body through a room quite smoothly, using 51 "muscles" driven by air pressure. In coming decades, Asada expects science will come up with a "robo species" that has learning abilities somewhere between those of a human and other primate species such as the chimpanzee.

Yeah, until it kills us all. Good luck with your giant robot baby I'm not getting anywhere near that, because I think we all know where this will end:

[Briet Bart picture via Pink Tentacle]

Picture from Brian A. Pounds/Staff Photographer

[ConnPost]

In an astounding presentation this Tuesday at the Honda Tokyo headquarters, the car manufacturer debuted this video presentation where a subject, donning the heavily monitored helmet, made the ASIMO robot move, using his brain.

According to Britebart the robot can respond to commands to move its right hand or left hand, trot and mimic eating - all through the power of mind control. The project's still in the heavy research mode and isn't ready for a live trial, as the helmet wearer could be too easily distracted. Also, since brain patterns are not universally the same, each subject needs two to three hours of study before linking up to ASIMO.

But I'm even more curious as to what happens when the sexy lab instructor shows up? All kidding aside, this truly is a jaw-dropping feat. This technology could enable millions of disabled people to control robotic avatars or wheelchairs, along with numerous other possibilities. It's hard not to think that somewhere Ronald D. Moore is rubbing his hands together in delight, muttering "I warned you all."

Photo from AP/Koji Sasahara

President Obama is going to enforce strict guidelines for the stem cell research to detour human cloning and called the idea "dangerous, profoundly wrong."

I agree, until we've figured out a way to breed out the evil gene, this world will never truly be safe from the evil-twin threat, even though seeing a cooler, more evil version of oneself could be pretty thrilling (especially if they had an eye patch or slightly darker hair).

The president is staunch on his position and said he would never allow the government to use cloning for human reproduction. Could it be that he's already met his evil duplicate?

[Briet Bart]

Says the Sun, the bright blue-eyed Nong has been under the watchful study of doctors in Dahua, southern China, due to his incredible glowing eyes, with immaculate eyesight.

He can read perfectly in the pitch black, and doctors are calling the condition leukodermia, which means his eyes have less protective pigment and are more sensitive to light — like cat eyes, in other words. (Actually, leukodermia is also referred to as vitiligo, and is a general condition that causes a loss of pigment, usually elsewhere on the body, probably due to a combination of genetic and environmental factors.)

His father was quoted as saying:

"They told me he would grow out of it and that his eyes would stop glowing and turn black like most Chinese people, but they never did."

And why would you want them to?

[The Sun]

Image via Solarclan

You don't think of virtual worlds like Second LIfe as sensual — after all, there's no sense of touch at all — but watching the lush footage in Second Skin and hearing people talk about their hunger for Worlds of Warcraft may change your mind. Immersive virtual reality might never live up to the hype, but already more and more people are pouring so much of their hearts and minds into virtual worlds that they seem to "feel" their experiences in them.
Director Juan Carlos calls it "An Inconvenient Truth meets Errol Morris," which sounds like he's swinging for the fences. If Carlos was on death row, he'd pick Weird Science as his last movie to watch:

I've always really loved that comedy. I mean John Hughes is great, and he's made a bunch of good movies, but Weird Science to me gets the fan favorite award. The idea behind that movie was so inventive and hilarious. Plus there is just something awesome when aliens come to crash a party in the middle of a teen comedy. So I'd laugh to start, and then get a little Zen.