Sunday 2nd June 2024
  • Why The "Sweet" Sound Of Cicadas Have Fascinated Humans For Millennia

    For thousands of years, humans have documented their fascinating with the incessant hum of the cicada. But why?

    Around Australia, the buzz-saw siren of cicadas heralds the beginning of summer. With 237 recorded species of cicada in Australia, almost no area of the country is untouched by their song. Up to 800 species in Australia are still to be scientifically recognized.

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  • 40 Years Ago, Star Trek Pulled Off Sci-Fi's Most Infamous Retcon

    When Paramount greenlit a third Star Trek film the day after the second one opened in 1982, there was really only one goal: bring back Spock, whose noble sacrifice at the end of The Wrath of Khan sent shockwaves throughout pop culture. It was an audacious and emotional demise that fit perfectly with the operatic melodrama of Nicholas Meyer’s film. In fact, it was so dramatic, it felt incomplete without Spock’s grieving friends carrying out a daring, Federation-defying, friendship-first mission to take advantage of cosmic convolutions and resurrect him.

    Spock’s blend of calming reason and alien strangeness defined Star Trek more than any captain; he sees the galaxy differently than his crewmates, both with scientific acumen and a curiosity about his own imaginative inabilities. The character was carefully balanced by placing contrasting personalities around him, so it’s fitting that his absence in 1984’s The Search for Spock, directed by Leonard Nimoy, feels like a loss of galactic proportions.

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  • 30 Years Ago, the Most Controversial Video Game Company Was Born

    Dictionaries are useless these days. Cell phones put a library in your pocket, and Microsoft Word and Google Docs keep the dictionary just a click away so there’s no need to keep a big, thick book on your desk. Even Merriam Webster's annual updates can't keep pace with the speed of digital slang. But the humble dictionary has played a crucial role in gaming history. Without it, we wouldn't have one of the most iconic companies of all time.

    Silicon and Synapse was founded in 1991. Mike Morhaime was an electrical engineering student at UCLA when he met Allen Adham, a computer science and engineering major. Morhaime and Adham had a few classes together, but one fateful day in the computer lab cemented their friendship.

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  • The Longest-Running Sci-Fi Show Just Achieved a Historic First in the Most Unexpected Way Possible

    When it was announced that Ncuti Gatwa was cast as the 15th Doctor, it marked an exciting new era for Doctor Who. For the first time, the BBC show was led by a Black actor — a huge historic achievement for the British cultural fixture which had, over the course of its 60-year run, a questionable pedigree when it came to depicting minorities, to say the least.

    The antiquated depictions of Aztecs and unfortunate use of yellowface from the show’s Classic era are better left forgotten, but the show’s modern era made great strides in terms of representation. However, it’s never quite been able to sensitively address topics like race head-on. In Season 3, the show’s first Black companion Martha Jones’ (Freema Agyeman) concerns about traveling to the past were mostly brushed aside, while in the Season 11 episode “Rosa,” where the Doctor and her companions met Rosa Parks, the show’s well-intentioned attempts to tackle racism in ‘60s America came across as heavy-handed and clumsy. But with Gatwa now the show’s protagonist, Doctor Who couldn’t avoid the topic.

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  • 60 Cool, Best-Selling Products on Amazon That Are Cheap as Hell

    Not only are these the most trending and best-selling finds on Amazon, but these products are also ultra functional. They can help solve everyday annoyances (think: that mess of cords near your computer) or simply make your space look elevated, trendy, and seriously impressive. And most importantly, everything on the list is budget-friendly. If something catches your eye, you might want to check out quickly — these items are bestsellers, after all.

    These chic pillar candles are secretly battery-operated, giving your home a warm glow without the mess of smoke and wax. The set of three features a realistic flickering flame that can be controlled with the included remote. Use it to turn the candles on and off from across the room, set timers, or adjust the brightness.

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  • 13 Years Ago, an Underrated Sci-Fi Epic Pushed the Genre to Dazzling New Heights

    With shades of Blade Runner and other sci-fi classics, Immortal Warrior pushes the limits of sci-fi animation.

    Soccer remains popular in Brazil in the year 2096, but plenty has changed. Rio de Janeiro is an enclosed fortress controlled by a private militia whose main task is to prevent an uprising. The divide between the haves and the have-nots now centers on access to water. The precious liquid has become a high-value commodity, forcing poor citizens to drink contaminated ocean water to survive. The wealthier you are, the cleaner your water.

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  • Is Ancient Viral DNA To Blame For Depression, Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder?

    Around 8% of human DNA is made up of genetic sequences acquired from ancient viruses. These sequences, known as human endogenous retroviruses (or Hervs), date back hundreds of thousands to millions of years — with some even predating the emergence of Homo sapiens.

    Our latest research suggests that some ancient viral DNA sequences in the human genome play a role in susceptibility to psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder.

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  • 2024's Biggest Summer Blockbusters Reveal a Troubling Truth About Hollywood's Priorities

    It's been a weird year for movies. The first five months of 2024 have delivered only a few mainstream releases in films like Challengers, Dune: Part Two, The Fall Guy, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. While all garnered largely positive responses from those who saw them, several struggled to generate traction at the box office. Furiosa and The Fall Guy, in particular, performed well below their early box office expectations, despite positive reviews.

    As a result, 2024 has proven to be a significantly better year for TV than film. Over the past five months, great dramas like Baby Reindeer, Shogun, X-Men '97, and Fallout have grown into breakout hits, while shows like Ripley, The Sympathizer, Monsieur Spade, and Mr. & Mrs. Smith have justifiably received some of the year’s best reviews. With this in mind, it makes sense that Disney, Warner Bros., and Amazon have bet the future of some of their biggest franchises on a trio of TV shows premiering this summer.

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  • Why Zombie Fires In The Arctic Just Won't Die

    So-called “zombie fires” in the peatlands of Alaska, Canada and Siberia smoulder underground during the winter before coming back to life the following spring.

    So-called “zombie fires” in the peatlands of Alaska, Canada, and Siberia disappear from the Earth’s surface and smolder underground during the winter before coming back to life the following spring. These fires puzzle scientists because they appear in early May, way ahead of the usual fire season in the far north, and can reignite for a number of years.

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  • 25 Years Ago, the Most Unique Star Trek Show Pulled Off a Surprising Finale

    In the final season of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, our heroes take desperate measures to achieve victory in a bitter war that’s engulfed billions of lives across the galaxy. They also play a rousing game of baseball.

    Wedged between The Next Generation, a beloved revival, and Voyager, a mediocre Borg adventure factory, Deep Space Nine’s creators were largely free to take their black sheep where they saw fit. The result was a series that moved Star Trek towards nuanced serialized storytelling, while still finding time to dabble in episodes about Vulcan serial killers and ill-advised crossdressing. When it wrapped up both its serious and silly stories in one big finale, DS9 built a bridge between the one-off episodes of Star Trek past and the relentless season-long sagas of modern shows like Discovery and Picard.

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