Glass Of Milk LED Night Light. Designed by Andrew Liszewski.
Liszewski created these white LED-infused acrylic drinking glasses to serve not only as cups but also as night lights. The way I see it, he’s got it all wrong. The real purpose of these glasses is to camouflage with “milk” that alcoholic beverage you are forced to sneak around the house.
Russell Turnbull lost eyesight in his right eye when a squirt of ammonia shot into it as he intervened in a fight between two men. The chemical caused significant damage to his right eye and was diagnosed with a condition called Limbal Stem Cell Deficiency (LSCD). LSCD is very painful and requires many trips to the hospital for care. Because he had this rare condition, doctors used him as a guinea pig in stem cell trials. Fifteen years after the frightful incident, Turnbull was miraculously cured of blindness thanks to the stem cells. The treatment involved taking small samples of stem cells from his healthy eye’s cornea, growing it in the lab, and implanting them into his damaged eye. Only eight weeks after the operation, Turnbull regained full eyesight in his right eye. He was cured of blindness. He remains “one of eight patients with impaired vision who have been treated successfully by surgeons at the North East England Stem Cell Institute.”
Though this treatment surely won’t cure all blind people, it is a huge step in the right direction for science and health. Stem cell research is a controversial topic in today’s heated political and religious debates. No matter what side you stand on, you cannot deny that this miraculous story of Turnbull and the advances in science and technology are pointing to a brighter future where incurable diseases become curable ones.
Imagine a world in which you can drink as much alcohol as you like without getting out-of-control drunk and without worrying about feeling hungover the next morning. A new synthetic alcohol is being developed by a research team at Imperial College London, led by Professor David Nutt. The alcohol, which is being developed from chemicals found in Valium, serves the same function as today’s alcohol (induces relaxation, well-being, etc.) except that it has NO affect on other parts of the brain, thus eliminating potentially dangerous side effects such as mood swings and addiction. In addition, the researchers claim that a simple antidote can quickly flush out your system, removing the possibility of feeling hungover.
You can drink as much alcohol as you want. You reach a pleasant state of drunkenness. You can drink as much as you want and you will never leave this state. Now it’s time to drive home; pop a pill and you’re sober as a bird. Sounds great, right? According to the researchers, since the substance is tasteless and colorless, it can replace the alcohol content in beer, wine, and other alcoholic drinks without issue. So why isn’t this in place right now? Unfortunately Professor Nutt has been unsuccessful in finding a test country to market his discovery and he does not have the financial backing to move forward in the process. Also, since the liquor industry has shown little interest in change, this all places the substance on death watch. What a damn shame.
Look closely. Can’t figure it out? Jump after the break for the reveal.
Thanks to image post-processing technology, scientists have digitally remade the image of the NGC 5194, or what is known as “the original spiral nebula.” Enjoy the 51st entry in Charles Messier’s famous catalog (aka M51) in all its high resolution glory.
Over 60,000 light-years across, M51’s spiral arms and dust lanes clearly sweep in front of its companion galaxy (right), NGC 5195. Image data from the Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys has been reprocessed to produce this alternative portrait of the well-known interacting galaxy pair. The processing has further sharpened details and enhanced color and contrast in otherwise faint areas, bringing out dust lanes and extended streams that cross the small companion, along with features in the surroundings and core of M51 itself. The pair are about 31 million light-years distant. Not far on the sky from the handle of the Big Dipper, they officially lie within the boundaries of the small constellation Canes Venatici.
As we inch closer to the official grand opening of the largest skyscraper in the world, the Burj Dubai, I share with you a 2.3 gigapixel photo of the massive 2,684 foot tall structure. Well technically the image you see above is just the antenna that sticks out at the very top tip of the structure. (But what detail!) The image file is so large it would “break the Internet” if it were to be sent through the pipes. In fact, if this image was printed out at 150 pixels per inch, it would be over 37 feet high! Because of this, photographer Gerald Donovan has created a video “tour” of the photograph where he zooms in and out of detail:
The Burj Dubai opens January 4, 2010.
[Via Gizmodo]
Watch in awe as this 10,300-pound elephant takes on a series of selected name brand travel bags to test their durability. It took 14 minutes to crack open a $545 Tumi; eight minutes to open a $218 Delsey; one minute to open a legendary $240 Samsonite, and twenty minutes to open a $99 American Tourister; and the $320 Victorinox was found to be uncrackable. Though this is by no means a scientific way of testing a bag’s durability, it is interesting to find that some of the lesser expensive luggage bags survived longer than the expensive ones.
[Via Gizmodo]
Go behind the scenes of the upcoming season of 24 in this short, action packed featurette. Jack Bauer’s eighth day of intensity begins January 17 in a 2 night, 4 hour event on FOX.
[Via IGN]
Yeah I know this song has been out in the wild for some time now. In fact, it’s been sitting in the upper half of the iTunes top ten chart for weeks now. As of this writing it sits at #3 and the Ocean Eyes, the album it resides on, is at the #1 spot. But for those of you who have not yet experienced Adam Young’s music video for the popular tune, do yourself a favor and watch it right now. The kid’s a brilliant song writer and artist. The music video holds an air of tranquility and chaos and best represents the conception and meaning behind the song. Enjoy.
Bored? Got nothing else better to do? Have (a little) fun with this quick activity that involves your webcam and a piece of paper with a QR code on it. First click here to view and print the special marker. Then click here and scroll down to find a box that prompts you to allow access to your webcam. Then hold up the printed market to the camera and let the fun begin! Need help setting up? Watch the video above as a guide to getting started.
[Via DatNewCudi]
