Scientists engineer mouse muscles that can survive cobra venom

That humans can engineer muscle tissue in petri dishes is extraordinary, but it isn't enough to heal serious bodily injuries. To do that, you also need tissue that has the ability to grow strong, heal itself, and respond to commands after being implanted in a living animal. Scientists simply aren't there yet. But a new study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences today brings us one step closer to orthopedic surgery bliss, because scientists were able to engineer mouse muscle that was just as strong as native muscle — and that could heal itself after injury.

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See how a robot captures human faces in excruciating detail

These are not your usual Hollywood closeups. Swiss photographer Daniel Boschung created the series Face Cartography by using a robot to take high-megapixel pictures of peoples' faces, blowing up their features to striking detail. While macro photography like this isn't new, Boschung is slightly more removed from the process because he uses an ABB industrial robot with an attached Canon EOS Mark ll camera and a 180mm macro lens to capture hundreds of single shots of each subject. The final...
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Like Office for iPad? Get a 33% discount on an Office 365 subscription

Microsoft released Office for iPad after years of rumors and speculation last week. While the Office for iPad apps — PowerPoint, Word and Excel — can be freely downloaded from the App Store, you’ll need an Office 365 subscription to edit documents. Continue reading →

Samsung ATIV SE leak hints at April launch, warmed over Galaxy S 4 specs

Samsung's ATIV SE hasn't been a terribly well-kept secret, but we've heard precious little about the Verizon-bound Windows Phone beyond its use of a 5-inch, 1080p display. However, tipsters have given The Verge hardware specs that will seem very... read more

The government is about to make outdoor WiFi faster

Just over a year ago, the FCC said it was working on a proposal to make outdoor and public WiFi faster, and, well, it's finally come to pass. Today, the outfit announced that it has freed some 100 megahertz of spectrum in the 5 gigahertz band, which... read more

2015 Porsche 918 Spyder: The Jalopnik Review

If Ferdinand Piëch hadn't set his engineers on a course for 1,000 horsepower and 250 mph (Hello? Bugatti Veyron?), sports-car science projects like the Porsche 918 Spyder might not exist today. But he did, and it does. What's the 918 like to drive? Let's find out.
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Victorinox Tested This Durable Watch By Driving a 64-Ton Tank Over It

For years now, if you wanted a watch that could survive almost everything up to a nuclear war, Casio's G-Shock line was your goto timepiece. But Victorinox, maker of the venerable Swiss Army Knife, wants a piece of that market. So it's just unveiled its Inox line of 'Tonka-tough' watches that can seemingly survive any hardship.
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Scientists Make Bricks With Sludge Filtered From Arsenic-Laced Water

Arsenic-contaminated water is a massive problem in the developing world. But, even when you filter it out, the toxic sludge that the process produces often gets dumped right back into the water supply. It's tough to dream up a use for arsenic soup, but one research team finally has: They're making bricks out of it.
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After Launching In 135 Markets, Word For iPad Is #1 In 120 Countries

Microsoft's Office suite for iPad continues to dominate the iOS app store days after its release, retaining the top three free slots in the U.S. App Store, with Word, Excel and PowerPoint retaining the top three free slots. Read More

HTC One (M8) Review: The New Best Android Smartphone

There’s a new contender for Android top dog on the market, and it’s the HTC One (M8), the latest from the Taiwanese firm. This metal-clad unibody slab inherits the good looks of its predecessor, last year’s HTC One (retroactively referred to as the M7), but refines the look and adds a lot of significant software changes, too. It makes the new One a great device, and well worth a… Read More

Facebook’s Oculus Buy Will Force A New Social Future

Some reacted to Facebook's $2 billion acquisition of Oculus VR less than enthusiastically, but the announcement is one of the most exciting opportunities for the future of Social VR -- a future where virtual reality will help build stronger online interactions through more expressive communication and shared experiences. Read More

Purported photos of iPhone 6 show thinner design, rounded edges, protruding camera

Images of what appear to be an iPhone 6 in development have been leaked on Chinese social network Weibo. The images show the iPhone 6 with a thinner, but taller and wider design, and a protruding camera, like the current-gen iPod touch. Continue reading →

Magnetic Building Blocks That Interact With Touchscreen Tablet Apps

There's a fear that touchscreen devices like smartphones and tablets will one day turn kids into lifeless, imagination-less zombies. But technology isn't all bad. And to bridge the gap between the toys of yesteryear and tomorrow, researchers at the National Taiwan University created a building block toy that can interact with apps on a touchscreen tablet.
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LG G2 for Sprint gets a taste of Android 4.4 KitKat

 LG

G2 owners on Sprint no longer have to look on with envy as their friends on AT&T and T-Mobile get upgrades to Android 4.4 KitKat. The CDMA carrier has just started rolling out the OS update on its network today. There aren't any special treats... read more

New Xbox head Phil Spencer promises renewed focus on gaming across all Microsoft platforms

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced the new head of its Xbox division this morning: Phil Spencer, longtime Microsoft Studios leader and Xbox game dude. In Spencer's initial letter to the legions of Xbox owners the world over, his approach comes... read more

You Can Finally Use Moto Maker For Your Republic Wireless Moto X

While you've been able to get the Moto X—the best affordable phone—on Republic Wireless—the cheapest unlimited plan—for several months now, you've been limited to boring ol' black and white phones. No longer! Starting tomorrow (April 1) Republic Wireless will offer access to the colorrific Moto Maker , meaning you can design your phone to your heart's content.
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Tesla's Model S Lock Can Be Opened With a Basic Hack

Tesla's Model S is supposed to be the safest car on the road —at least where the physical realm is concerned. But apparently, the crazy expensive car's six-character password is vulnerable to some pretty basic hacking techniques, leaving you and your car's data at the mercy of a tech-savvy stranger.
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Is LG's New OLED Table Lamp Really the Future of Lighting?

You're probably familiar with LG's cutting edge curved OLED TVs, but the company is taking the technology in a new direction. At the Light+Building trade show in Frankfurt, LG unveiled an OLED table lamp. It's a little bit ugly—okay, a lot ugly—but the technology bears some exciting implications.
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Rdio and Crackle can now send music and free videos to your Chromecast

The Chromecast's media universe just got a little bit larger today. You can now stream Rdio's music service through the Google TV adapter using Android, iOS and web apps; you'll get both album art and track details when you send tunes to the big...read more

Real Apollo 11 Training Photos Look Like Prep For a Fake Moon Landing

No, these aren't photos from the Hollywood studio where Stanley Kubrick faked the moon landing. These are real training simulations in Houston just three months before these men would actually set foot on the moon.
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Under Armour's Clutchfit Shoes Conform to the Shape of Your Movement

Under Armour is about to release a new line of gear coated in a sheath of sturdy plastic, designed to provide support while also flexing with the shape of your movement. "Clutchfit," as the new tech is called, isn't aesthetics—it's science.
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Samsung Galaxy S5 outshines iPhone 5s in Battery life tests

A new battery life comparison chart has revealed the performance of the Samsung Galaxy S5 as well as iPhone 5s, with contrasting results especially in terms of 3D gaming and talk time. The iPhone 5s marginally edges out the Samsung flagship with regards to battery consumption during web-browsing, which is possibly the only positive out of this comparison for the handset. Continue reading →

Ultrakam app lets you shoot 2K videos on your iPhone 5s

The iPhone 5s comes with a pretty capable camera sensor. But unfortunately, it can only shoot videos in 1080p resolution. While that might be enough for a casual video, it’s simply not stretching the hardware to its limits. A new app called Ultrakam now allows users to shoot 2K videos from the camera of the device, without any extra hardware. Pretty cool, right? Continue reading →

Doing It For The Likes

We crave approval, but we already knew that. Conventional thinking would suggest we seek digital validation because it means we've impressed people and raised our social status. But what anonymous apps like Secret are highlighting is that we don't care if our name is attached to that approval. We are simply addicted to little dopamine hit we get when someone said we did well. Read More

Windows Exec Antoine Leblond Leaving Microsoft After Almost 25 Years

The post-Ballmer Microsoft is slowly taking shape now that Satya Nadella has become the company’s CEO. At the same time, though, those executives who were passed over for the CEO role and those who lost power in last year’s reorganization are starting to leave the company. The latest executive to depart, Re/Code reports today, is Antoine Leblond. A Microsoft spokesperson has… Read More

Music Startup Spawnsong Wants To Be Kickstarter For Single Tracks

Holy incremental music startup, Batman! Spawnsong is a (very) new music platform startup with a strategy to elbow into the crowded digital music space by focusing on a very thin wedge: individual songs. Read More

Launched On Kickstarter, Musaic Promises Hi-Fi Music And Home Automation

Compact wireless HiFi systems are pretty common these days, but what is less common is startups thinking more deeply about how the same systems could move into home automation and the Internet of Things. That’s the implication behind a new system launched by device startup Musaic, recently launched on Kickstarter. It now plans to go up against much bigger audio-based companies, such as Bose.… Read More

Scientists create sensor for night vision contact lenses

It may seem like the stuff from spy and superhero movies but scientists have created "the first room-temperature light detector that can sense the full infrared spectrum" which, according toresearchers at the University of Michigan, can be made so thin that it can be easily stacked on night vision contact lenses.
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Enable System Wide Facebook Chat Heads on iOS 7 with MessageBox

Last year, Facebook released a really useful feature on iOS and Android called Chat Heads that allowed you to chat with your friends while you were browsing your Facebook feed. There is one key difference between the implementation of Chat Heads on the two OSes — Chat Heads on Android are system wide, whereas on iOS, they’re confined to the Facebook, and Paper app. Continue reading →

Samsung's Galaxy S5 doubles as a baby monitor, if you have a Gear watch

The Galaxy S5: powerhouse smartphone, fitness guru... baby monitor? Yes, you read that right. SoyaCincau has learned that Samsung's jack-of-all-trades Android flagship includes a "baby crying detector" mode that uses the phone as a listening station.... read more

Don't Buy Plane Tickets on the Weekend If You Want a Good Deal

You've probably heard that you'll find the cheapest airfare on a Tuesday. But according to a new study from travel startup Hopper, that's a myth. So when can you find the best fares?
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Now That Microsoft Office is on iOS, This Highlights A Powerful Lesson For Incumbents

Finally, Microsoft's flagship Office suite (Excel, PPT, Word) is available on one of its key rival’s mobile operating systems: Apple’s iOS. Nearly seven years after Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone, Microsoft has finally built native products for Apple's iOS to extend its popular, high revenue-generating Office suite to another platform. It begs the question: Why so long? The easy, quick, and… Read More

Office Mobile for iPhone is now free for Home use

Microsoft released Office Mobile for iPhone last year, that let users access, view and edit Microsoft Word, Excel and Powerpoint documents on the go. The app required an Office 365 subscription, but Microsoft has now made Office Mobile for iPhone free for home use. Continue reading →

Why California's Drought Is Good News for Gold Prospectors

Having found a gold lining to the West's otherwise devastating drought , prospectors are flocking to the record-low rivers of the Sierra Nevada foothills. A mini gold rush has kicked off in previously inaccessible riverbeds, not far from the site of California's original gold rush.
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Watch Magnetic Tape Fall Like Water In This Hypnotic Video

Japanese artist Ei Wada, who was born in 1987, belongs to a generation that spent middle school feverishly poring over cassettes to make mix tapes—until, of course, they were quickly outmoded by CDs, and then MP3s. Now, Ei makes art using the outmoded technologies he grew up with.
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The Resurgent, Post-Windows Microsoft

Microsoft had become an oft-ignored, behemoth to the North, despite $77 billion in revenue and $57 billion in profits. It seemed that the mobile revolution had passed it by. Although Steve Ballmer was already making many of the right moves, it took new CEO Satya Nadella to fully accept that Microsoft had to move beyond Windows into a new future of apps and cloud services. Read More

How 3D Printing Will Create On-Demand Swarms of Disposable Drones

New advances in 3D printing are making it not only possible but also viable to manufacture cheap, print-on-demand, disposable drones designed simply to soar off over the horizon and never come back. Some British engineers did just that, and this is only the beginning.
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Why Facebook Ditched a Nice Redesign

Last year Facebook debuted a nice redesign that featured big, beautiful pictures, seen above. But Facebook never rolled it out. Why? Because most people have crappy old computers.
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What It's Like to Taste Frozen Food for a Living

Understandably, there is some point in life where getting paid to stuff your face with french fries might sound like a desirable thing. For most people, this point quickly passes. A former professional frozen food taster tells all in a gross and engrossing interview at The Billfold.
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That Time the Whac-A-Mole Inventor Accidentally Blew Up His Warehouse

It was lunch time on a muggy late September day in 2013 when an explosion shook downtown Orlando, Florida. A warehouse on west Jefferson street was the casualty. Police cars, ambulances, and fire trucks were already on their way by the time Tim Roth, a good Samaritan, was on the scene. As he searched through the rubble and debris for injured humans, what he found was something else entirely.
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The Improbable Rise Of Roku

In 10 years, when we look back and think about which companies fundamentally changed the way viewers get their TV shows delivered to them, will Roku be a part of the conversation? Based on what the company has done to date, and where it’s going, it seems likely. Read More

European Amazon listing prices LG's G2 mini at 350 euros ahead of launch

So far we know most of the things we need to know about LG's G2 mini. Like, we know there will be two processor variants (Tegra 4i for Latin America and Middle East, Snapdragon 400 elsewhere), there's also a 4.7-inch (qHD) display, 1GB of RAM and an... read more

NSA may have spied on 122 foreign leaders

We've known for a while that the NSA has spied on German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other international leaders, but it now looks like that surveillance was just the tip of the iceberg. Der Spiegel and The Intercept have published an Edward Snowden... read more

Samsung Galaxy S5 Is a Baby Monitor That Reports to Your Smartwatch

Samsung's new flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S5 , has a surprising hidden feature that tech bloggers have just discovered: the phone can double as a baby monitor—provided you've got it paired to a Galaxy Gear smartwatch. And y'know, you don't mind leaving your baby and your phone behind while you're in another room.
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Google Cracks Down On Deceptive Ads And Other Shady Behaviors Found In Android Apps

Android apps are about to get cleaned up. That is, if the recently added changes to the Google Play Developer Program Policy are actually enforced. Google this week updated its policy that dictates to app developers what sort of content their apps are permitted to display, with a number of rules designed to crack down on shady and deceptive ads. Read More

One World Trade Security Official Resigns After Daredevil Break-Ins

NY1 news is saying that Daniel Vasquez, assistant security director at One World Trade Center, is resigning after two separate events where thrill-seekers were able to break in to the building.
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Want the Most Booze per Calorie? Skip Liquor and Go For Champagne

In surprising booze news, Wonkblog's Christopher Ingraham gives an unexpected (and classy) spin to conventional drinking wisdom: if you're looking to get the most alcoholic punch per calorie, don't reach for "the hard stuff." You're better off drinking champagne or sparkling wine.
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HTC Will Fix Your Busted Screen For Free in the First Six Months

Everyone breaks a phone every once in a while. But if you break your new HTC One it's a little less soul-crushing. HTC says it will fix your cracked display for free in the first six months, even if it's your fault.
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HTC announces the new One with depth-sensing camera and larger screen

The "all new" HTC One has been one of the worst kept secrets of 2014, but today it's a secret no more. The Taiwanese manufacturer has taken the wraps off its latest flagship and fans of last years model (count us among them) won't be disappointed.... read more

The new HTC One vs. the 2013 model: what's changed?

If you're still attached to last year's HTC One, you may be wondering just how the new model compares. What's new? Well, we've compiled spec sheets on both the 2013 and 2014 models just past the break for an easy side-by-side comparison. There's... read more