doctors

I'm against tacky faux chrome stick-on portholes on cars, but I wholly endorse Etsy seller Empira's geeky custom car emblems.

The emblems cover most of the top sci-fi franchises, including "Star Wars," "Star Trek," "Battlestar Galactica," "Doctor Who," and "Firefly." There are even shout-outs to the fictional Canyonero from "The Simpsons" and to Atari with an Atari 2600 stick-on.

The emblems are convincingly done in the style of real car emblems. The Land Speeder even apes the look of the Land Rover logo. If you already own a vintage Ford Falcon, then you'll be on top of the universe with a Falcon Millennium Edition stick-on. Prices range for $12 to $15.… Read more

Jelly babies have a way of getting stuck in your teeth, no matter what planet you're from. Scrub them out of there with an officially licensed Doctor Who sonic screwdriver toothbrush.

The $20 electric toothbrush looks like something you'd find next to the sink in the Doctor's bathroom, though we never actually see the bathrooms in the Tardis. It runs on one AA battery and comes with a spare head.… Read more

The Device Doctor is a software application used to scan devices on your computer for driver updates. Once the scan is finished, this application also offers a way to download the missing updates to improve the speed and quality of your device.

Once you bring Device Doctor up on your desktop, the steps are very simple. It says to plug in any external devices and then to press Begin Scan. After a short wait, you will be given a list of devices that require driver updates. The first time we did the scan, it came up with 20 devices that … Read more

Move over, Curiosity rover, Google has already discovered signs of alien life. Eagle-eyed Street View users have noticed Doctor Who's blue police box time machine in various locations all over the United Kingdom.

Since Google blurs the faces of pedestrians caught by its cameras, it's entirely possible that one of the faceless figures near one of the Tardises is actually the Doctor or one of his companions.

Here's a list of Tardis spottings available on Street View, but there are likely more. Just plug them into Google Maps, switch to Street View, and look around until the Tardis comes into view.… Read more

There have been rumors running around for a while that the next Doctor Who could be a woman. If that's the case, I would recommend accessorizing her with a Dalek or Tardis felt purse.

Etsy seller Krukrustudio uses felt purses and bags as a creative outlet. The purses are crafted in detail from natural felt with linings and zipper openings. These are no mere change purses. The $190 Dalek purse stands over 9 inches high while the $180 Tardis is nearly a foot tall. For $140, you can pick up a slimmer Tardis bag that will hold a 14-inch laptop.… Read more

The Sleep Doctor Michael Breus is back in the studio to solve all our snooze-related questions, and he also brings us a new toy! He's showing off the Renew SleepClock by Gear4, a sleep management tool that knows when you're sleeping and takes careful measurements to record your sleep patterns.

It also works as a tailored alarm clock that wakes you up at the lightest moment in your sleep cycle, so you'll arise super refreshed. Dr. Breus also gave us one to give away on a future show, so be sure to tune in to find out how to win.

As usual, the Doctor also answers questions from our listeners. Today he'll respond to inquiries about the correlation between memory and sleep, and whether or not we can learn things like languages and facts just by sleeping.… Read more

The Doctor's impressive arsenal of technology is known to be finicky. The TARDIS, in particular, seems to have a mind of its own. Now imagine his sonic screwdriver is on the fritz and can only do one thing: operate a TV. You can have that sonic screwdriver.

The Sonic Screwdriver Programmable TV Remote at ThinkGeek is a note-perfect replica of the tool used by the latest Doctor, played by Matt Smith on the BBC.

The sci-fi magic happens when you use the remote's gesture-based command system. Rotate the sonic screwdriver for volume. Change channels with the flick of a wrist. It can also store up to 39 remote control codes to handle all the devices in your entertainment system.… Read more

Smartphones could soon be used not only to view complex inner-eye photos for diagnoses, but also to take, send, and view pictures of damage to the front of the eye or to eyelids, according to a new study out of Emory University.

Smartphones may even make passe those annual eye doctor visits if their imaging is good enough for diagnosing and planning treatment for a range of eye conditions -- good news for those who, like myself, prefer to perform as many chores as possible (think shopping) from the comfort of my home.

The researchers at Emory collected data on … Read more

Scientists have boldly gone where no one has gone before this week -- while shouting "Geronimo!" probably. Separate teams have developed working gadgets similar to Doctor Who's sonic screwdriver and the tricorder seen in "Star Trek."

Boffins at the University of Dundee in Scotland have developed an ultrasound array that can lift a 10cm (3.9-inch) rubber disk and spin it around without touching it, a bit like the Doctor's famous sonic screwdriver. Or to be more precise, they used a 1,000-element ultrasound transducer array to create an ultrasound vortex beam shaped of intertwined helixes to exert torque on the 3.2-ounce disk.

And open any door, we're guessing. Unless it's wood.

Read more of "Doctor Who sonic screwdriver and Star Trek tricorder are real" at Crave UK.… Read more