bristol

Scientists at the U.K.'s University of Bristol have created what they say is the world's first magnetic soap, and it's gaining attention as a potential method for cleaning up oil spills.

As first reported in the Angewandte Chemie chemistry journal, the team of researchers created the magnetic soap by dissolving iron atoms, which give the soap particles a metallic center, into a chlorine and bromine solution similar to what's found in mouthwash and fabric softener.

To test its magnetic properties, the group inserted a magnet into a test tube containing the soap solution, water, and oil and found that the soap was able to rise through the water and oil to reach the magnet. … Read more

BRISTOL, England--Imagine being a wealthy traveler in the early 1840s and thinking about whether to buy a ticket aboard the brand-new SS Great Britain, an iron-hull giant of an ocean liner. It promised a speedy crossing from the U.K. to New York, but to your skeptical eyes, it probably also promised a speedy split in half and an agonizing drowning on the high seas.

That was the dynamic that awaited Isambard Kingdom Brunel's great new ship when it was launched in 1843 by England's Prince Albert. Brunel, a famous engineer responsible for, among other things, the Great … Read more

Will the overly computer literate stop at nothing until they have rent society's fabric asunder?

Will they spend their days and nights in constant digital subterfuge in order to paint society in their own image?

These vital questions need to be asked because there are serious accusations of voting irregularities that go far beyond any that have been leveled before.

No, I'm not talking about some obscure election for governor or district attorney. I am talking of Bristol Palin's stunning ascendance into the final of ABC's "Dancing with the Stars."

According to MSNBC, there … Read more

One good robot deserves another. That's why Japan's robot toilets would love a British bot that poops with clockwork regularity.

Ioannis Ieropoulos and other researchers at Bristol Robotics Laboratory in the U.K. have created a marvel of modern science--a robot that can feed on biomass and excrete waste. The EcoBot III has an artificial gut that allows it to survive on fluid food and water for seven days without human intervention.

The robot is powered by 48 small microbial fuel cells (MFCs) and moves along a steel track between sources of liquid food and water (see time-lapse … Read more

It's a safe assumption that women could have a hard time being taken seriously as competitors in the professional auto racing world. If you factor in being on the younger side of the age spectrum, getting respect is probably that much tougher. Well, in today's blog post in this week's salute to women drivers in the car racing world, we take a look at young Erica Enders and her rise to prominence in the auto racing world.

Erica Enders was born in 1983 and began drag racing at the tender age of 8. Erica chalked up 37 … Read more

If you were going to design a robot to look like a real human being, which famous face would be your model?

Would you go for an Angelina Jolie because, well, she's already been Lara Croft and somehow the distance from video game character on your telly to robot in your living room is shorter than the walk to your garage?

Or might you prefer a warm-hearted intellectual such as Kanye West, the Marquis de Sade, or Ann Coulter?

Well, the University of West of England and the University of Bristol, as part of a project called Human-Robot Interaction, … Read more

Our surprise guest today is Bristol Palin, daughter of would-be VP Sarah Palin! We regrettably rescind our drooling over yesterday's picture of the Governess--it's fake! Today's show is chock full of Google goodness, atom smashing, motherfrakkers, and a tried and true geekout on the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie! Special bonus: Senor Space Beer returns to The 404!

And now for a subject near and dear to my heart. After releasing a positively craptastic CGI effort, the folks over at Playmate Toys unofficially announced that the sequel will be a back-to-basics live-action movie! To me, this … Read more

Welcome to the working week! We're back after a very relaxing Labor Day Weekend. We welcome Natali back to the office and catch up on some political news. Don't fret, we mostly just make fun of Palin's daughter's redneck boyfriend. Other stories from today include MySpace suckage, CraigsList prostitution busts, an Amy Winehouse mental health update, and a Justin PSYu Foundation report!

After an extended weekend, it's usually difficult to drag yourself back into the office, but it's easy when there's so much to talk about! First things first: how come nobody told … Read more

We now know a lot about tsunamis that we didn't know a few years ago. There's even been significant research showing how hurricanes and tsunamis can act alike once onshore. Today, we learn a little more about a tsunami that occurred 400 years ago.

Scientists now conclude that it was a tsunami that flooded the Bristol Channel in western England. It flooded hundreds of square miles and scoured the landscape, killing about 2,000 people. And that was on January 30, 1607. Long before anybody in England ever heard the word "tsunami." At the time, it … Read more