Sensation through the legs: What flies do and don't perceive when walking

How do insects perceive mechanical stress? This is a question of interest in many different fields, including comparative morphology, neurobiology and robotics.

NASA's Mars Perseverance snaps a selfie as a Martian dust devil blows by

The latest selfie by NASA's Perseverance rover at Mars has captured an unexpected guest: a Martian dust devil.

Novel AI methodology improves gully erosion prediction and interpretation

Gully erosion is the most severe form of soil erosion, and it can seriously impact agricultural fields, contributing to sediment loss and severe nutrient runoff into waterways. Gullies can be triggered suddenly by a single heavy rainfall event, creating deep channels that are

The Onion’s Bestseller List for June 2025, including I Need Money by...

The Onion’s Bestseller List for June 2025 , including I Need Money by Malcolm Gladwell, The Official ‘Pong’ Art Book, and Ernest Goes To Camp: The Novelization.

Seasonal resource subsidies shape life-history variations in red-spotted masu salmon

In nature, ecosystems are tightly linked through the flow of organisms, detritus, and nutrients across boundaries arbitrarily imagined by humans. These systems are deeply in tune with seasonal changes, fostering a harmonious ebb and flow of resources.

Study finds sand lizards feel at home on railway tracks

As a strictly protected species, sand lizards are dependent on the preservation of their habitats—especially in view of declining populations in Germany. Sand lizards sometimes find ideal living conditions along railway lines—as a new study published in the journal Salamandra

Wind-related hurricane losses for homeowners in the southeastern US could be nearly 76% higher by 2060

Hurricane winds are a major contributor to storm-related losses for people living in the southeastern coastal states. As the global temperature continues to rise, scientists predict that hurricanes will get more destructive—packing higher winds and torrential rainfall. A new

How deep-Earth carbon movements shape continents and diamonds

A new study published in Science Advances by researchers from the Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (GIG-CAS), along with international collaborators, reveals that deeply subducted carbonates can cause significant variations in the redox

Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor Make Cannes Sob With Powerful Gay Romance ‘The History of Sound’, Which Earns 6-Minute Standing Ovation

Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor brought the heat to Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday night with Oliver Hermanus’ “The History of Sound,” which earned a six-minute standing ovation. While Mescal received a standing ovation when walking in, O’Connor had to miss the premiere

Guedra Guedra Announces New Album MUTANT: Hear “Drift Of Drummer”

Moroccan producer Abdellah M. Hassak, who makes electronic music under the name Guedra Guedra, is the newest signing to the Domino imprint Smugglers Way. He’ll drop his album MUTANT this August, and judging by djembé-centric lead single “Drift Of Drummer,” it’s going to sound

New York Liberty Celebrates WNBA’s Opening Weekend With an Away Partnership — And Seafoam Green Luggage

As the 2025 WNBA season dribbles into full force, the reigning champions, the New York Liberty, are making headlines not just for their on-court prowess but also for a new partnership with travel brand Away. Announced just ahead of the team’s home opener, Away has become the

Stephen Shames Highlights a Transformational Era in ‘Black Panthers & Revolution’

As the official Black Panther Party photographer, the acclaimed photojournalist had a front row seat to the group's rise. Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The

The psychology of climate traps and how to avoid them

Each year, the world loses around 5 million hectares of forest, with 95% of this deforestation occurring in tropical regions. South America is a major hotspot, with Brazil in particular facing severe forest loss—much of it driven by cattle ranching, which accounts for more than

Watch live: Trump welcomes Florida Gators, NCAA basketball champions, to White House

President Trump is slated to host the 2025 NCAA men's basketball champions at the White House on Wednesday afternoon. The University of Florida defeated the University of Houston 65-63 in the 2025 March Madness tournament, giving the Gators their third national title. The

Senators should reject Billy Long’s nomination to lead the IRS

Former Rep. Billy Long's (R-Mo.) nomination to lead the IRS has been met with concerns from senators due to his acceptance of donations from donors who may have been trying to curry favor with him, raising questions about potential violations of federal anti-bribery laws.

Miyamoto Just Wants To Make More Pikmin Stuff

Shigeru Miyamoto , Nintendo’s legendary game designer and the creator of Mario, Zelda, and more, is a busy guy these days. He’s helping Nintendo make movies while also being involved in the construction of Mario theme parks at Universal Studios. But really, it seems like

Trump hits South African president with video 'genocide' claims: Five takeaways

President Trump's meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa took an unexpected turn Wednesday when the Oval Office-holder showed a video filled with clips putting his counterpart on the spot over claims that white farmers are being persecuted in that country. The

Mahmoud Khalil's lawyers plead with judge to allow contact visit with newborn son

Attorneys for Mahmoud Khalil, the former Columbia University grad student who has been in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention for 10 weeks, are fighting to allow him to have physical contact with his wife and newborn son. In a letter to District Judge Michael

Ex-Kohl’s CEO kept affair with live-in-lover a secret for years — and raised eyebrows promoting her coffee: report

Kohl’s canned Ashley Buchanan on May 1 after just four months on the job for steering business deals to his secret lover.

Joey King to Star in ‘Practical Magic 2′ With Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman

Joey King is in talks to star in “Practical Magic 2” alongside Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman. She’s reportedly playing the daughter of Bullock’s character. Bullock and Kidman are reprising their roles as Sally and Gillian Owens, two sisters who descend from a long line of

Computational tool predicts stable metal-organic frameworks for new energy economy

The clean energy transition requires new means to transport energy that are less reliant on burning fossil fuels. This requires new materials to catalyze reactions to store and extract energy from chemical energy carriers without combustion.

Miley Cyrus Had A Different Vision For Something Beautiful, But Harrison Ford Talked Her Out Of It

Next week Miley Cyrus will release Something Beautiful , her ambitious new visual album. She took inspiration for the project from films such as Pink Floyd’s The Wall and the Nicolas Cage movie Mandy , and she recruited contributions from members of indie bands such as the War

North Korean escapees speak at UN General Assembly, drawing anger from Pyongyang

The two women address an unprecedented plenary session on North Korean human rights at the UNGA.

Nanomaterial achieves dual functionality—high-performance energy storage and efficient pollutant degradation

Researchers from Shinshu University developed a low-cost nanocomposite by embedding bimetallic and trimetallic molybdates into nitrogen-, boron-, and fluorine-doped hollow carbon nanofibers. This material demonstrated excellent electrochemical performance for supercapacitors,

35% efficiency boost seen in spin-torque heat-assisted magnetic recording

In conventional heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR), a laser is used to locally heat the recording medium to facilitate data writing. However, the thermal energy applied is largely dissipated within the medium and does not contribute directly to the recording efficiency.

Thomas Massie unloads on fellow conservatives as megabill negotiations continue

“[This website] is a repurposed smartphone running on solar power. It’s a...

“ [This website] is a repurposed smartphone running on solar power . It’s a web server pieced together from scraps, humming in the attic of an apartment building.” 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →

SNAP changes proposed in GOP's 'big, beautiful bill.' Here's what to know

Congressional Republicans are working to pass a massive, 1,116-page piece of legislation – titled the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" – that includes cuts to SNAP.

Jason Momoa, Andrew Koji, Noah Centineo, Roman Reigns in Talks to Star in ‘Street Fighter’

Legendary and Capcom are co-developing the adaptation of the popular video game franchise to be directed by Kita Sakurai.

Stress-induced changes in generations of cancer cells tracked live under the microscope

Cells are the smallest units of life. But even within the same tissue or organ, they are not all identical. New variations arise continuously during cell proliferation. While genetic mutations alter the DNA sequence, epigenetic changes influence gene activity.

Joey King in Talks to Join Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman in ‘Practical Magic 2’ (Exclusive)

Susanne Bier is directing the Warner Bros. feature that will shoot late this summer.

Apple's famed design leader Jony Ive is coming to OpenAI

OpenAI is acquiring io, a hardware startup co-founded by Apple ( AAPL ) design legend Jony Ive, in a deal valued at approximately $6.5 billion, the company announced Wednesday. Read more...

Amazon investors again reject all shareholder proposals on climate change

Amazon.com investors at its annual meeting again rejected all outside shareholder resolutions, including three meant to address the online retail giant’s impact on climate change. Voters approved the reelection of 12 directors and proposed executive compensation. Shareholders

Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford wades back into the Borderlands 4 pricing controversy: 'Game budgets are increasing ... it's getting gnarly out there'

Pitchford shared a recent video from PAX East to explain "the truth" about videogame pricing.

US accepts Boeing 747 from Qatar for Trump to potentially use as Air Force One

The plane Qatar has offered Trump is estimated to be worth around $400 million (€352 million) which Trump called a "great gesture."

Inorganic polycations induce widening of infrared transparency spectrum

As core components for generating coherent tunable radiation sources in all-solid-state lasers, second-order nonlinear optical (NLO) crystals have demonstrated significant technical advantages in many fields. Metal chalcogenides with tetrahedral cluster (Tn) as the structural

Swalwell says Dems must embrace 'new tactics' to challenge Trump

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) says there's definite "room for improvement" when it comes to efforts by Democratic leadership to push back against President Trump. "We're seeing, I would say, all of our colleagues are stepping up and recognizing that this is not, to the voters,

Molecular dynamics simulations show how potassium passes through an ion channel at atomic resolution

They are literally channels for communication: Pore-forming proteins in living cells, termed ion channels, are embedded in the outer membrane of almost all cell types and play a crucial role in the body's various communication systems. Blood, immune, and liver cells communicate

South African President Apologizes for Not Gifting Trump a Private Jet

Amidst one of Donald Trump’s most obvious corruption scandals , foreign leaders are now apologizing to the American president for not providing him with a multi-million dollar bribe. “I’m sorry I don’t have a plane to give you,” South African President Cyril Ramaphosa told

The Witcher 3's development took CDPR from 'How do we escape annihilation?' to having Sony on speed-dial

A meteoric rise with, uh, a few bumps along the way.

US stocks drop as Trump’s ‘big, beautiful’ tax bill faces rare overnight hearing

The S&P 500 slipped in volatile trading and Treasury yields rose on Wednesday as President Trump’s proposed tax-cut law faced a rare overnight hearing aimed at influencing Republican holdouts opposed to the bill’s passage. The House Rules Committee scheduled an unusual 1 a.m.

Looking back at election forecasts

Predicting future events is difficult, but economists and election forecasters have made significant progress in recent years, with accuracy rates of 90 percent for five-day weather forecasts and 50 percent for ten-day forecasts, and 23 percent for economic forecasts, but the

CAA Unveils 2025 Moebius Film Festival Lineup

CAA has announced that the tenth annual CAA Moebius Film Festival, a two-day screening series showcasing graduate student filmmakers, will take place May 28–29, 2025. Marking its tenth anniversary, this year’s festival features its broadest representation of film programs to

Bitcoin hits record as stocks, bonds retreat amid market uncertainty

The flagship cryptocurrency surged to $109,422 before easing slightly to $109,176, according to CoinDesk.

How to evolve Kubfu into Urshifu in Pokémon Go — should you pick Single or Rapid Strike?

Pokémon Go players can now evolve Kubfu into Urshifu, but the big fighting bear has two forms: Single Strike and Rapid Strike. Which one should you evolve your Kubfu into? How do you even evolve the Kubfu to begin with? We’re here with the answers. Since the Kubfu can only

Republicans to watch on Trump's 'big, beautiful bill'

House Republicans are scrambling to finalize the details of their “one big, beautiful bill” of President Trump’s legislative priorities. The White House is pushing to hold the vote Wednesday, even as warring Republican factions negotiate last-minute tweaks and some members warn

Watch live: Chris Wright testifies before Senate on Energy budget

Energy Secretary Chris Wright is testifying Wednesday afternoon before the Senate Appropriations Committee on the department's fiscal 2026 budget request. The Trump administration's spending proposal includes significant cuts to Biden-era green initiatives. Paired with the

Cannes Critics’ Week Awards Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke’s ‘A Useful Ghost’

Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke’s “A Useful Ghost” has picked up Critics Week’s Grand Prize. The film has been picking up fans among journalists since the premiere, intrigued by its absurd yet sweet story of a woman who dies from dust pollution and a husband who’s shocked to find

Live service games are 'innovating' all the way back around to what worked 20 years ago, except way worse

What's old is new again.