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Media Platforms Design TeamBesides the outpouring of glee at the Jet Propulsion Lab and around the world, there was something else especially heartening about watching the Mars Science Lab’s entry, descent, and landing (EDL) team make science history when the Curiosity rover touched down on Mars: that so many of them were so young (including the mohawked , who became an ). Bobak Ferdowsiinstant social-media celebrityBut the celebration was bittersweet at JPL, as the future seemed more in doubt....

Media Platforms Design TeamThree U.S.-based scientists—Randy W. Schekman, James E. Rothman, and Thomas C. Südhof—won the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine today for their work on understanding the human cells’ complex transport system. The three scientists worked independently of one another at separate universities, but each contributed to uncovering a long-time medical mystery about how these systems can go awry and lead to disease. Defective transport systems are evidence of many types of diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and Diabetes, and greater understanding can lead to better treatment....

The rising military tensions between China and the United States aren’t limited to the sea, the air, and the internet. A new Bloomberg report says that China might be working on blocking U.S. military communication from space.The story draws from a report from the University of California Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation. The institute warns of all kinds of crazy future warfare, including that the U.S. (and the rest of the world) needs to prepare for a potential game-changing space war with China that could affect internet access and communication everywhere....

Media Platforms Design TeamAny inklings of a plan to build bases on the moon might have just hit a road block: A new study, conducted by a team of astronomers led by Cornell professor Donald B. Campbell, shows that what scientists once thought were sheets of ice in craters at the moon’s polar regions are most likely just deceptive reflections from the lunar soil.Astronomers have long held that the existence of ice sheets could mean water, oxygen and hydrogen fuel, a valuable resource if we plan to make the moon a base or—who knows?...

Media Platforms Design TeamIn the novel Childhood’s End, sci-fi writer Arthur C. Clarke tells the story of an alien civilization that visits Earth and helps to create a generation of telepathic human children. Mentally interconnected, the children think and act as one all-knowing organism. Neuroscientist Miguel Nicolelis foresees a day when our brains really will be interconnected in what he calls a brain-net, and we won’t even need aliens to achieve it....

Media Platforms Design TeamWhy slingshots?When I was a boy I was into slingshots. My father taught me how to make one from an inner tube and a tree fork. But then I forgot all about it and did the usual things: girls, university, and so forth. I got back into slingshots only about five years ago, when I was over 40, because I found stuff about it on the Internet. What fascinates me most is that the rubber bands that make the slingshot convert muscle energy into very fast kinetic energy....

A one-foot drone with a two-foot wingspan may be the first aircraft to buzz around the Martian atmosphere. Meet the new Mars boomerang. The Prandtl-m is currently undergoing testing at NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center in California. That will lead to tests later this year, where a balloon will take it 100,000 feet up to where the air is thin and frigid like Mars. Then they’ll let it loose. Under the current design, the small aircraft could weigh up to 2....

Media Platforms Design TeamWe’ve all had days when we felt like our brains were installed backwards inside our skulls. Fortunately, those moments probably didn’t end up in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, and elsewhere.Whoever illustrated this was not so lucky. The ad, which praises a $50 million gift to the University of Southern California’s Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute, appeared in publications around the country with an illustration that depicted the brain backwards....

The Cinder Sensing Cooker looks like a shinier George Foreman Grill, but don’t be fooled. In fact, it’s a smarter grill: This cooker has satellite AI.So why does a kitchen appliance need the same kind of AI as a spacecraft? Because cooking a perfect steak is an act of finesse, as many who have tried for medium-rare and gotten medium-well surely know. Cinder’s CEO, Eric Norman, came from Toyota, and Wired explains why he thought space tech would make grilling better:Norman compares satellites to airplanes: Airplanes can fly a bit too far east, or west, and can course correct as they go....

Media Platforms Design TeamUpdate: As has become obvious from the grainy, Photoshopped pictures, Alex Roy and Greg Ledet expended much effort fabricating this story about the record run – about as niche an April Fools’ Day prank as there can be. Apologies to those who got riled up about the danger of this, but the only potential victims, like Ed Bolian, the true record holder – were completely unfazed: “It was an elaborate ruse,” Bolian said....

Media Platforms Design TeamThe pyramids were hard to put together, but being hard to do doesn’t make something innovative. Technology has to move mankind forward, and the pyramids were not much more than a kid trying to build the biggest sand castle at the beach. It’s the same with the moon landing: Maybe it’ll get us closer to colonizing other planets, or maybe we did it just because it was there....

Something very strange is going down on the island. People suddenly appear out of nowhere, then vanish. A doctor is found dead, a day before he is actually killed. And finally, the entire island itself suddenly vanishes into thin air. With space and time turned into a pretzel every week, you know that this is not your ordinary Robinson Crusoe adventure. That’s one reason why Lost has made addicts out of millions of loyal viewers—and why I’ve advised the Popular Mechanics team for their “Lost Watch” on more than one occasion....

Media Platforms Design TeamDefining cheating in NASCAR is as much an art as getting away with an oversized carburetor. (To younger readers: A carburetor is a device that was used in the rest of the world before fuel injection was invented, but is still used in NASCAR. And no, we aren’t sure why.)We can all agree that cheating happens when you break a rule. But there are a lot of gray areas in motorsports, though NASCAR does have that clause in the rule book—which we’ve seen, but weren’t supposed to, since it’s secret—regarding “actions detrimental” to the sport....

Slinky is being health-conscious. Slinky needs to lose a few pounds. Slinky has been having trouble with his diet. Slinky is trying to turn over a new leaf. Slinky is taking the stairs.Slinky has had a long week and he’s ready to go home. Slinky has been working for the weekend. Slink is a little perplexed at how many steps there seem to be on this staircase. Slinky doesn’t remember it taking nearly so long last time....

Media Platforms Design TeamCoffee-Stain PenThe Prank /// Fill a colleague’s pen with coffee, then leave it on a stack of paperwork, ready to leak when the cap is removed.The Problem /// If this pen makes its way to the boss’s desk, you’re likely to spend the next few nights rewriting memos and expense reports. And good luck getting that check signed.Alternative /// At the office, trick your co-workers into shutting down their PCs when they click a desktop icon....

Last weekend I pushed my Triumph out of winter storage. It was clean, shiny and just as red as I remember when I pulled that cover off. That felt good, I tell you–my riding season here in New Jersey has officially begun. I rode the Triumph back to my shop for a little spring maintenance (all in preparation for my trip to the Honda Hoot in Tennessee come June). Man, it was great to get back on my own bike for an hour or so after riding around California on press bikes over the winter....

Randall Munroe is a NASA roboticist turned Web cartoonist with a cult following and a website, XKCD.com, that draws millions of people each week. And now he has a book. What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions is a collection of his trademark doodles and clever responses to insanely complex scientific scenarios thrown at him by his fans. We asked him a question of our own:Q: How many issues of Popular Mechanics would it take to sink a battleship?...

Last year in the town of Horseheads, N.Y., Kevin Bredenbeck became the first pilot to fly Sikorsky Aircraft’s X2 technology demonstrator. The successful test proved that the X2 engineering team had overcome a basic limitation in rotary-wing aero­dynamics–and had set itself on the path to building the world’s fastest helicopter. AVIATION: COAXIAL ROTOR HELICOPTERINNOVATORS: X2 Technology Development Team (seven of the 16 members of the team are pictured above); Sikorsky AircraftBRILLIANT IDEA: A coaxial, or stacked, rotor design that overcomes dissymmetry of lift, allowing engineers to design the world’s fastest helicopter–by a factor of two....

Media Platforms Design TeamOn Sale Date: March 2013Price: $22,820-$28,820Competitors: Ford Escape, Mazda CX-5, Honda CR-V, Buick Encore, Toyota RAV4, Kia Sorento, Nissan Rogue, VW TiguanPowertrains: 2.5-liter H-4, 170 hp, 174 lb-ft; turbocharged 2.0-liter H-4, 250 hp, 258 lb-ft; six-speed manual (2.5-liter only), CVT; AWDEPA Fuel Economy (city/hwy): 22-24/29-32 2.5-liter; 23/28 turbocharged 2.0-liter (manufacturer estimates)What’s New: The Forester is hardly gorgeous, but the wider, longer, and consequently roomier Forester is certainly a lot sleeker than its predecessor, yielding a quieter and nearly 12 percent more slippery shape....

Media Platforms Design TeamLook closely at the 2015 Hyundai Sonata, which debuted today at the New York Auto Show, and you might think the wheels are a little small. Yes, the 18-inch rims on the new 2.0T Sport model are the same size wheel as the V-6 version of the larger Genesis, and identical in diameter to ones found on the new Toyota Camry. Still, we were a little surprised that Hyundai didn’t go with huge, low-profile tires and continue the upward march to larger and larger wheel sizes....