2016 in pictures: The best science images of the year

2016 in pictures: The best science images of the year
Storms, stars and other beautiful snaps.

December 31, 2016 at 06:19PM
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This Simple Philosophical Puzzle Shows How Difficult It Is to Know Something

This Simple Philosophical Puzzle Shows How Difficult It Is to Know Something
The unassuming vignettes in the Gettier problem point to a much bigger issue

December 31, 2016 at 06:19PM
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Are Trees Sentient Beings? Certainly, Says German Forester

Are Trees Sentient Beings? Certainly, Says German Forester
A forester makes the case that trees are sentient, feeling beings

December 31, 2016 at 06:19PM
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Humans are still evolving-and we can watch it happen

Humans are still evolving-and we can watch it happen
Large genomic databases are allowing researchers to see our traits evolve.

December 31, 2016 at 06:19PM
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The End of Tech Optimism

The End of Tech Optimism
2016 killed the notion of technology being an intrinsically positive force for good.

December 31, 2016 at 02:59AM
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Why Trolls Won in 2016

Why Trolls Won in 2016
A decade is all it took, more or less, for the internet to become unmanageable.

December 30, 2016 at 11:31PM
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The Island in a Lake on an Island in a Lake on an Island

The Island in a Lake on an Island in a Lake on an Island
Lake Taal, which is located within the island of Luzon in the Philippines, has an island (Volcano Island) that has a lake (Crater Lake) that contains its own small island called Vulcan Point.

December 30, 2016 at 07:41PM
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Deprecated: The Ars 2017 tech company Deathwatch

Deprecated: The Ars 2017 tech company Deathwatch
Deathwatch is not a prediction of actual corporate demise. Most failing companies limp on in some way through acquisition, integration, inertia or the eternal zombie life of bankruptcy protection. Instead, it's a way of recognizing those entities in danger of technical, economic and/or cultural irrelevance.

December 30, 2016 at 09:36PM
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The 52 Most Anticipated Movies of 2017

The 52 Most Anticipated Movies of 2017
"John Wick," "Spider-Man" and "Star Wars." It’s all happening in 2017.

December 30, 2016 at 06:42PM
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Benton County, AR

Benton County, AR
We've highlighted McMansion Hell before, and it's our duty to highlight it again (because it is one of the best blogs on the internet right now). Here, the architecture critic behind the blog picks apart a very bad McMansion in Arkansas.

December 30, 2016 at 08:37PM
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Insurance firm to replace human workers with AI system

Insurance firm to replace human workers with AI system
Fukoku Mutual Life Insurance's Watson-based system will be tasked with reading medical certificates written by doctors and other documents to collect information necessary for making payouts, such as medical histories, length of hospital stays and surgical procedure names.

December 31, 2016 at 01:26AM
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The Latest: Trump praises Putin for response as 'very smart'

The Latest: Trump praises Putin for response as 'very smart'
President-elect Donald Trump is praising Russian President Vladimir Putin for holding off on retaliation for new sanctions imposed by the Obama administration for its alleged interference in the US election.

December 31, 2016 at 01:11AM
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Make Your Very Own Blizzard In A Bottle This New Year

Make Your Very Own Blizzard In A Bottle This New Year
"Storm glass" was used in the olden days to forecast the weather. Unfortunately, the bottles have no actual divinatorial abilities but are very pretty.

December 31, 2016 at 12:13AM
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In 2016, An Anti-Troll Hero Came To My Rescue

In 2016, An Anti-Troll Hero Came To My Rescue
My vulgar guardian angel, Captain James T Kink, may be a secret weapon in the war on trolls.

December 30, 2016 at 06:33AM
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What Graduate School in Theoretical Physics Is Really Like

What Graduate School in Theoretical Physics Is Really Like
"Einstein and Feynman ushered me into grad school, reality ushered me out."

December 29, 2016 at 08:29PM
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Scientists can now detect 17 diseases by smell

Scientists can now detect 17 diseases by smell
Cancer, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's, and more all have distinct "breathprints."

December 30, 2016 at 10:32PM
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A new brain study sheds light on why it can be so hard to change someone's political beliefs

A new brain study sheds light on why it can be so hard to change someone's political beliefs
Why we react to inconvenient truths as if they were personal insults.

December 30, 2016 at 10:32PM
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An obscure E.U. regulation may have saved lives in the Berlin Christmas market attack

An obscure E.U. regulation may have saved lives in the Berlin Christmas market attack
EU regulations adopted in 2012 require that all newly manufactured trucks heavier than 3,500 kilograms have emergency brakes that, in the event of a crash, may stop the vehicle entirely.

December 30, 2016 at 09:36PM
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LSD Makes Adult Brains Childlike

LSD Makes Adult Brains Childlike
Scientific research on LSD's effects has been stymied for decades due to the drug's reputation. This year, David Nutt and his research team were the first to use modern imaging techniques to see how the brain responds to LSD.

December 30, 2016 at 05:32AM
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Why Alan Wake's creators want to make you the storyteller

Why Alan Wake's creators want to make you the storyteller
Remedy on the ‘lost opportunity’ of 'Alan Wake' and 'Quantum Break'

December 30, 2016 at 04:41AM
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Why are we treating eating disorders as only a women's disease?

Why are we treating eating disorders as only a women's disease?
Long considered an affliction of women, eating disorders — the most deadly of all mental illnesses — are increasingly affecting men.

December 30, 2016 at 07:41PM
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Putin says he won't expel US diplomats from Russia in tit-for-tat measure

Putin says he won't expel US diplomats from Russia in tit-for-tat measure
Putin said Russia’s response would depend on US attitudes to Russia under the new administration of Donald Trump, who has repeatedly spoken positively of Russia and Putin. Russia is accused of intervening in the election in support of Trump.

December 30, 2016 at 06:42PM
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Dashcam video appears to show cop shooting man in the back

Dashcam video appears to show cop shooting man in the back
A newly released video appears to show a Texas police officer shooting a black man in the back in July as he was walking away, leaving him paralyzed. The video appears to contradict the officer's account that the man was a threat, according to a lawyer for the victim.

December 30, 2016 at 06:42PM
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U.S. Punishes Russia for Election Hacking, Ejecting Operatives

U.S. Punishes Russia for Election Hacking, Ejecting Operatives
The actions amount to the strongest American response ever taken to a state-sponsored cyberattack aimed at the United States.

December 30, 2016 at 12:30AM
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Watch A Prince Rupert's Drop Shatter A Bullet

Watch A Prince Rupert's Drop Shatter A Bullet
Seeing the (glass) Prince Rupert's Drop obliterate a bullet is pretty cool, even if it ends up shattering itself after the impact.

December 30, 2016 at 05:47PM
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The Evangelical Scion Who Stopped Believing

The Evangelical Scion Who Stopped Believing
The son of a famous pastor, Bart Campolo is now a rising star of atheism — using the skills he learned in the world he left behind.

December 30, 2016 at 12:41AM
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This Army Vet Is Fighting Hep C With Big Pharma’s Help

This Army Vet Is Fighting Hep C With Big Pharma’s Help
Part social worker, part public health crusader and a boon to drugmakers for his work in finding patients who need costly, powerful treatments for the viral liver infection hepatitis C.

December 30, 2016 at 03:51PM
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Creep on the Hayward Fault

Creep on the Hayward Fault
The symptoms of the Hayward Fault are visible across the Bay Area—in cracked asphalt, off-kilter curbstones, and leaning walls.

December 30, 2016 at 12:45PM
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Many Companies, One Brand

Many Companies, One Brand
When it was a radio-maker, Packard Bell had a reputation for quality products. When a PC clone startup bought the name, that reputation fell apart — fast.

December 29, 2016 at 09:34PM
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The Best Worst Restaurant Reviews of the Past Decade

The Best Worst Restaurant Reviews of the Past Decade
There's so many good restaurants out there, it's not easy to find a bad one. Luckily these critics did.

December 29, 2016 at 10:31PM
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LSD Makes Adult Brains Childlike

LSD Makes Adult Brains Childlike
Scientific research on LSD's effects has been stymied for decades due to the drug's reputation. This year, David Nutt and his research team were the first to use modern imaging techniques to see how the brain responds to LSD.

December 30, 2016 at 05:32AM
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How the hoverboard went from fiction to fact

How the hoverboard went from fiction to fact
No, you still can't pick up a hot pink Mattel hoverboard from the nearest toy store. That might be a little disappointing, but the home that real-life hoverboard technology will find in making for speedier commutes should be a nice consolation prize.

December 30, 2016 at 05:32AM
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People Have Been Using MDMA to Treat PTSD for Decades

People Have Been Using MDMA to Treat PTSD for Decades
Though it may seem surprising, the so-called "party drug" was used in therapy years before it was banned in the US.

December 29, 2016 at 03:34AM
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Children of the New World

Children of the New World
An excerpt from Alexander Weinstein's "Children Of The New World".

December 30, 2016 at 03:42AM
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Heat-activated penile implant might restore sexual function in men with ED

Heat-activated penile implant might restore sexual function in men with ED
The basic technology for penile implants hasn't improved much in 40 years.

December 30, 2016 at 01:44AM
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The Robots Are Anxious About Taking Your Job

The Robots Are Anxious About Taking Your Job
If robots are to become as commonplace as sci-fi wants us to believe, we’re going to need confront some deep-seated issues with our relationship to automation.

December 29, 2016 at 07:30PM
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Dressing the Women in Blue

Dressing the Women in Blue
Policewomen’s uniforms still have a long way to go.

December 28, 2016 at 07:26PM
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How Yitang “Tom” Zhang Proved a Theorem That Had Stumped Mathematicians for a Century

How Yitang “Tom” Zhang Proved a Theorem That Had Stumped Mathematicians for a Century
Rags, riches, and fame in mathematics.

December 30, 2016 at 12:41AM
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Brands Start Planning For A Trump Attack

Brands Start Planning For A Trump Attack
The spontaneity of his denunciations — and the speed at which his words travel, particularly on Twitter — has created a sense of unease among marketing executives, who now must be prepared in case Mr. Trump’s insults fly in their direction.

December 29, 2016 at 08:18AM
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'Serial' Subject Adnan Syed Seeks Prison Release While Awaiting Trial

'Serial' Subject Adnan Syed Seeks Prison Release While Awaiting Trial
In his decision, Judge Martin Welch cited "outstanding appellate issues" and "evidence likely to be presented at a new trial," in part, as reason for denial.

December 29, 2016 at 10:31PM
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Mashing Up Real-Life Objects Is A Careful Artform

Mashing Up Real-Life Objects Is A Careful Artform
Some things do not go together, and those things are the subject of Stephen McMennamy's glorious Instagram account.

December 29, 2016 at 01:37AM
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You’re not psychic and no one is looking at you

You’re not psychic and no one is looking at you
Over the years, parapsychologists have estimated that between 60 and 90 percent of people believe they can tell when they’re being watched. But that's not really what's going on.

December 29, 2016 at 09:34PM
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The Muji Paradox

The Muji Paradox
An open love letter to the Japanese retailer.

December 28, 2016 at 11:38PM
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These will be the best places to live in America in 2100 A.D.

These will be the best places to live in America in 2100 A.D.
Over the next 83 years, the cascading effects of extreme weather will force US residents inward, upward, and away from newly uninhabitable areas. But don’t worry: Pop Sci mapped out how these factors will alter the country’s landscape in 2100.

December 28, 2016 at 05:14AM
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What Graduate School in Theoretical Physics Is Really Like

What Graduate School in Theoretical Physics Is Really Like
"Einstein and Feynman ushered me into grad school, reality ushered me out."

December 29, 2016 at 08:29PM
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Pour one out: Inventor of red Solo cup has died

Pour one out: Inventor of red Solo cup has died
Robert Leo Hulseman. He's the man who invented the red Solo cup, staple at every party ever. He died last week at age 84.

December 29, 2016 at 08:29PM
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What the heck is a species anyway?

What the heck is a species anyway?
It's harder than you think to define.

December 29, 2016 at 06:32PM
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Brother of murdered JonBenét Ramsey sues CBS for $750m

Brother of murdered JonBenét Ramsey sues CBS for $750m
Burke Ramsey, 29, claims TV network, production company and experts conspired to defame him for profit.

December 29, 2016 at 05:32PM
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Syria conflict: Government agrees truce with rebels - Putin

Syria conflict: Government agrees truce with rebels - Putin
The Syrian government and rebel groups have agreed a ceasefire and to begin peace talks, Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced.

December 29, 2016 at 05:32PM
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US senators: Russia should be sanctioned for election hacks

US senators: Russia should be sanctioned for election hacks
US senators visiting eastern European allies to discuss security issues called for sanctions against Russia for interfering in the presidential election by hacking American political sites and email accounts.

December 29, 2016 at 05:32PM
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