Has Science Finally Created a Veggie Burger You'd Mistake for the Real Thing?

If it looks like a burger, tastes like a burger and bleeds like a burger, it has to be a burger, right? Not really. Enter the Impossible Burger, a veggie substitute for the real thing invented by Patrick Brown, a biochemistry professor at Stanford.

The Impossible Burger is made of plant matter and uses a secret ingredient that makes it bleed and taste like meat—that ingredient is the protein heme, which is found in red blood cells and nitrogen fixing plants. Brown is also researching substitute cheese products.

“The way that the world makes its meat and cheese today is really the most environmentally destructive industry on the planet,” Brown told Bloomberg. “We are creating a product that we intend to be more delicious than the best burger you’ve ever tasted.”

Two Wall Street Journal reporters who sampled the plant burger said it tasted somewhere between turkey and the real thing without leaving you with that bloated, lethargic feeling.

Brown has created his own startup, Impossible Foods, which has attracted a reported $75 million in funding from such luminaries as Bill Gates and Google Ventures, the Journal reported.

Impossible Foods isn’t the first company to try to build a better “frankenburger.” Last year a Dutch researcher produced lab-grown meat from cow cells that cost a quarter million euros to produce.

For now, the Impossible Burger costs $20 to make, which is impossibly pricey by McDonald’s or Burger King standards. But McDonald’s has been talking about adding more organic alternatives to its menu to boost sales, which could eventually make room for mass-produced McDonald’s Impossible Cheeseburgers.



Objects Seen Through X-Rays

Le photographe David Arky a fait la série « X-Rays portfolio » en passant aux rayons lasers différents objets du quotidien, de manière assez aléatoire : un téléphone portable, une valise ou un sac de femme, un appareil photo. Des dessous très intéressants à découvrir dans la suite de l’article.

DavidArky24
DavidArky23
DavidArky22
DavidArky21
DavidArky20
DavidArky19
DavidArky18
DavidArky17
DavidArky16
DavidArky15
DavidArky14
DavidArky13
DavidArky12
DavidArky11
DavidArky10
DavidArky09
DavidArky08
DavidArky07
DavidArky06
DavidArky05
DavidArky04
DavidArky03
DavidArky02
DavidArky01
DavidArky00

Age of Wonder: Mistaken ideas about Darwinism

71k

Fortey believes that the natural progress of evolution is always towards greater richness, and that this is the way our planet is meant to be when Darwinian evolution is allowed to play out naturally. Mistaken ideas about Darwinism have contributed to a view of human life that diminishes rather than enhances richness, particularly in the Weltanschauung of market capitalism continue

Mind Maps: Stories from Psychology

43k

Mind Maps explores how mental health conditions have been diagnosed and treated over the past 250 years. The exhibition looks at breakthroughs in scientists’ understanding of the mind and the tools and methods of treatment that have been developed, from Mesmerism to Electroconvulsive Therapy and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy bringing visitors up to date with the latest cutting edge research and its applications continue

Age of Wonder: Superintelligence and existential risks

42k

Nick Bostrom is a Professor in the Faculty of Philosophy at Oxford University and the director of The Future of Humanity Institute. He talked about the ultra fast pace of innovation, hazardous future technologies, artificial intelligence that will one day surpasses the one of human beings and might even take over our future continue

How Advertising Worms Its Way Into Your Brain and Drains Your Wallet

Newsflash: Advertising is nefarious and manipulative after all.

Earlier this week, we saw the stock-footage realization of the cheeky anti-advertising manifesto "This Is a Generic Brand Video," which brilliantly illustrated how advertising's visual cues are all ham-fisted and transparent, so viewers really don't have anything to worry about except maybe getting bored. By contrast, here's a fun clip from BuzzFeed that digs into the details of how a competent marketer sneaks into your subconscious and tricks you, most subtly, into thinking nice things about it.

Because consumers are just wide-eyed, dumbly smiling, mostly right-handed little piggy banks waddling around waiting to be relieved of our cash.

Actually, that sounds pretty much dead on.

It's hard to imagine ad creatives so pointedly calculating the presentation of products like the dangling of puppet strings, but maybe that's what art directors are really doing when they're hovering. Or maybe the crazy last-minute changes clients always demand are to blame, and agencies should be thanking the gods for plausible deniability.

Just kidding. No one's innocent.


    



Microscopic Drugs by Sarah Schoenfeld

Avec sa série « All You Can Feel », l’artiste Sarah Schoenfeld a décidé de montrer le vrai visage de différentes drogues telles que le LSD, GHB, la cocaïne ou l’héroïne. Une approche artistique de la dépendance aux médicaments et aux drogues dures est à découvrir dans la suite de l’article.


Fantasy & Ecstasy, GHB & GBL.

LSD.

Ketamine.

Ketamine.

Speed & Magic Mephedrone.

Crystal Meth.

Explosion of Methylone.

Opium.

Pharmaceutical Speed.

Cocaine.

Adrenalin.

Caffeine.

Dopamin.

GHB.

Heroin.

Magic Mephedrone.

MDMA.

Orphidril.

Speed.

Valium.

Melatonin.

Solian.

Estrogen.

Angels Trumpet.

25
24 Angels Trumpet
23 Estrogen
22 Solian
21 Melatonin
20 Valium
19 Speed
18 Orphidril
17 MDMA
16 Magic Mephedrone
15 Heroin
14 GHB
13 Dopamin
12 Caffeine
11 Adrenalin
10 Cocaine
9 Pharmaceutical Speed
8 Opium
7 Explosion of Methylone
6 Crystal Meth
5 Speed + Magic Mephedrone
4 Ketamine
3 Ketamine
2 LSD
1 Fantasy +Ecstasy GHB and GBL

From blackest black to universe hacking. An interview with Frederik de Wilde

50k

Frederik de Wilde’s investigations don’t stop at nanotechnology and ultra black paintings, he also explores biotechnology, data networks, or any other scientific fields of research to uncover new frontiers of the intangible, inaudible, invisible.

That might sound highly conceptual but as the interview with the artist demonstrates research into elusive energy measurements and other barely perceptible phenomena quickly gives rise to reflections about politics, art history, economic emergency, universe hacking and very practical innovations in ‘clean’ energy continue

Cytoplasmic Playgrounds

Après Playground Fest 2012, l’artiste MRK, a continué de collaborer avec des physiciens et biologistes pour la série « Cytoplasmic Playgrounds ». Le projet est de faire ressortir un mouvement et une chorégraphie poétiques à partir d’interactions entre cellules. Une réécriture de la science à découvrir dans la suite.


Calcium Sparks.

Macromolecular Crowding.

Multiprotein Complexes.

Le site de MRK.

Multiprotein Complexes 5
Multiprotein Complexes 4
Multiprotein Complexes 3
Multiprotein Complexes 2
Multiprotein Complexes 1
Macromolecular crowding 5
Macromolecular crowding 4
Macromolecular crowding 3
Macromolecular crowding 2
Macromolecular crowding 1
Calcium Sparks 3
Calcium Sparks 2
Calcium Sparks 1

#A.I.L – artists in laboratories, episode 49: Nicola Triscott from The Arts Catalyst

120k

My guest in the studio tomorrow will be Nicola Triscott, the founder and Director of The Arts Catalyst, a UK arts organisation that sets up events, curates exhibitions, releases publications and commissions ambitious artworks that engage with science. The Arts Catalyst, believe or not, is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year so we’ll be talking about the art&science scene of the early 1990s and also about the embassy for The Republic of the Moon which the Arts Catalyst has opened a few days ago at the Bargehouse, Southbank, London continue

Boiling Water Science Experiment

Le 6 janvier 2014 a été l’un des plus froids depuis des décennies aux USA. Avec des images de DNK Photography ainsi qu’une vidéo tournée par David Shelleny dans le Minnesota à la Apple Valley, il est possible de voir l’effet immédiat du froid sur de l’eau bouillante. A découvrir dans la suite.

Boiling Water Science Experiment-6
Boiling Water Science Experiment-5
Boiling Water Science Experiment-4
Boiling Water Science Experiment-3
Boiling Water Science Experiment-2
Boiling Water Science Experiment-7
Boiling Water Science Experiment-

#A.I.L – artists in laboratories, episode 42: X&Y, a theater play about mathematics, humour and infinity

45k

Award-winning science communicator Professor Marcus du Sautoy and actress and mathematician Victoria Gould use mathematics and the theatre to navigate the known and unknown reaches of our world continue

Now You Can Tweet to a Plant. For Science.

Does talking to plants really help them grow? It's a question that, I'm sure, keeps us all awake at night. Luckily, Carmichael Lynch and the Denver Museum of Nature & Science have launched a social experiment (and marketing effort) called "Talk to a Plant," to probe this very issue.

One plant at the museum will "hear" tweets converted into human speech by an Arduino-based device. Another plant sits in silence nearby. Both are watered and tended to by staff. Which will grow stronger and healthier?

To take part in this odd experiment, just visit TalktoaPlant.com, log into your Twitter account and send the plant a message. Checking tweets via #talktoaplant, it seems that most folks, naturally enough, are sending their love and encouragement, bidding the green guy to grow big and strong.

Sending a note all the way from London, @ItsSeanBone gets into the spirit of things: "Plant, you're becoming famous. Make sure you keep yourself grounded." Heh. Plant humor. Not all the tweets are words of encouragement, though. "You deserve to die, plant," posts Parisian visitor @SylvainPaley.  Sounds like someone needs a hug.

The campaign runs through Jan. 6, 2014, corresponding with "MythBusters: The Explosive Exhibition" at the museum, a tie-in with the long-running Discovery Channel science show.

On the site, there are constant updates on each plant's health and growth. Leaf peepers can even enjoy a 24/7 live plant-cam. (Oddly, there's no tie-in with Vine.)

It's definitely a fun, creative way to build traffic and engage new audiences with a topic as dry as natural science, though the setup seems a tad sadistic. The budding star gets all those tweets from well-wishers, while the other guy's trapped in a silent hell. C'mon, dude, grow—I'm rootin' for ya!


    

Ergo Sum – The creation of a second self using stem cell technology

56k

For her project Ergo Sum Charlotte Jarvis donated blood, skin and urine to the stem cell research laboratory at the University of Leiden. These donations have been transformed into stem cells, which in turn have been programmed to grow into cells with different functions such as heart, brain and vascular cells.

The result is a biological self-portrait; a second self; biologically and genetically ‘Charlotte’ although also ‘alien’ to her – as these cells have never actually been inside her body continue

Abominable Science!: Origins of the Yeti, Nessie, and Other Famous Cryptids

154k

The book is as much about fantastical creatures as it is about pseudoscientists making radical claims about the world, sneering at evidence-based research and undermining the teaching of science in the process continue

The Language of Cetaceans at the Arts Catalyst

181k

The event brought together two men who share a passion for whales. One is environmental scientist and marine biologist Mark Peter Simmonds who investigates and raises awareness about an issue that is far away from our sights: the threats to the life of marine mammals caused by the increasing emissions of loud noise under water. The other is artist and inventor Ariel Guzik who has spent the last ten years looking for a way of communicating with cetaceans continue

The Alternative Guide to the Universe

274k

Alternative Guide to the Universe focuses on individuals who develop their ideas and practices outside of official institutions and established disciplines. Their work ingeniously departs from accepted ways of thinking in order to re-imagine the rules of culture and science. Some of their speculative visions rival the wildest inventions of science fiction – with the difference that these practitioners believe in the validity and veracity of all that they describe and propose continue

TV Channel Science

Le studio barcelonais Dvein a conçu 3 identités pour « Science » : une chaine de télévision américaine. Ce-faisant, elle se réapproprie des évènements biologiques ou géologiques pour un rendu dynamique et design. Voici les 3 très beaux habillages à découvrir en images et en vidéos dans la suite.

 width=

 width=

 width=

 width=

 width=

Dvein7
Dvein3
Dvein
Dvein4
Dvein2

From swarms of synthetic life forms to neo-alchemy. An interview with Adam Brown

122k

Adam Brown is a conceptual artist working with scientists to create art pieces that use robotics, molecular chemistry, living systems and emerging technologies. He recently demonstrated how bacteria can, over a period of one week, digest the toxins of gold chloride and spit out nuggets of 24-karat gold continue

#A.I.L – artists in laboratories, episode 32: Patrick Stevenson-Keating

47k

Patrick Sevenson-Keating uses design to create objects and experiences that communicate and make the most sophisticated theories in physics more tangible. Not only are we going to talk about quantum physics, Big Bang and particle accelerators but it’s actually going to be pretty enjoyable continue