|  Missing Electrons in the Atmosphere Possibly Found  | It turns out that a layer of invisible meteor dust falling to Earth every day may be sucking up electrons coming from higher in the atmosphere, creating the so-called "D-region ledge," where the concentration of electrons suddenly plunges, Earle Williams, an atmospheric electrician at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said earlier this month at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union. Physicists have long been hunting for the disappearing electrons, and had turned to everything from high-flying ice clouds to electrically charged water clusters in the atmosphere to explain the sudden drop-off in this region, he said. "It's the most dramatic gradient anywhere in the ionosphere," Williams said, referring to the part of Earth's upper atmosphere where the D-region ledge is found.
| Read More » Mattel Goes High-Tech with Virtual Reality View-Master Toy  | One of your favorite childhood playthings just got a high-tech makeover, thanks to a collaboration between toy-maker Mattel and Google. In October, Mattel unveiled an updated version of its View-Master — a toy that traditionally resembled a pair of plastic binoculars but was fitted with cardboard "reels" of photographs or drawings that could be viewed in three dimensions. The new View-Master adds a smartphone to the mix.
| Read More » Everybody Freeze! The Science of the Polar Bear Club The event is organized by the Coney Island Polar Bear Club, a group of dedicated open-water swimmers who brave the numbing ocean every Sunday from November through April. An estimated 2,000 swimmers participated in 2014, with around 6,000 to 7,000 spectators looking on, said Dennis Thomas, the club's president and a member for three decades. Thomas described preparation requirements for the dip as "rigorous" — participants must be able to put on a bathing suit. Read More » Disney's New Robot Scales Walls…Like Spidey  | A new four-wheeled bot named VertiGo looks like a remote-controlled car that a kid might build. Researchers at Disney Research Zurich worked together with mechanical engineering students at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH) to design and build the gravity-defying bot. The robot's front wheels are steerable — like the front wheels of an automobile — which lets the person who controls the bot change its direction as it zooms around.
| Read More » 5 Facts to Know About the California Methane Leak  | A methane leak in Southern California has forced thousands of people from their homes. Although the gas first began spewing from a leaky underground well in October, the gas company only recently identified the source of the leak. Here are five things to know about the Southern California methane leak.
| Read More » James Bond Villain Gets 'A' for Evil, But 'F' for Brain Surgery  | The latest James Bond villain in the new movie "Spectre" may get an "A" for his evil schemes, but he failed spectacularly at neuroanatomy, according to a new report. Blofeld restrains the British spy with a head clamp before revealing his evil plan: The villain plans to use a robotic drill to torture 007 and drill into his brain, erasing Bond's memories of people's faces. But Blofeld's anatomical measurements were way off, according to Dr. Michael Cusimano, a neurosurgeon at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto.
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