The last time I rented a movie was probably ten or so years ago. It was the cheapest way to get a copy and watch any film you fancy. You go to the store look through their racks and try to find the DVD. Sometimes, you can just sift through and try something new.

That was then. In the era of Netflix, such things are becoming relics. Most of the major movie rental franchises have all but disappeared. But Captain Video, a small video store, has weathered the apocalypse. And one of the reasons it has done that is because of its human touch.

“All these new companies have tried to put me out of business,” says Belfer. “But you can never chase the little guy away if the little guy is dedicated and wants to fight.”

“I have 6 or 7 customers who’ve been coming here for 34 years,” says Belfer. “I’ve seen them grow up. I’ve seen them have kids. I’ve seen people in their family die.”

For Captain Video loyalists, it’s a bond that can’t be replaced by computers. “A lot of my customers like the old way of doing things,” he says. “They are people who don’t like big corporations, like Comcast. They’ve been burned so many times and don’t want to give them money. They see me as an independent guy, and they trust me.”

(Image credit: Zachary Crockett/The Hustle)

It must have been a surreal feeling for Livestream co-founder Max Haot, to sell off his successful internet company and venture into space exploration with Launcher, something that doesn't necessarily bring in big revenues but is filled with so much exciting possibilities. But why would he exchange something that is more stable for something has so much uncertainty?

Despite Livestream’s rise, a deep interest in space exploration and rocketry still lingered for Haot. “Literally a month after starting Livestream, I found SpaceX, and I found Elon Musk. I was like, ‘How is this possible? How is it possible that this internet guy, like myself, can make this jump?”

With his interest and ambition in space technology, he jumped ship and established the space startup Launcher. The company plans to eventually sell engines to the market however they are in no hurry to do so because they want to produce the best possible product through extensive research and development, a strategy which is quite different from the rest of the industry.

Instead of trying to sell engines as soon as possible, Launcher is counting on a market culture that will value efficiency and quality overall in the long-run. “Our goal is to build the highest-performance, lowest-cost per pound of payload — not lowest-cost by itself — engine of its class. Which is 23,000 lbs,” Haot explains.

The company’s long haul plan might be a tough sell to certain investors, but Launcher is determined to stick to its slow-and-steady approach.

(Image credit: Launcher)

In partnership with The Clink, a UK hospitality charity, Brixton prison has launched a restaurant training program which aims to help inmates reintegrate into society by giving them the right skills and education that they could use to find jobs after they have done their time.

Graduates of the charity’s partnership scheme with Her Majesty’s Prison Service (HMP,) whose flagship ‘prison restaurant’ operates at Brixton Prison, had a reoffending rate of 11 percent, compared with 32 percent for similar inmates who were not involved in the project, according to the BBC.

The Brixton restaurant serves as training environment: it offers accredited qualifications under City & Guilds NVQs in food and beverage service; professional cookery; and food hygiene, and supports graduates after release to find employment and training to continue their career.

What this program does is that it acknowledges one of the roots of the problem for which the inmates are doing time and that is the lack of opportunity. Many people commit crimes not because they want to, but because they have to since they have needs which could not be met and have no other means to get the resources.

Giving these people a second chance by equipping them with the tools and the support they need to get back on their feet once they reintegrate back into society has helped decrease the reoffending rate compared to other similar environments which do not have such a program.

Check out their site for more information.

(Image credit: The Clink/Facebook)

Northern white rhinos are critically endangered species since the last male of their kind has died last year. But with the success of the very first artificially inseminated calf of a Southern white rhino, it might just be possible to recover their population through artificial means.

A southern white rhino calf born at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park marks the first successful artificial insemination birth of the species in North America. The newborn male, born to his mother Victoria on Sunday (July 28), inspires hope for its critically endangered relative, the northern white rhino.

San Diego Zoo researchers are working to convert preserved northern rhino cells into stem cells to differentiate them into sperm and eggs. Scientists are still seeking permission to harvest eggs directly from the two surviving northern females. The zoo researchers predict this process will bear a baby northern white rhino within 10 to 20 years, and could also be applied to the critically endangered Sumatran and Javan rhinos.

(Image credit: Valentina Storti/Flickr; Wikimedia Commons)

A new map created by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in collaboration with the University of California Irvine shows the speed at which ice in Antarctica flows and to which direction it goes.

This new NASA/UC Irvine map of ice velocity in Antarctica is 10 times more accurate than any previous map and shows flows over 80% of the continent, where older maps showed about 20%. Colored lines indicate direction of flow; background colors show speed.

All earlier maps of glacier flow speeds have estimated the speeds largely by tracking the movement of visible features like patches of dirt on the ice surface, but these new maps rely mainly on observations that use a technique called synthetic aperture radar interferometry, which is much more sensitive to the motion of the ice itself.

With this new map, we will be able to predict sea level rise in years to come and which parts of the world will be most affected. The glacial sheets in the Antarctic region continue to melt and it won't be too long before sea levels invade land.

At the very least, this new map could help us track the direction of the glacier flows so that we can prepare for the worst. Of course, it isn't too difficult to see which regions will bear the brunt of climate change but there's still time and hopefully, things get better.

(Image credit: University of California Irvine/Jeremie Mouginot)

Polyps typically appear as small bumps protruding from tissue lining which could be found in different parts of the body, most commonly in the colon. When left untreated, these could mutate and become cancerous.

So far, the method of removing polyps involves injecting a saline solution under the tissue lining making the polyp rise so that it would be easier to extract. However, this method bears risks as the cushion formed under the polyp doesn't last long. So researchers at MIT developed a new material which would be more stable and make it easier to safely remove the polyp.

This procedure carries some risk of tearing the lining of the colon, which is why doctors usually inject saline into the area just below the lining, called the submucosal space, to lift the polyp away from the surface of the colon.

To overcome that, the MIT team decided to create a shear-thinning gel. These materials are semisolid gels under normal conditions, but when force is applied to them, their viscosity decreases and they flow more easily. This means that the material can be easily injected through a narrow needle, then turn back into a solid gel once it exits into the colon tissue.

(Image credit: Yan Pang, Jinyao Liu et al./MIT)

NASA is making a lot of headway in terms of discovering new exoplanets every day and with each new step, the more we are able to find other possible habitable planets in space. Using the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), NASA was able to detect three new exoplanets just 73 lightyears away.

All three orbit a faint, cool star called TOI (TESS Object Of Interest) 270, about 73 light years away in the constellation Pictor. The three planets are named TOI 270 b, c, and d, from innermost to outermost planet, following convention.

TOI 270 is an M-type dwarf star that’s about 40% smaller than our Sun in both mass and size. It’s also about one-third cooler than the Sun. The three planets are temperate in planetary terms, but the planets are still pretty hot compared to Earth, because they’re close to their star.

(Image credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Scott Wiessinger)

Rarely do people experience a lucid dream. That's when you are conscious in a dream while having some ability to control what happens in your dream scenario. Some people say there are techniques which could help someone induce themselves into having a lucid dream, but there is no solid evidence supporting it.

However, researchers have been looking into certain supplements which could increase the likelihood of a person to have a lucid dream. One such drug is called galantamine, which is used for treating Alzheimer's disease. Though one must still be careful as there may be side effects with taking the pill.

But lucid dreamers discovered that it can significantly increase dream recall and the odds of having lucid dreams. Galantamine can be purchased over-the-counter on Amazon, where some products even advertise lucid dreaming as a side effect.

Tests aimed specifically at exploring its effects on dreams seem to back these claims up. In 2018, galantamine was given to 121 patients in a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, the only study of its kind. Some participants saw as much as a 42 percent increase in their ability to lucid dream, compared to self-reports from the past six months. Ten people experienced a lucid dream for the first time.

So far, it is still uncertain as to why galantamine could induce people to have lucid dreams. Researchers have an idea why, but without further tests, it cannot be confirmed. Lucid dreaming may be fun to experience but if the methods to having one could put someone at risk, it's best to err on the side of caution.

(Image credit: Johannes Plenio/Unsplash)

Developing a treatment for Alzheimer's disease hasn't been a fruitful endeavor and one of the reasons for this is that most treatments done today only target the symptoms.

There are no particular data showing which drug treatments are most effective in preventing cognitive decline, since the best way to gather such data would be to recruit Alzheimer's candidates who are at the early stages of the disease. So MIT developed a new machine learning model that could help identify Alzheimer's patients who would be the perfect candidates for clinical trials.

In a paper to be presented next week at the Machine Learning for Health Care conference, MIT Media Lab researchers describe a machine-learning model that can help clinicians zero in on that specific cohort of participants.

They first trained a “population” model on an entire dataset that included clinically significant cognitive test scores and other biometric data from Alzheimer’s patients, and also healthy individuals, collected between biannual doctor’s visits. From the data, the model learns patterns that can help predict how the patients will score on cognitive tests taken between visits. In new participants, a second model, personalized for each patient, continuously updates score predictions based on newly recorded data, such as information collected during the most recent visits.

Their experiments show that the model could accurately predict a person's cognitive decline for up to two years ahead. This way, researchers will be able to find viable subjects for clinical trials to test which treatments are most effective.

(Image credit: Christine Daniloff/MIT)

Guacamole is a very popular dip in Mexican cuisine commonly paired with nachos, tacos, or tortillas and they are usually made with avocados. Mash the avocados with some spices and you have a well-balanced dip filled with flavors that dance in your mouth. However, not all guacs are made with avocados. Some taquerias in Mexico use Mexican squash and green tomatoes instead.

But avocadoless-guac is not as bad as it seems; it is actually delicious and it is made with healthy ingredients. So, if you are looking for a more economical option - the price of avocado is too high these days - you can try this version of guacamole.

Check out the recipe on El Universal.

(Image credit: stokpic/Pixabay)

One of the things that astronauts probably would never exaggerate about is the difficulty with which you have to relieve yourself in space. After all, there isn't really much room in the spacecraft to have a luxury bathroom filled with the common comforts of indoor plumbing. Instead, they literally had to move their bowels into a plastic bag.

Jason Torchinsky of Jalopnik really had to know what the experience was like and this was what he found out:

I always sort of knew that one day my life would bring me to the point where I was standing, pantsless, panting and straining to defecate into a plastic bag. What I’m relieved to find is that doing so turned out to be mostly voluntary, so I guess I should remember to be gracious.

The truth is that, really, waste management was something of an afterthought for the Apollo program, since they were pretty focused on just trying to find a way to get to the moon and back, period.

One can only imagine the difficulty of doing the whole process in space. Even NASA had to admit that it was a big struggle for astronauts to do.

The fecal collection system presented am even more distasteful set of problems. The collection process required a great dead of skill to preclude escape of feces from the collection bag and consequent soiling of the crew, their clothing, or cabin surfaces. The fecal collection process was, moreover, extremely time consuming because of the level of difficulty involved with use of the system.

So if we're thinking of going to space and putting up human settlements there, I guess one thing that should be part of the planning phase is where we go to do the number two. And hopefully, they make it a lot less of a horrifying experience.

-via Marginal Revolution

(Image credit: NASA)

Rust forms when iron is oxidized and on the outside, it usually gives the impression that something is already old or weak. But scientists looked at it from a different perspective and found that rust-coated iron can actually be used as a more efficient source of electrical energy.

Thin films of it, as the scientists show in a new study, could be used to generate electricity when interacting with salt water. But the process at hand, developed by Caltech professor of chemistry Tom Miller and Dow Professor of Chemistry at Northwestern Franz Geiger, doesn't feature any chemical reactions.

Instead, the team focused on Newton's 3rd Law—for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction—by converting the kinetic energy of moving salt water into electricity.

-via Real Clear Science

(Image credit: miniformat65/Pixabay)

Fifty or so years ago, space was just a far-off place that we could only dream of going. Then, Russia and the US went there. Knowing the possibilities that space has to offer us, several other countries and companies started funding research on space exploration. China became the third country to land on the Moon. And now India wants to be next.

In 2008, the Indian Space Research Organization successfully launched the Chandrayaan-1, a lunar probe which showed signs of water on Mars. However, after a year orbiting the Moon, Chandrayaan-1 lost contact with ISRO. More than ten years later, the ISRO will go back to the Moon with Chandrayaan-2, this time aiming to land it on the Moon's South Pole.

Chandrayaan-2 successfully launched on July 22nd, 2019, but it was supposed to launch 3 years ago, with India trying to keep up with the modern space race that has taken the world by storm. Roscosmos was supposed to supply ISRO with their lunar lander, but when they failed to deliver, ISRO decided to go it alone. It took them three years to design and build their own lunar lander, but their success proves that India may be ready to become a space superpower.

Chandrayaan-2 will take nearly 7 weeks to make the same journey, but that's because the Indian spacecraft is taking a long way around. The spacecraft will make multiple orbits of Earth, each one slightly further away than the last, until it's far enough from home to be captured by the Moon's gravity and drawn in. From there, it will make successive orbits of the satellite until it's close enough to dispatch the Vikram lander.

(Image credit: NASA/Wikimedia Commons)

Simple melodies and tunes can be taken to whole new heights by adding layers of complex harmonies and leaps yet still maintain the original melody which can only make you amazed at the outcome. Even something as simple as the "Happy Birthday" song can become a beautifully complicated concerto in the right hands.

Pianist and composer Nahre Sol attempts to play “Happy Birthday” in 16 levels of complexity. Nahre starts playing the iconic tune with just one finger and adds more and more layers until she’s playing it with extended harmonies, elongated melodies and staggered leaps.

-via Twisted Sifter

Human beings have been seeking immortality since ancient times. That led to such beliefs as the philosopher's stone or the elixir of life which purportedly gives people the thing they have sought out for millennia, which is to live forever.

With modern science, these so-called longevists have maintained a balanced lifestyle in the hopes that they will live to see the day when medicine finally breaks through our life limits.

The longevist James Strole uses various “scientific” methods to promote his own longevity in anticipation of the day that medicine will solve all ills. He takes supplements and other pills, exercises regularly, eats moderately, takes a morning swim in a cold pool, after which he “he lies face-up on an electromagnetic mat that whirs silently against his body and ‘opens up the veins,’ and engages in a breathing regime that, he says, ‘balances the hormones.’ ”

In almost every era in history, there have been people who sought immortality. While others have tried to figure out how some people lived longer than average humans, hoping to find common factors that contribute to a long life. In 1786, Dr. Anthony Fogerhill's research on the matter was published and he found six non-natural factors which aid longevity.

(Image credit: Science History Institute/Wikimedia Commons)