(YouTube Link) 

The first video of Machine Perception Lab’s robot baby has been released. According to an i09 article:

"Named Diego-san, it's an exaggerated representation of a one-year-old child that stands 4 feet 3 inches tall (130 cm) and weighs 66 pounds (30 kg). Its body consists of 44 pneumatic joints and its head contains about 27 moving parts. And as the video shows, its facial expressions are unbelievably life-like.

In order to simulate the reactions of a real child, Diego-san has had high definition cameras implanted in its eyes, allowing it to see people, gestures, and expressions. Then, through the use of an AI modeled on human babies, it can "learn" from people in the same way that real baby does."

The robot freaks me out a bit. If I turned a corner and saw two of them dressed identically and standing at the end of a hall, I'd run the other way, only able to wheeze out "Redrum!" How about you? Link

(Vimeo Link) 

This stunning video by filmmaker Bryan Smith shows the full moon's majestic rise behind free climber Dean Potter as he walks a highline at Cathedral Peak in Yosemite National Park.

Seven-year-old Malan Selleck-Castaneda loves to go to the Denver Zoo, where her mother Teresa has held a membership for eight years. The lion cubs, donated to the zoo by the royal family of Qatar, are Malan's favorite animals. She explained her love for the cubs:

"I'm a little kid and they're little kids."

Recently, one of the cubs took an interest in Malan as well. This photo shows the cub imitating Malan's gesture as she peers at him through the glass. It makes one wonder what the cub would do if he were not behind his enclosure. 

Read more about the cubs at the Denver Post. Link

(Image credit: Teresa Castaneda) 

Planckendael Animal Park in Belgium is home to this adorable new baby Koala. Dad and Mom are Goonawarra and Guwara, respectively. The gender of the baby is still unknown. Once the gender is determined, the baby will be given an Aboriginal name that begins with "N," as all newborns at the animal park this year will have a name beginning with that letter.

This table made by Jay Watson Design is one on which you're guaranteed to leave fingerprints. Made of solid oak painted with thermochromic paint, its surface temporarily changes color when heat is applied.

See the designer's website for further information and pricing. Link

(Image credits: Jay Watson Design)

This is Birthday Canyon in Greenland. The striations in the 150-foot-deep ice walls of the canyon are the result of meltwater flow over a long period of time.

The World Geography compiled a list of 11 wonders of the ice world. From pure white icebergs striped with brilliant aqua and cerulean blue, to 17-foot-tall, jagged spikes, these ice sculptures by Mother Nature are awe-inspiring.

(Vimeo link) 

This cool and colorful video depicting the evolution of Nintendo gaming from its inception is the work of motion designer Anthony Veloso. From the beloved NES to the Wii U, the dizzying pace of this video is a great representation of the swift progress in gaming technology over the years.

Freelance illustrator and designer Charlie Layton began using the refrigerator/freezer in his Philadelphia apartment as a dry-erase board several months ago. He drew on the surface of the appliance while having his morning coffee. Layton started photographing the drawings and posting them to his Facebook page each Friday, calling the feature "Freezer Fridays." Then Charlie's friend, Redditor unsavory77, uploaded his work to Reddit. The photos instantly became so popular that Layton's website crashed from being overwhelmed with traffic. Layton said of his newfound popularity:

"It's pretty crazy. It's hard to grasp that thousands of people have seen something so quickly."

See more of Layton's work at his website. Link -via Twisted Sifter

(Image credit: Charlie Layton)

Bad Astronomy's Phil Plait reminded readers that the "Red Planet" Mars gets its color from iron oxide (rust). Yet on ancient Mars, water was abundant and white cloud cover was present, likely giving it a more Earthly appearance. This fact prompted software engineer Kevin Gill to create images of what Mars may have looked like, using information collected by NASA with their Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. 

Gill's rendering is indeed reminiscent of Earth. One side of the planet is a vast ocean. The peaks of massive volcanoes rise above the planet's atmosphere, which was far more dense than in its current state. Gills says of his images:

"I am a software engineer by trade and certainly not a planetary scientist, so most of my assumptions were based on simply comparing the Mars terrain to similar features here on Earth (e.g. elevation, proximity to bodies of water, physical features, geographical position, etc) and then using the corresponding textures from the Blue Marble images."

Learn more on this story at Discovery News. Link 

(Image credit: Kevin Gill)

Breast implants, a python, a winning lottery ticket, a bucket of live crabs and a set of four Power Rangers costumes — all are bizarre items left behind in rooms at British locations of the Travelodge hotel chain. Apparently, working in housekeeping at a hotel is not only drudgery. It could be life threatening. 

Read about other unusual objects that hotel guests forgot to take with them at the Telegraph. Link

(Image credit: TimVickers) 

•  It would take almost nine years to walk to the Moon. If there were a road 400,000 km long.
•  On the surface of a neutron star, the gravity is so strong you’d weigh several billion tons.
•  Mars is red due to the presence of large amounts of iron oxide: rust!
•  Astronomers have seen a star eaten by a black hole. 

•  All the iron in your blood and all the calcium in your bones were created in exploding stars.
•  Jupiter's moon Io is more geologically active than Earth. Volcanoes constantly erupt there. 
•  The Earth is hit by about 100 tons of meteoric dust per day.

These factoids are from Phil Plait's archived 2012 Bad Astronomy Facts. He started the feature, consisting of daily astronomy facts in fewer than 140 characters, on January 4, 2012.

See the entire archive at Bad Astronomy. Link

(Image credit: ESA/Herschel/PACS/SPIRE/J.Fritz)

Self-described "brick artist" Nathan Sawaya is known for his incredible art pieces constructed with LEGO. Sawaya was a New York City lawyer until 2004, when he made the courageous decision to make art his profession, even while saddled with $100,000 in debt from student loans. Now that his intricate pieces have garnered attention from clients worldwide, including Donald Trump and Bill Clinton, Sawaya spends six figures on LEGO pieces annually. Some of his large-scale works — such as a six-foot-tall Han Solo frozen in carbonite (shown in the gallery above) and a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton twenty feet in length — require as many as 80,000 LEGO pieces.

Sawaya's success is a testament to people following their passions, regardless of whether the idea seems likely to bear fruit. He said of his career:

“I had creative periods now and again, but it wasn’t until I was practicing law that I really needed a creative outlet. I’d come home from long days at the office and draw, paint, and sculpt from clay, wire--even candy. I liked the concept of something additive in nature--where small pieces lead to a larger form. That’s when I thought, 'What about this toy from my childhood?'"

The rest, as they say, was history.

See more of Sawaya's work at his website. Link -via Co.CREATE

These adorably exuberant Keeshond puppies know how to appreciate a good run. If only their exthusiasm for this form of exercise could be bottled and sold!
 
Image posted by jraines -via A Place to Love Dogs. Link

British "light artist" Bruce Munro has announced his second ever exhibition in North America. Munro will present 10 outdoor lighting installations at Cheekwood Botanical Garden in Nashville, Tennessee. The exposition begins May 24, 2013 and runs through November 10. The artist designed his installations to complement the hills, views and gardens of the facility. A highlight will be the "Field of Light," comprised of 20,000 illuminated glass spheres, each supported by a thin stalk rising from the ground.

Learn more about Munro and his work at his website. Link -via Contemporist

These infrared photographs by Amiens, France-based photographer David Keochkerian have a mesmerizing, dreamlike quality. The dark skies and electric-colored landscapes seem as if they were shot in another world. 

Keochkerian's impressive body of work can be viewed at his 500px photostream, Facebook page or his portfolio. Link