THE MOST AMAZING SCIENCE IMAGES OF THE WEEK III

The Most Amazing Science Images of the Week, May 28-June 1, 2012
By Dan Nosowitz, Popular Science, 1 June 2012.

It's been a shortened workweek for us here in the U.S., but there's been no shortage of amazing science and tech imagery - from a rat that regained the power of movement to shoes made from custom-bred, genetically engineered stingrays to a gorgeous shot of the Pinwheel Galaxy. More in the gallery!

1. Stingray Leather

We're pretty sure this isn't possible for a few reasons - like, we haven't sequenced the stingray's genome, and it seems unlikely that we would have this level of control anyway - but a company called RayFish is attempting to offer a customized shoe made of genetically modified stingray leather. You pick what you want the stingray to look like, RayFish creates said stingray, then kills it, skins it, and makes shoes out of it. Just for you! It's weird. Read more here.

2. Portable Nuclear Detector

This is the world's first smartphone with a nuclear radiation detector - something of a little more concern now in Japan. It's made by Sharp, and will be available soon.

3. Broccoli Blend

We got a sneak preview of the new tome from the Modernist Cuisine team, to be called Modernist Cuisine at Home, this week. To celebrate, here's one of the team's trademark cutaway shots - new to the new book.

4. Manhattanhenge

We were excited about Manhattanhenge - those precious two days per year when the sun is visible at the ends of the avenues of this island - and a somewhat cloudy day didn't bum us out too much. Neither did it dissuade the delightful weirdos at Animal from writing and photographing this curious pagan ritual.

5. Run Rat Run

This rat may be running a little oddly, but remember what happened to it - this rat was previously paralyzed, and a combination of drugs actually enabled it to walk again. Read more about it here, and don't forget to check out American Photo Mag for more amazing photojournalism like this.

6. Digestion Development

This strange photo is a result of an experiment in which undergraduates Luke Evans and Josh Lake actually swallowed 35mm photographic film slides to see what the film would see. Read more here.

7. The Car-Bike of the Future

This weird little two-wheeled...car? Is it a car? Anyway, it's the C1 prototype from Lit Motors, a fully electric, enclosed vehicle equipped with a pair of super-powerful gyros to keep it upright. Read more at Wired.

8. Half Aged

This guy is a truck driver, 69 years old, who's been exposed to 25 years of direct sunlight thanks to his job - but only on the left side of his face. So we get a first-hand view at how much more aged human skin looks when bombarded with sunlight over the years. Crazy. [Read more at Gizmodo]

9. CheetahCam

National Geographic's Criteercam has graced a few animals over the years, but this is the very first time it's been strapped to a cheetah - this guy is an older male the NatGeo team nicknamed Wilhelm. The Crittercam will take video and photo of Wilhelm's surroundings in western Botswana. Read more here.

Top image: The Pinwheel Galaxy, located in Ursa Major, is about 21 million light-years from Earth - but we can still enjoy its cheerfulness. Read more here. [Related Post]

[Source: Popular Science. Edited.]