SCIENCE

Image via The Independent.

In a galaxy far, far away... a water world capable of supporting life was found. The remnants of a lost water world of rocks and oceans have been discovered by astronomers – who said they had found the basic ingredients for a habitable planet beyond our Solar System. Astronomers believe the tiny blip on their telescope screens some 150 light years from Earth was once a rocky planet with huge amounts of water – the first time they have found rocks and water together in one place outside the Solar System. Read full article in The Independent. Estimated Time of Procrastination: 2'12''.

 Movie still from Bonnie and Clyde via Wired.

This is a brilliant mix between film and science; Nature published a quantitative analysis of the evolution of novelty in cinema through crowdsourced keywords, and they discovered that you were probably right that one time in that dinner party: movies are not as creative as they used to be. Now, thanks to them and the users of imdb.com you have the numbers to prove it. You can read a pre-digested article in Wired (E.T.P. 3') or read the hardcore in Nature.com (E.T.P. 9'45'').

Photo: Levitt, Karplus and Warshel via BBC.

Research that created computer simulations of complex chemical reactions has won the Nobel Prize in chemistry. Martin Karplus of Harvard University and the University of Strasbourg, Michael Levitt of Stanford University and Arieh Warshel of the University of Southern California will share the prize. Using computer programs that marry the power of quantum physics with the low computing demands of classical physics, the three scientists made it possible to describe ultrafast chemical reactions. Read full article in Science News and/or BBC E.T.P.: 1'.