There are over 50 different varies of T Rex, but the most recently discovered version of the dinosaur king is puzzling for its size as well as the surprising location where its fossil was unearthed. Meet Arctic "polar bear lizard" Nanuqsaurus hoglundi, the baby brother of them all.

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Okay, so it's probably easier to use your one-cup coffee maker - but wouldn't it be way cooler if you could run hot coffee out of your taps? These two fellows from the Norwegian show Ikke gjør dette hjemme ("Do Not Do This At Home") set their house up to do just that, and it seems pretty instantly delicious.

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Last month we reported that a film crew from Discovery Channel had captured footage of a giant squid at home in the inky blackness of the ocean's depths -- the place where all the most horrid nightmares are born -- for an episode of the cable network's Curiosity series. Since we're inclined to take a "pics or it didn't happen" view of the world over here, it's safe to say that we were all dubious of the claim, especially when past experience has shown that such overhyped discoveries are often run-of-the-mill colossal squid that don't even merit a second glance. Today, though, we're delighted to report that our cynicism was, for once, unfounded. The team of giant squid enthusiasts behind last month's bold claim has released this photo of the legendary aquatic beast that caused superstitious vikings and pirates to soil themselves at the mere mention of it -- we assume.

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Seen here in an artistic interpretation, the giant squid is thought to be the inspiration for many sea monster stories throughout history like the Kraken, Scylla, Cthulhu, and probably Sharktopus, but it refuses to be taken alive. It won't even let its picture be taken alive, until now that is. A film crew for Discovery has captured the first footage of a live giant squid in its natural habitat, probably doing squid stuff.

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Since NASA's tease last week about "historic" new findings on Mars, the world's been anxiously awaiting details about what the Curiosity's been up to on the red planet. That's why the news that NASA will be holding a 2PM press conference today has everyone in a tizzy. Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be as today's press conference is not about Mars, but will reveal new findings from the MESSENGER spacecraft orbiting Mercury. Don't take it personally, Mercury. You're interesting too; we just really want to hear what they found on Mars.

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Space shuttle Discovery took off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on the 12th mission of the shuttle program on August 30, 1984. It landed for the last time on March 9, 2011 on what marked the 133rd NASA shuttle mission. Today marks another momentous occasion for Discovery, it took its final trip into our atmosphere with a little help from a friend. 

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After twenty years and 2.2 miles of drilling, a Russian scientific team has reported that they have breached the ice cap above Lake Vostok some 3,768 meters beneath Antarctica. Though many had theorized the existence of lakes beneath the antarctic ice since the 19th century, conclusive proof of one did not exist until 1993 when satellite data confirmed that an ancient fresh water lake did indeed exist. Untouched for nearly 15 million years, breaching Lake Vostok could have wide ranging effects on our understanding of life itself.

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If you like Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage, you're going to be very happy about this: the Mythbusters hosts have announced that they'll be producing a new show for Discovery called Unchained Reaction. The duo will serve as judges on the new show, which will pit two teams against each other while they build the most awesome Rube Goldberg device. And it looks like ... yes. Yes, I read that right: there might be guillotines.

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It's here, guys. Shark Week. That midsummer tradition, provided to us by the Discovery Channel, kicks off tonight at 9:00 pm with this year's formidable host, Chief Shark Officer Andy Samberg. We are happy to know that this shoot was successful and that he has all his limbs. Because sharks, man. Sharks. (BuzzFeed)

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When it was announced that the retired Space Shuttles would be put on display at museums across America, it was a sweet follow-up to the sad news that the whole program would be retired. But The Universe Today's set of pictures showing Space Shuttle Discovery stripped down, looking sad and forlorn as it was towed to the Vertical Assembly Building is a painful price. In preparation to becoming museum pieces, the Shuttles will have their engines removed -- the three main engines in the back, and the maneuvering thrusters in the nose. The shuttles will also be thoroughly cleaned to get rid of any of the toxic chemicals. The result is a rather sad looking ship, far from the powerful vehicle that flew to space and back so many times. With its windows covered up like that, I can't help but feel like Discovery has had its eyes poked out. Hopefully the Shuttles will look a bit less pitiful when the decommissioning process is complete. Read on below for more images of Discovery, which may or may not tug at your heartstrings.

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Having fallen from the sky during space shuttle Discovery's final flight, two solid rocket boosters float in the ocean until NASA swings by to collect them. Watch as crew members aboard the boats Liberty Star and Freedom Star collect the used boosters in order to return them to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, which is where they'll be processed, and shipped off to Utah if they need to be refurbished.

(via Gizmodo)

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Discovery made her first launch in 1984, and made her last landing yesterday, at about noon EST on March 9th, 2011. So, to put things in perspective, it will be another two years or so before I become older than Discovery's career. According to Wired, Discovery has:

flown 39 missions, spent a full 365 days in space, orbited the Earth 5,830 times and traveled more than of 148 million miles. It has carried 246 people into space, more than any other vehicle, including the first woman to ever pilot a spacecraft, the oldest person to fly in space, the first African-American to perform a spacewalk and the first sitting member of Congress to fly in space.

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There are many photos of various spacecraft traversing across the disk of the sun as they orbit the Earth. However, this one is special. This picture, taken on March 1 by Alan Friedman, shows the Space Shuttle Discovery midway through its final mission. A poignant image, to be sure. Discovery will be landing tomorrow, March 9, ending decades of service. It is the oldest of the remaining orbiters, and it will be the first to roll off the tarmac and into history. But no post would be complete without some obligatory educational content. Try this on for size, from Discover Magazine:

[...] see that sunspot cluster on the left? It looks to be about the same apparent size as the ISS… but it actually spans a region as big as Jupiter!

(Alan Friedman via Discover Magazine)

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Space Shuttle Discovery launched for its final flight a couple of days ago and gave us some pretty views. Luckily, a flight from Orlando, Florida happened to pass by the Kennedy Space Center around the time of he launch, and a quick-thinking passenger on the plane, YouTube user NeilMonday, was able to record the Discovery launch from his passenger plane's window, providing viewers with an angle of shuttle launches that we rarely get to see.

Also, at about 0:19 into the video, if you listen closely enough, you can hear (who is presumably) the pilot being funny over the plane's intercom. Head on past the break to see a larger and prettier version of the video.

(via Geek.com)

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The Space Shuttle Discovery begins its final mission. (via @NASAKennedy)

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Discovery tried out this experiment on Time Warp a few years back. Suffice it to say there is a massive fireball. (via Presurfer)

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Stephen Hawking: "If aliens visit us, the outcome would be much as when Columbus landed in America, which didn't turn out well for the Native Americans...

We only have to look at ourselves to see how intelligent life might develop into something we wouldn't want to meet."

In what I have to imagine will be one of the better headlines you are going to read today, scientist Stephen Hawking offers some sage advice on how to deal with an alien encounter.

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