Setgo Transport Urban Bag from Yanko Design (above).

Thermopower waves: MIT scientists discover new way to produce electricity.

Obama appoints Edward Tufte to advise on stimulus transparency.

A loot valued at $20 million lies off the coast of Staten Island, and Ken Hayes is on the hunt for the sunken silver bullion.

Demolishing density in Detroit: can farming save the motor city?

Whales, like trees, slow warming.

With artificial photosynthesis, a bottle of water could produce enough energy to power a house.

Books in the age of the iPad.

LastHistory graphs all your Last.fm listening.

Sync/Lost (above) is a multi-user installation for immersion in the history of electronic music.

Philip K. Dick: A ‘plastic’ paradox. Sneak peek at an upcoming Philip K. Dick film, Radio Free Albemuth.

Steven Frank of Panic Software fame, on the next phase of computing.

Quieting the lizard brain.

The “My” water bottle from Stelton.

Researchers in Japan have shown that a slime mold can design a network in a day that is as efficient as one developed by humans over many years: the Tokyo rail system.

Imagine that instead of having just one wireless carrier, your phone would constantly search for the best connection. An algorithm on your smartphone would assess signal strengths, and balance that with roaming costs, and decide when to switch from one carrier to another.

Humor: Laugh at those quirky, Unhappy Hipster (mostly from the pages of Dwell, it seems).

A Tree in Jars, an art installation by Naoko Ito (above).

Synth Britannia and Krautrock: The Rebirth of Germany are two great BBC Four documentaries, but you’ll need to find torrents to watch them, as they’re not streamable online (even to rent) due to music licensing restrictions.

On gospel, Abba and the death of the record: an audience with Brian Eno

Old cast-iron radiators, transformed for electric heat.

Far from being in a state of decay, the Y chromosome is the fastest-changing part of the human genome and is constantly renewing itself.

Tending the Garden of Technology, an interview with Kevin Kelly

A.V. Club interviews John Crowley on the occassion of the 25th-anniversary of Little Big (above)

We are all mutants say scientists.

Books to read now, from Seed magazine.

Forget design thinking and try hybrid thinking.

Human Centered Design Toolkit from IDEO.

Spirograph, spirographs, spirography.

Get your Philip K. Dick collection boxed set from The Library of America and save $30.

Researchers have imaged single molecules in unprecedented detail, showing the chemical bonds that hold them together.

Camera from Athens: the most artistic vacation photos you’ve never taken.

How freelancers can use active listening to improve business.

Functioning Form: Design at Facebook.

Design Tales: Designing a successful plastic pint glass.

We Are The Friction (above) is a book of illustration and short fiction created by 12 pairs of international writers and illustrators

Hiroshima: The Lost Photographs

A short manifesto on the future of attention.

The mystery of Times New Roma.

Finalists for the 2009 James Dyson Award.

Lessons from slime mold: how to survive and thrive in ever-changing organizational environments.

Top twenty finalists of ReBurbia, a suburban design competition.

Growing ideas in the garden of innovation.

Photos of the last suppers of inmates on death row in the USA.

The Font-as-Service.

Bruce Handy on Mad Men.

Archaeologists are slowly unearthing the ghastly secrets of Cahokia, an ancient city under the American heartland.