When we think about Earth’s sources of oxygen, we usually think of vast forests such as the Amazon, but about half of the oxygen we breathe comes from elsewhere; it’s produced by phytoplankton. Phytoplankton are tiny, single-celled plants that live in the ocean, and they serve as the base of the oceanic food chain. Read more

How I Learned to Stop Getting Lost and Love Tokyo Rail by Ross Howard:

While traveling the Tokyo rail lines, I quickly realized that apart from the obvious use of real-time electronic signage, colored trains, and audio announcements, there were also other techniques being used to assist travelers in knowing where they were, and where they were going. These techniques were subtler, and bordered on subliminal; this was what really interested me. […] I call these cues ambient signifiers: design elements that communicate subtly as part of the environment’s ambiance. Read more

An in-depth look at the man behind Apple’s design magic, including excerpts from an interview and a slide show of his impressive body of work.

The Biology of B-Movie Monsters by University of Chicago Professor Michael C. LaBarbera (via TEDblog).