Links 08/02/13

'Various theoreticians have pointed out that there is a formal mathematical analogy between the way certain metamaterials bend light and the way spacetime does the same thing in general relativity. In fact, it ought to be possible to make metamaterials that mimic the behaviour of not only our own spacetime but also many others that cosmologist merely dream about . . .  Today, Smolyaninov and a couple of buddies announce the extraordinary news that they have done exactly this. They’ve created a metamaterial containing many “universes” that are mathematically analogous to our own, albeit in the three dimensions rather than four.'  More here; abstract of paper here.

A small, two-wheeled robot has been driven by a male silkmoth to track down the sex pheromone usually given off by a female mate.

 “I’ll sleep with you, but I prefer my stories to yours.” Barriers to the spread of stories between human populations are stronger than those to the spread of genes.

A couple of fantastic photography projects:

Laurent Chehere: 'Flying Houses.'

Marc Wilson: 'The Last Stand'