Here’s the truth: I’m going to buy the new iPhone. I’m going to buy the new Apple Watch, too. And so I’ve been poking around for the best new accessories for all things Apple. Here’s what intrigued me: The only reason I don’t have Apple AirPods is that they refuse to stay in my ears. I just discovered EarBuddyz 2.0, though, so I might be about to get aboard the AirPod train....
At a demonstration, your phone poses two significant risks just by being in your pocket. There’s the possibility of getting in a scuffle with the law, which may result in police officers obtaining your device and all that’s in it. You may be able to avoid this by staying in the outskirts of and leaving as soon as things get sketchy, though even that doesn’t guarantee your safety. Your phone may also make you an easy target for surveillance, with law enforcement tracking or intercepting your calls or texts....
The next time they saw Fomalhaut b, using a different instrument, it didn’t appear to be in orbit around the star, and some scientists dismissed the exoplanet discovery. But a few months ago, other telescopes also spotted Fomalhaut b. With new images, scientists have identified that the debris belt around Fomalhaut is wider than previously thought, 14 to 20 billion miles from the star. The original Fomalhaut team has now been able to calculate a few potential orbits for the previously maligned Fomalhaut b....
Now, two teams of scientists have figured out the gene that prevents elephants from getting cancer, according to a study published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association and another currently under review at eLife. In both studies, the researchers turned to elephant genes. They analyzed the DNA of African and Asian elephants and discovered that both species had 20 copies of P53, a gene known to have tumor-suppressing qualities....
When Popular Science editor Wallace Cloud covered the 1962 Nobel Prize honoring the discovery of DNA, James Watson, one of the winners, told Cloud that “the discovery was not the work of an institute full of technicians, but the product of four minds.” But the Nobel Foundation only awarded three scientists for the discovery of DNA’s structure: James Watson, Francis Crick, and Maurice Wilkins. Since 1869, scientists had known about DNA, but its structure remained elusive until 1953....
The Radio Corporation of America, or RCA—with its Victrola logo, and iconic Nipper the dog mascot—was at the center of many technology disputes during the 20th century. None were as fiery, however, as the claim of television’s invention. While Philo Farnsworth, a farm boy from Utah, was officially awarded the first television patent in 1930, Vladimir Zworykin, who fled Russia during the country’s revolution, filed years before him, in 1923....
The same effect has been demonstrated in hospitals where patients who’ve suffered cardiac arrest are treated with “therapeutic hypothermia” to stave off brain injury and inflammation. Studies have shown that it takes longer to induce hypothermia in obese patients than in their leaner counterparts. The extra fat seems to insulate the body’s core. Under certain conditions, though, overweight people might feel colder than people of average weight. That’s because the brain combines two signals—the temperature inside the body and the temperature on the surface of the skin—to determine when it’s time to constrict blood vessels (which limits heat loss through the skin) and trigger shivering (which generates heat)....
I wore the Garmin Venu 2 smartwatch for most of a month while jogging, bike riding, and packing up and moving to a new apartment (lots of heavy boxes). I’m also a professional cameraman and I never knew how many calories I burned just lugging gear until this Garmin smartwatch offered me insight into my daily activities. But I also wore it during less strenuous moments, like meeting with producers, talking to apartment brokers, and just going about my day....
Speaking as someone who has made a lot of really bad pie, getting it right is far simpler than it’s made out to be. With the right techniques and a little patience, you can turn just about any recipe into sheer pie perfection, even if you never have before. Equipment matters, but it doesn’t have to be fancy Besides your hands, you need exactly three tools to make pie: a big mixing bowl, a rolling pin, and an aluminum pie plate....
Ring Video Doorbell, $59.99 (Was $99.99) This model of Ring Video Doorbell needs to be connected to preexisting wiring, though wireless models are also on sale for Cyber Monday. Once it’s installed, you can set it up and manage it using the Ring app. You also have the option to subscribe to an optional Ring Protect Plan, which comes with cloud storage for your video clips. Nobody likes to think about what to do if a burglary happens, but the Ring Video Doorbell can act as a deterrent and leave you with valuable evidence if someone does happen to get inside....
The first step is to roll out biometric security for international flights. That’s where JetBlue is already using facial recognition screening with destinations like Aruba: a camera at the gate compares the image it captures with one that Customs and Border Protection already has one file. For that reason—since CBP will have access to images from passports, for example—focusing on deploying facial recognition tech internationally makes sense. The TSA began testing out a system like this at the international terminal at the Los Angeles airport in February....
But new evidence suggests that the volcano-climate relationship can go the other way, too: Periods of warming after ice ages can lead to volcanic eruptions. In a recent study, a team of geologists examined samples of sea-floor mud from around the Ring of Fire for evidence of past eruptions. Preserved within the million-year mud record were tell-tale layers of ash from 91 volcanic eruptions. Since mud accumulates at a regular rate, the researchers could use the position of the ash layers to date each of the volcanic events....
According to the researchers, when tiny particles of gold are energized by the sun, the particles become able to destroy pollutants like volatile organic chemicals that come from paint and cleaning supplies. According to Professor Zhu Huai Yong, of Queensland’s School of Physical and Chemical Sciences, the electromagnetic field from sunlight interacts with movements of the electrons in gold particles, which creates vibrations. The sunlight can enhance the magnetic field of gold nanoparticles up to 100 times its normal capacity....
The best pie dishes make getting golden crumbly crusts and clean slices easier—and look great at serving time, too. Pyrex won’t absorb odors or stains, and is safe for microwaves, dishwashers, preheated ovens, and freezers. At 9.5 inches, these pie plates are slightly bigger than a standard pie dish (adjust your recipes accordingly). They come with a scalloped edge for that crimped pie crust—and they’re cute and efficient enough to use for quiches, too....
“Playful behavior can help a species survive. Adult bonobos, for example, seem to make silly faces as a way of reducing tension with potential mates. Similarly, male polar bears sometimes fake-fight, which may help them to gauge the limits of their own strength before risking full-on brawls.” —Gordon Burghardt, professor of psychology and ecology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville “Children have always liked animal figurines, dolls, and mini weapons and tools....
The grouped tabs feature is currently available in the Chrome Beta and, according to Google’s blog post, it will start rolling out to the real world in the next couple weeks. If you want to try it now, however, you can type: chrome://flags/#tab-groups into your browser and enable it manually. When it’s in place, the right-click menu will give you an option to create a group. You can apply colored filters, give them names, and organize them however you see fit....
Warming temperatures are causing sea ice, which polar bears depend upon for survival, to diminish. However, the hardy Southeast Greenland bears use freshwater ice from coastal glaciers as platforms from which to hunt seals year-round. These glaciers may create previously unrecognized “climate refugia” for polar bears, the researchers wrote. “Our study lays out the evidence for a previously undocumented and highly isolated subpopulation of polar bears on the southeast coast of Greenland surviving in a special way,” Kristin L....
Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean): Android 4.2 is not that big of a deal, especially compared with the last version, Ice Cream Sandwich Android 4.1, which brought Google Now (an honest-to-god revolution) and Project Butter (a huge improvement in regular use of Android phones). Android 4.2 has: Miracast, which does basically the same thing as Apple’s AirPlay. It’ll require a box or a new kind of smart TV to work, though LG says all of its future smart TVs will have it (and LG’s TVs are quite good)....
One McRib sandwich contains 500 calories, which is 40 percent of the daily recommended value of fat (24 grams), and 41 percent of the daily value for sodium (980 milligrams). That’s all just slightly less than a Big Mac, and about half of the calories, fat, and sodium in a Burger King Double Whopper with cheese. But by most measures, the sandwich isn’t considered healthy. The sandwich Jones consumed had 10 times the calories, fat, and sodium, and was the equivalent nutritional value of several days’ worth of a healthy diet, depending on how you measure it....
Folding phones may seem strange after years of holding inflexible solid glass and metal devices, and they may well be a gimmick. But Chris Harrison, an assistant professor in the Human-Computer Interaction Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, says that folding screen tech on gadgets is “inevitable.” That’s because the technique disconnects the size of a device’s screen from its footprint. Think about a newspaper: the opened paper page you read is bigger, of course, than its size is when it’s folded up....
