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In her tweets, Rowling has perpetuated several common misconceptions about trans people, many of which actively hurt and harm the trans community. Here’s a breakdown of some common misconceptions and why they’re harmful. Gender and sex are not the same thing Sex is usually determined by a doctor shortly after birth based on the external genitalia you have, and even then it’s not so clean cut. Estimates suggest that 1 to 2 percent of all people in the US are intersex, meaning their bodies don’t fall neatly inside the male/female binary: Their gonads, genitalia, and hormones don’t necessarily match in sex characteristics....

Their rule follows the recommendations of a special task force selected to consider how registration might happen, and goes over the objections of model hobbyists, who claimed the 250 gram (or roughly half a pound) limit is too restrictive, including not just camera-carrying quadcopters but small and simple model airplanes too. To register a drone a person must be at least 13 years old; drones given to children younger than 13 must be registered by a person older than 13....

The FDA has just cleared RP-VITA, a telemedicine robot that can navigate autonomously, for hospital use. The doc-bot allows a doctor to consult with patients and hospital staff remotely through an iPad interface. Built by InTouch Health and iRobot (creator of everyone’s favorite robot vacuum, the Roomba), RP-VITA can move independently around a busy ICU without bumping into other people or objects. It can be directed by tapping hospital locations on an iPad, and features electronic health record integration....

Email aliases act like a wall that deflects more spammy messages before they shoot right into your real inbox. They’re a great option for when you want to subscribe to something or get a discount without having to reveal your personal information. We have dedicated guides on how to create aliases directly on Gmail, Outlook, Apple Mail, and iOS 15, but Mozilla has come out with an even more practical solution: Relay....

Design and feel At first glance the a7R IV looks identical to the a7R iii, but once you pick it up you start to notice some of the subtle ergonomic differences. The a7R IV features a chunkier grip and some additional weather sealing around the doors that hide the dual UHS-II card slots and battery. The rear dial on top of the camera has been redesigned, the AF-On button is larger, and there is a textured rear joystick....

The surface of the Earth contains layers of different kinds of soil: organic matter with uncounted numbers of microbes carrying out mysterious activities, sand, quartz, and other less-squishy materials, and, at the bottom, bedrock. All of these elements help plants grow and thrive. But life is different in a pot. There, the soil is stagnant, roots have limited space, and water depends on the fickle hands of humans. “Drainage holes are necessary, not sure there would be a way around it,” says Hillary Jufer, horticulture program manager at Cornell University’s Cooperative Extension....

The build The Bathys is not Focal’s first Bluetooth headphones—that would be the 2017’s Listen, by far the most casual headphone the company has produced. It is, however, Focal’s first active noise-canceling headphones, and its first premier wireless product sharing DNA with the company’s high-end headphones. Focal has cultivated its polished aesthetic, and the Bathys looks of its lineage. Open up the triangular hardshell case—the kind of onigiri-shaped accessory increasingly common for lay-flat but not folding headphones like the Bathys—and you’re greeted by a black-silver finish with magnesium yokes and leather headband accents, which are typical Focal touches....

The 2022 All-In-One Piano and Musician Training Bundle is specifically designed to equip you with the fundamentals of songwriting. It packs 55 hours of premium content on playing instruments, producing songs, and so much more. For a limited time, you can grab it on sale for only $34 (reg. $1600). Spearheaded by the likes of experienced piano teacher Robert Hall, guitar instructor Dan Dresnok, composer and producer Jack Vaughan, this jam-packed bundle will turn you into a capable songwriter....

A single homemade wing with four boosters carried Rossy from a plane 8,800 feet above Calais, France, over the channel and safely to land in Dover, England. A heat-resistant suit shielded him from the fiery jets and body movement stood in for steering. Check back shortly for onsite coverage of Rossy’s flight. In the meantime, enjoy the video (things pick up about 20 seconds in).

It’s easy to understand why these sorts of tests would be appealing. More than 42 million Americans—about one in five—suffers from mental illness every year. Diagnostic criteria can be subjective and are often based on self-reports; even the most accurate diagnosis (which is impossible to independently assess due to a lack of tests) doesn’t guarantee that a particular kind of treatment is going to work. Many patients find their type and dose of medication changing until their doctors find the right match—a trial-and-error approach that is frequently frustrating....

While the benefits of enjoying noise-canceling headphones are numerous (uninterrupted phone calls, brief moments of peace, blocking out construction next to your home) they can be prohibitively expensive to purchase. Fortunately, right now you can purchase a pair of TruPro 3 TWS Earbuds with Wireless Charging Case (also in white) for a huge discount! The TruPro 3 earbuds are super lightweight and come with IPX7 waterproofing. A high-capacity charging case also ensures that you won’t run out of battery quickly during your busy day....

The feature works like this: Instead of staring down a blank page, phantom words appear in a light grey amidst your half-written sentences. Hit the “tab” button, and Google’s words are incorporated seamlessly into your note, as if they were your own. When I tried writing this story in a blank new message on Gmail, nothing happened. The service had very little predictive power in the face of my deliberately original sentences....

Fourteen paintings are available for viewing, making the Prado Museum the first art gallery to allow access to it’s masterpieces in Google Earth. To provide high resolution viewing, each painting was photographed and contains up to 14,000 million pixels or 14 gigapixels. Translation? It means you can literally see the painter’s brush strokes. Google Earth also gives information about the painting, including the time period, dimensions and subject matter. To make the visit even more realistic, the Google Earth Prado layer uses 3D imagery, allowing the viewer to move through the museum’s buildings....

The SelectaDNA High Velocity System works like it sounds–it shoots people with pellets containing a unique DNA fingerprint. Unlike rubber-pellet guns, Tasers or tear gas canisters, the technology does not deter or disable the suspect–he or she can get away seemingly unscathed. But later, authorities can track down the suspect and arrest him or her “at a less confrontational time for officers,” according to the company. Portable readers equipped with ultraviolet light scanners would be able to verify the synthetic DNA....

Leonard’s Comet, expected to be the brightest comet this year, should be the next sky sighting on your bucket list. The moon has been keeping this comet washed out as it is much brighter than the space rock. There’s been conflicting reports on social media over the past few days that the comet might have even disintegrated. Fear not: Leonard’s Comet is still there and was bright enough to be seen on cameras and through telescopes on Thursday, and it should remain bright enough to be seen over the next few weeks....

It’s been a brutal year for motorists and for an industry safeguard that was, until now, seen as an unmitigated lifesaver. Last spring, several automakers began recalling vehicles because their airbag supplier, Takata Corp., had shipped bags with botched inflators. It turns out the inflators can send shrapnel spewing through a cabin with such force that they leave victims with what police have said look like gunshot and stab wounds....

Ford believed cities were centers of opportunity and that the electricity powering them shouldn’t come from coal. “Coal,” he wrote, “is just about the most inefficient and expensive fuel there is.” So, in what may be one of the earliest industrial-age appeals for sustainable living, Ford proposed an alternative: agricultural-industrial communities powered by locally sourced clean energy, or mini-grids. Ford’s legacy as a writer is checkered: At best a crystal ball, while, at worst, toxic....

There’s even a couple interesting historical tidbits. For example: Did you know the name hurricane comes from an American Indian deity? Or that a British Admiral invented a wind-speed scale in the early 19th century? Click to see the infographic in full. [Rianovosti via Vizworld]

A recent nail-biter of a video is a case in point: It shows a giant A380 landing in strong winds on February 15 in London—coming in somewhat sideways, plunking down its back wheels, then lining itself up with the runway as its nose wheel descends. Other footage from earlier in the month shows even more high-wind landings as pilots guided their aircrafts down onto solid ground. Pilots landing in strong crosswinds have a number of considerations and techniques at hand when taking a plane down during final approach and landing....

But this kind of speculative science fiction storytelling isn’t just useful for attracting attention. The people who design and build advanced technology can use stories to consider the consequences of their work and ensure it is used for good. And we think this kind of “science fiction prototyping” or “design fiction” could help prevent human biases from working their way into new technology, further entrenching society’s prejudices and injustices. A bias can lead to the arbitrary preference of some categories (of results, people, or ideas) over others....