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A report from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) released earlier this year showed that the virus disproportionately impacted pregnant people across the country, with an 18 percent increase in maternal mortality in 2020 from 2019. The increase in overall US mortality in 2020 was 16 percent, meaning that pregnant people saw a higher increase in death rate. But a new analysis from the University of Maryland and Boston University, published in the journal JAMA Network Open on June 28, finds that the rise in the maternal death rate was actually closer to double the initial rate that NCHS shared....

Many particle physics models explain dark matter using what are called weakly interacting massive particles, which are heavy, slow-moving theoretical particles that tug on regular matter through gravity. But that explanation has been in “increasing tension with recent experimental data,” says Benjamin Lehmann, a physicist and PhD candidate at the University of Santa Cruz, who studies dark matter and particle physics and was not involved in the study. So the particle physics community has been eager to explore other candidates for dark matter–including revisiting past theories in new models....

Sponsored by: Aircraft manufacturing demands the highest-quality materials, highly trained experts, rigorous quality control and precision processes that remain largely manual. These demands make it an ideal candidate for a digital reinvention. Companies can take advantage of recent advances in automation technology and analytics to improve manufacturing speed and accuracy and reduce waste, making manufacturing cells (the groups of machines that work together on a task) more efficient and sustainable....

macOS Sierra continues to connect with other devices Pushing the connectivity message further, Apple now allows you to unlock your computer without even having to type in the password. Using your Apple Watch and Bluetooth connectivity, your Mac computer (desktop or Macbook laptop) will recognize it’s you before you even put your hands on the keyboard. Here’s how to enable Auto Unlock for your Mac with your Apple Watch: first, make sure that your Mac is running Sierra, and has Bluetooth turned on (“System Preferences” > “Bluetooth” > “Turn Bluetooth On”)....

Here at Popular Science, we understand the struggle and have dedicated a large portion of our coverage to helping you navigate the labyrinthine portfolio of profiles and cookie crumbs you’ve scattered across the web. As a gift to you, we’ve bundled together many of our most useful stories for quick access as we roll into the new year. You may have made other resolutions for 2022, but few will protect you as much as ensuring your security practices are up to snuff....

Of course, this home, with its mashup of different windows and walls, isn’t particularly realistic. It doesn’t have to be; no part of the United States has to face all of these weather disasters at once. But the technology that went into it is real. So if you’re preparing to batten down every possible hatch, consider incorporating some of these designs. Foundation Foundations, which prevent homes from sinking into the ground, typically come in one solid piece....

Zachary Hoy, a specialist at Pediatrix Nashville Pediatric Infectious Disease, says authorities will likely reevaluate mask wearing for children in the spring, but only if and when vaccines become available for them and Omicron rates decline. Until then, he recommends kids keep masking in enclosed spaces and in large groups where social distancing isn’t possible. Both the CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics (which also recommends children over 2 wear masks in public) have guidelines on what to look for in a kids’ mask, but these have only added to the confusion of parents, who still don’t know what kind of face covering to get their little ones....

Right from the outset, just know that there’s no surefire way to avoid notice. If your employer owns the computer you’re using and the network you’re connecting to, you have no real guarantee of hiding your online activities. That said, if you’re on fairly good terms with upper management and only want to bend the rules a little—checking social media rather than hacking into government infrastructure, for example—here are a few pointers for hiding your non-work-related browsing (as much as possible)....

If breakfast’s not your thing, there are plenty of other tasks you can hack your alarm clock to perform, from watering your lawn to playing music when you wake up. Peruse the archive gallery above for some good ways to put your old alarm clock to use, now that we all use our phones anyway. Most anyone would prefer waking up to music over a startling, unpleasant beeping or ringing....

Worldwide shipments of smartphones reached 1.5 billion units in 2017, from 680 million units sold in 2012. Statistics show that more than 28 percent of the world’s population owned a smart device in 2016, expected to increase to 37 percent by 2020. TechCrunch reported in mid-July that Apple’s App Store continues to outpace Google Play on revenue, with $22.6 billion in worldwide gross app revenue on the App Store versus $11....

One of the benefits of DIY is that you’re not beholden to the whims of a corporate bottom line. You can do whatever you want, and that includes making your own Mexican cuisine-inspired ice cream treat. Whether you actually enjoyed the Choco Taco or thought its waffle cone shell got a little too soggy too fast, you can absolutely slap together a tasty homemade version, and we can help you get started....

If this is your situation, or you simply enjoy making things from scratch—because why not—you can try making your own laundry detergent. Just as effective with your dirty socks as whatever you buy in stores, it is not only easy to make and incredibly cheap, but can also be hypoallergenic, custom-scented, and environmentally friendly. It’s important to note that you’ll need a lot of containers for the finished product. DIY laundry detergent is a go-big-or-go-home kind of deal, yielding up to 2 gallons per batch....

The ability to post multiple photos to your Instagram story at once has been around since at least 2018, but we won’t judge you for learning about it today. It’s impossible to keep up with every tiny change Meta and the other tech companies add to their constantly changing apps, especially when you’ve fallen into a routine that works for you. Once you’re on the story creation page, tap Select in the top right....

The first edition of Popular Science hit newsstands in May 1872, with founding editor Edward Livingston Youmans acknowledging the publication was “experimental” and hoping he, his staff, and the public would “give it a fair trial.” That experiment is still running 150 years later, and we’ve kept our records tidy. Anyone with an internet connection can flip through decades of issues and see exactly what we’ve observed across generations. Thanks to a 2010 partnership with Google, 137 years of PopSci magazines are available on Google Books....

That said, you can greatly minimize your risk by reducing the strain of this vigorous activity. Follow these tips to shovel snow without hurting yourself. Pick the right moment to start First, you have to decide when to start shoveling. It’s usually best to wait until all the snow has fallen before getting out there with your shovel, says physical therapist Nicholas Licameli. That way, you don’t have to do the job twice....

How to use parental controls on Netflix When you decide to control what your kids watch on Netflix, you have two options: Create a new, limited user profile, or set up password protections for mature content. The companies that provide all this digital media have thankfully integrated a number of parental controls into their platforms. But it can be hard to find all the settings, so we’ve put together a guide we think will help you protect younger eyes and ears....

The first game of the tournament between the host country and the national team from Ecuador kicks off on November 20 at 7pm local time (11am ET/8am PT). After the group games and the knock-out stages, we’ll get to the final on December 18 at 6pm local time (10am ET/7am PT). There are a total of 64 games in the tournament, with staggered timings. Whether you’re a seasoned soccer fan or you want to check in and see what all the fuss is about, there are a variety of ways to tune in and see the games as they happen, or catch up on the highlights....

The new findings paint a more complicated and deeper picture of humans’ relationship with cacao, one of the world’s biggest economic crops to date. “The story of cacao is a rich story, of the history of a plant that in its domestic form is a gift to the world from the people who transformed it through generations of labor and careful tending,” says Michael Blake, an anthropologist at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver and a coauthor of the new study....

Shortly before Christmas, they settled on a Streptomyces soil bacteria originally discovered in 1908 on a potato plug that has become famous for its antibiotic properties. The bacteria also produces a beautiful, deep blue. Before long, Adenis, a designer, and Landrain, a biologist, had siphoned off their first drop of bacterial ink. The ink, they hope, will one day replace chemical inks and dyes, which are notoriously toxic and release byproducts like heavy metals and volatile organic compounds into the environment....

Faults in the Earth’s crust–a meeting point between tectonic plates–dissipate stress in a couple of different ways. Some plate areas slip against each other excruciatingly slowly, moving a few millimeters or tens of millimeters a year, explained Nadia Lapusta, a professor of mechanical engineering and geophysics at Caltech. These are called creeping faults. Others are known as stick-slip faults, in which the plates push against each other with mutual force until the fault finally ruptures, which we perceive as an earthquake....