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The reason a 20-year-old tank design ended up at a modern military exhibition has a lot to do with how it came into existence in the first place. In the late 1980s and the early 1990s, the United States Army was looking for a tank to replace the Sheridan, a Vietnam era light-tank that could parachute from airplanes and fire a deadly salvo of missiles. The program was cut in 1996 for budgetary reasons, but not after six prototypes had been built....

To make sure your plow will have sufficient muscle, start with the rugged Warden Robot Kit from Actobotics. Add a sealed gel-cell battery, electrically joined drive motors, and a shovel blade assembled from 3-D-printed parts. Steer your vehicle over the driveway using the remote, and you’re ready for total winter domination—from the comfort of the indoors. WARNING: Water and electricity shouldn’t mix. Use waterproof tape to keep snow out of the plow’s main compartment....

However, research on pollutants and contaminants in drinking water has stuck with focusing on one chemical at a time: isolating it, and investigating the effects it has on health. Like with air, though, that’s not how people are exposed to these chemicals in real life—if they’re drinking a glass of water from the tap, it would contain all of the things the water system contains at once. “Drinking water often contains more than one contaminant,” says Tasha Stoiber, senior scientist at the Environmental Working Group....

This week, in The Astronomical Journal, astronomer Mike Brown and planetary scientist Konstantin Batygin published what may be a map to the hypothetical planet. To find it, the pair of scientists analyzed the wonky orbits of 6 dwarf planets in the Kuiper Belt–a giant ring of rocky debris, just past Neptune. Something knocked these 6 objects out of alignment, and Brown and Batygin think a large planet could be out there tugging on them....

Keeping cool during a heat wave is often as much an issue of economics as a battle against a changing climate and the man-made forces that led it there. The average electric bill in the summer for Arizona residents can range from $100–$250 per month for an apartment. For a house of slightly greater-than-average size in Phoenix, the price rises to around $450 a month. But summer isn’t the only time it’s hot....

The results, though, aren’t likely any cause for alarm around human health—experts, including those who worked on the project, are quick to note that the study was done on mice, and used levels of radiation far above the amount generated by regular cell phone use, and cannot be directly translated to humans. In addition, Christopher Labos, a physician and associate in the McGill Office for Science and Society, says that the noted increase in cancer may just be due to chance: In studies like these, researchers examine dozens of organs and tissues for tumors, so in thousands of rodents, actually finding some isn’t surprising....

LRIP is the stage in the program where CAC will build enough production fighters (about 12-24) for test and evaluation flights by the PLAAF to understand the J-20’s capabilities, before further committing to large-scale production. Initial operational capability should come around in the 2018-2019 timeframe, once the Chinese Test Flight Establishment (CTFE) regiment develops the technical proficiency and competence to use the J-20 to the fullest in combat operations. “2101” is the ninth J-20 fighter built by the CAC in under five years (the first J-20 prototype flew in January 2011)....

Yes … sort of. From the sci-tech perspective, important energy and conservation agreements were announced. Now the hard work of putting them into action begins for the pledgers and signers, as well as those watchdogging that process. It may not sound like much, but intent must exist for action to ensue, right? So if you’re into environmental conservation — particularly, curbing climate change — these agreements are worthy of some renewed optimism....

Luckily, there are others who understand the struggle. These shorts are designed for comfortable and durability whether your thing is yoga, running, or couch-surfing. Never be uncomfortable, or without pockets, again. Yoga and meditation is usually about unplugging and allowing your mind to be free of stress and obligation—which is great if you live in a world where such breaks are possible. The truth is, a lot of people need to stay connected even when they’re trying to connect with their inner light, so it’s nice to see a pair of yoga shorts that acknowledge this necessity....

The ostensible goal of these firms is to reduce companies’ healthcare costs by providing employees with healthcare information and helping them make informed decisions. For example, Castlight Healthcare, which serves companies such as Walmart, can identify when employees may be considering costly spinal surgery and send them information about cheaper fixes or ways to delay the procedure but still help their condition, such as doing physical therapy. But Castlight also has a program that attempts to predict when employees are pregnant or trying to conceive by monitoring their search queries and scanning their insurance claims to find workers who have stopped filling their birth-control prescriptions....

Nike wanted to better understand this mechanism and see if the tights really held up to their hype. So they reached out to a group of researchers at Ohio State University to test it out. Through a small study that employed 10 male runners, the researchers found that, though the tights did significantly lower those muscle vibrations, in the end, that didn’t translate to a reduction in muscle fatigue. The researchers recently presented their results at the American College of Sports Medicine’s annual meeting....

Two more modules, one to open your garage door and one that controls macs or PCs (think the Apple remote, but more expansive) are set to launch later this year for $40 and $30 respectively. Eventually, the apps will let you control thermostats, baby monitors and more. The interface is clean and intuitive, and there are thoughtful extras like TV listings and music-streaming capabilities. The company is working on a version for iPhones and another for Android, so guys with too much time on their hands might want to start rigging up the mood lighting now....

Starting in March 2020, the Merlin team saw an uptick in the number of app downloads, a trend that’s persisted. “Not only were we getting more downloads, but the number of active users has continued to grow,” says Drew Weber, the project coordinator for Merlin. This spring, 1.2 million people (and counting) were on Merlin. “People are downloading it, getting into birds, and they’re still into birds this year, even though the realities of lockdown and such are changing,” he says....

In a first-of-its-kind bill, New York lawmakers are proposing a moratorium on crypto mining, citing its enormous energy consumption as a threat to the state’s environmental and climate goals. The bill is currently making its way through the state legislature after passing the state Assembly’s Environmental Conservation Committee last month. If successful, it could set a precedent for similar regulatory actions at the federal level. “This legislation coming from New York is a reflection that a lot of the [crypto] industry is here, but also that we take climate action very seriously and hope that leaders of other states and the nation will follow,” says Liz Moran, New York policy advocate at the environmental nonprofit Earthjustice....

Shark AI Robot Self-Empty XL Vacuum in Black $550 (Was $650) Say goodbye to the days of vacuuming and hello to Bruce—at least that’s what our associate managing editor, inspired by the animatronic shark in Jaws, says he has named this self-emptying robot vacuum. Putting Bruce through his paces on a mix of carpet and hardwood, he told me that his dog hates it and the humans love it. Sorry, Charli (that’s the dog), but Bruce is here to stay....

ICARUS is an acronym for “Inbound, Controlled, Air-Releasable, Unrecoverable Systems,” but it’s also the tragic subject of a Greek myth. As the story goes, the young Icarus and his father Daedalus escaped from a prison by building wings from wax and feathers. Shortly after, Icarus ignored his father’s warnings and flew too close to the sun; his wings melted and he plummeted straight into the sea. The myth is both a cautionary tale and tragedy....

As he took his first steps, he uttered words that would be written into history books for generations to come: “That’s one small step for man. One giant leap for mankind.” Or at least that’s how the media reported his words. But Armstrong insisted that he actually said, “That’s one small step for a man.” In fact, in the official transcript of the Moon landing mission, NASA transcribes the quote as “that’s one small step for (a) man....

They use a fleet of about 50 minivans, equipped with six to ten 1.3-megapixel still cameras mounted on the roof and facing in all directions to provide a 360-degree view. (Recently the company added stereo cameras, paired to shoot the same area at different angles, so it can create 3-D images of terrain and buildings.) As the vans drive (as fast as 55 mph), the cameras automatically capture an image about every 10 feet....

Laeng and his colleagues gathered about 250 people, mostly undergraduates from the Arctic University of Norway (where Laeng, now at the University of Oslo, was a professor at the time), and split them into two groups: those who were born above the Arctic Circle and those born below it. Both groups took a test measuring color discrimination, in which they had to arrange more than 85 color tabs according to the progression in their hues....

Here are our favorite accessories to use when packing your zero-waste: This Japanese company has been around for more than one hundred years, and their popularity is well-deserved: their products actually work. With their food jar, you can enjoy your stews or soups hot, hours later, and keep cold things cool if you choose. Made out of stainless steel, this food jar comes in fun colors like pink, aqua, and cream, as well as classic black and silver....