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OxyContin creator Purdue Pharma has reached a settlement worth up to $12 billion with thousands of state, tribal, and local governments, lawyers on the case told reporters Wednesday. After weeks of negotiations, the two sides landed on a tentative sum that will be distributed to plaintiffs across the country (the specifics still have to be decided). The deal preempts a federal trial, set to begin in Cleveland, Ohio, next month....

For its first foray into non-gaming audio, Razer cut many of those bells and whistles and introduced a really excellent pair of headphones called Opus. What are they? Razer isn’t totally new to the headphone segment—it already has a successful line of high-end gaming headsets in its roster. The Opus is a completely different animal, however. These wireless headphones will work for gaming if you want them to, but they’re more geared for general use....

Studies show that we spend 10 percent of our working lives manipulating spreadsheets, and those in the research and financial spaces must spend more than that. If you’re a frequent number cruncher, having an in-depth understanding of the app’s functions is a must so you can do more in less time. And if you’re keen on automation, learning Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) is ideal. The Ultimate Excel VBA Certification Bundle + Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2021 for Windows: Lifetime License can help get you started....

At some point in late March, Roger Alvarez, a pulmonologist and critical care specialist at the University of Miami Health System, noticed that some of his patients with low oxygen levels continued to decline, even after being placed on ventilators. This gave him an idea: Rather than putting these patients directly on ventilators, what if they were treated with inhaled nitric oxide first? The gas increases blood flow by relaxing and widening blood vessels in the lungs, and it is regularly used to treat a number of conditions, including acute respiratory distress syndrome....

This comes from a new analysis of what happened to the Huygens lander, an oft-forgotten component of the Cassini-Huygens mission to the Saturn system. Huygens was a 400-pound lander that apparently “bounced, slid and wobbled” until coming to rest on the surface of Titan. Previous analysis of its fate suggested that Titan had a soft surface, but now NASA knows it’s more complicated than that. Touch it lightly and it seems hard, but with more pressure, it yields....

Between its Power Glass solar charging lens, preloaded TOPO maps, and barometric altimeter, this watch was made for adventure. It also features dedicated activity profiles where you can track surfing sessions and record yourself catching fat waves thanks to Surfline Sessions compatibility. An acclimation widget lets you know how your body is holding up due to current elevation, and support for multiple global navigation satellite systems (GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo) means you’ll be out of the woods if you get lost....

This Turiya Organic Latex Pillow is now $111 as part of the sale, and is great for proper spinal alignment. The shape of the pillow, along with its GOLS-certified organic dunlop latex, relieves pressure on your head and neck. The inner pillow cover is made of organic cotton, and the outer, removable layer is made from 380-400 thread count organic cotton sateen. Plus, this pillow is mold- and mildew-resistant, and naturally repels allergen-laden dust mites....

You can make learning hardware your new year goal thanks to this Cyber Week sale we’re having. Take your pick: Build Your Own GPS Tracking System With Raspberry Pi You can’t always rely on your maps app to figure out where to go. This course package offers step-by-step instructions on creating your own GPS tracking system using Raspberry Pi. Through beginner-friendly online lectures, you’ll get the chance to learn GPS data extraction and Python programming, all while putting together a device that analyzes GPS data in real-time....

These harsh but not entirely surprising words came from veteran standout Houston Astros pitcher Justin Verlander during baseball’s annual All-Star Break this year, and they crystallized a certain frustration that plenty of Major League pitchers felt in 2019 about their most important weapon: the baseball. Verlander, and plenty of his peers, noticed an important difference in the ball this past season, and the result across the board was that opposing hitters were tagging them for home runs like never before....

Tussles over political or entertainment emails make headlines, but another email battle over more scientific subject matter has been going on for several months. Essentially, the head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Kathryn Sullivan, is refusing to turn over internal emails between NOAA scientists to House Science Committee Chairman Lamar Smith, who has subpoenaed communication (including emails) relating to a study published earlier this year. The subpoena came after NOAA scientists published a paper in Science which showed that global warming had not, in fact, slowed down in the years since 1998....

In new findings published in the journal MBio a team of researchers from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston and from China successfully used a Zika virus vaccine currently under development to kill glioblastoma, an extremely aggressive form of brain cancer that kills most patients in less than two years—the same type of cancer that recently killed Senator John McCain. Fewer than 3 to 5 percent of patients live past five years, and even when treated with surgery followed by high doses of radiation and chemotherapy, the cancer usually returns, likely because of an uncanny ability by glioblastoma stem cells to hide under healthy brain tissue....

With airline ticket prices exponentially rising, the urge to hold on to money crushes the urge to hop on a plane and go on a vacation. More and more travelers are opting to stay still for now instead of booking trips left and right. But if you’re itching to travel and simply cannot wait to go on an adventure, a Premium Plus+ subscription to Dollar Flight Club may just be what you need to satisfy that wanderlust....

But it’s likely that the actions of the Trump-era EPA here won’t be the final say in this emissions-regulating saga, which draws heavy influence from the political powers in charge at a given moment. Instead, it’s going to set up an epic lawsuit with Pruitt and the EPA on one side, and California and a host of other states — all of which are blue and represent around a third of the country’s new car market according to Bloomberg — on the other....

“Migratory birds are really important,” says Jill Deppe, senior director of the migratory bird initiative at the National Audubon Society. “In a single year, a single bird can eat enough insect pests to save a farmer 25 pounds of coffee per acre.” Many birds make incredible trips every year. The Arctic tern completes globe-trotting flights from one pole to another, clocking in 49,700 miles in a year; and the bar-tailed godwit holds the record for the longest non-stop flight at 7,000 miles....

The Loneliest Whale When the U.S. Navy gave scientists access to a network of hydrophones built in the 1950s to eavesdrop on Soviet subs, researchers discovered a surprising song. It followed a beat (and migratory path) reminiscent of a blue or fin whale. But while those species bellow at pitches of about 15 to 25 Hz, the new notes hit 52 Hz—only about as low as a tuba can manage. William Watkins, the marine mammal researcher who discovered the singular singer and listened to it for 12 years, died in 2004....

We’ve previously explored the changing landscape of mapping in the digital age, where cartographic data is freely available from various–and not necessarily consistent–sources. When we last explored this topic in-depth we examined how these maps’ inherent inaccuracies and inconsistencies can be a recipe for misunderstanding and, in some contexts, serious geopolitical problems. Now Apple Maps is forcing us to face the other side of that coin. App functionality issues aside, Apple is providing map imagery that is absolutely crystal clear, revealing points of interest on Earth’s topography that some governments and entities would much rather keep out of the public eye, forcing the App providers themselves to act as cartographic editors, choosing what to blur and what to leave unaltered for public consumption....

Whatever you might make of the CDC’s implied connection between young women’s drinking and sexual habits, the report is intended to raise awareness about fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), a spectrum of disorders caused by exposure to alcohol at critical stages of a fetus’ development. But just how prevalent is FAS, and how likely is a fetus to get it if a mother has just one drink? Those questions are surprisingly difficult to answer because FAS is so often confused with other disorders....

The board’s frame contains nearly 400 corrugated-paper slats precisely cut by a computer-controlled saw. The slats intersect at interlocking notches, forming a pattern of triangles and hexagons that provides strength by evenly dispersing force throughout the board. Sheldrake makes it watertight by wrapping it in fiberglass cloth hardened with epoxy resin (similar to traditional boards). Sheldrake has already sold one of his creations to a pro surfer. Before he sells many more, he plans to experiment with different slat materials, such as plastic or carbon fiber, to change a board’s weight and flexibility....

Each year, Finding Ada, a blog “celebrating the achievements of women in science, technology, engineering and maths,” announces a day in mid-October to honor Lovelace’s contributions to technology and celebrate women around the world who are involved in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). This year, #AdaLovelaceDay trended globally on October 13th as social media users posted with the hashtag to share stories of the woman of honor and draw attention to women who work in, promote and love STEM....

While we can’t cover every single browser—the selection is a lot bigger than you might realize—we can talk about how Edge, Apple’s Safari, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Opera help you navigate the web. You might just find the browsing grass is greener on the other side of the digital fence. These five browsers offer the same basic features, including tabbed browsing, a private browsing mode, options for remembering your passwords, bookmark management, and the ability to sync data between devices....