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Is your search engine of choice pulling its weight? It’s perhaps a choice you’ve stopped thinking about, settling for whatever default option appears in your browser or on your phone—but as with most tech choices, you’ve got options. Google has come to dominate search to the extent that it’s become a verb in itself, but here we’re going to check how Google search stacks up against two of its biggest rivals including Microsoft’s Bing and the privacy-focused site known as DuckDuckGo....

Practical graduation gifts for commuters: Fjallraven Kanken Everyday BackpackBest grad gifts for early risers: Hatch Restore Sound Machine and Alarm ClockDorm room essentials: Anker Soundcore Life Q20 Hybrid Active Noise Cancelling HeadphonesBest graduation gifts for bookworms: Kindle PaperwhiteBest grad gift for writers and artists: Moleskine Pen+ Ellipse Smart Writing Set Pen & Ruled Smart NotebookRecent graduate kitchen essentials: Instant Vortex Plus Air FryerBest graduation gifts & apartment essentials: Bose SoundLink Color IIBest old-fashioned but handy gift: Brother HL-L2300D Monochrome Laser PrinterBest practical graduation gift for homebodies: Tempur-Pedic Symphony PillowMost practical graduation gift for life on the go: Tile Mate...

Fermi detected a gamma ray burst just 0.4 seconds after the gravitational waves were detected. And although the European INTEGRAL gamma-ray satellite could not confirm the signal, the researchers think the signal could mean that the two black holes that collided were actually born in the same, massive star. Ordinarily, at the end of its life, a massive star would collapse into one black hole. But sometimes if the star is spinning rapidly, it can stretch out into a dumbbell shape that separates into two black holes....

We’ve picked out some stunning volumes for folks who love science. These books showcase photos from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and feature deconstructed Swiss Army knives. Read on.

High sugar levels over time can cause complications like heart disease, kidney failure, blindness, or circulatory problems that result in amputation; in the short term, sugar levels that are extremely high or low can put a person into a diabetic coma, which could be fatal if it’s not properly treated. Black couldn’t believe how inconvenient it was to check her glucose levels—it involves carrying around a bulky device and plugging it in to a computer to see the data elsewhere, Black, then known as Stephen, writes in a blog post from early 2015....

That enormous area may seem impossible given all we’ve done to the planet, but a new analysis of global human impacts published in the journal Global Change Biology says there are still large amounts of land available for conservation—perhaps even enough to meet bold conservation goals. “We still have quite a bit of the planet that has fairly low human impacts,” says Jason Riggio, a conservation biologist at the University of California, Davis and lead author of the new study....

Early this morning, Canon released news about a ton of forthcoming products, among them was the Canon EOS 90D, a new EF-mount camera with a 32.5 megapixel APS-C sensor that is powered by a DIGIC 8 processor. The camera has an optical viewfinder (as you’d expect with a DSLR), enhanced dial controls, and a 45-point all cross-type autofocus system with 5,481 manually selectable AF positions in live view. ISO settings range from 100 to 25600, it is capable of shooting 10 fps, 120p/100p Full HD video, 4K video at 30p/25p, and features Dual Pixel CMOS AF....

These types of programs work: Subsidizing fruits, vegetables, and other healthy foods under Medicare and Medicaid could prevent millions of cases, as well as deaths from cardiovascular disease, according to a new model. It would prevent hundreds of thousands of diabetes cases, as well, and save billions of dollars in healthcare costs. “The power of food as medicine is increasingly clear,” says study author Dariush Mozaffarian, dean of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University....

Today, Apple’s general counsel Bruce Sewell is testifying before the House Judiciary committee to make that case. The full prepared remarks are roughly 900 words trying to expand the fight from one specific terror case to the entire security infrastructure of the internet. “Apple has no sympathy for terrorists,” Sewell opens, before moving onto the specifics of the case: And then it transitions to the heart of the case: creating an encryption bypass for one devices undermines all similar devices....

A face transplant is exactly what it sounds like—replacing the disfigured face of one person with the whole, undamaged face of a very recently deceased person. Eduardo Rodriguez, plastic surgeon and face transplant specialist at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York who performed surgery on Underwood, insists this surgery is a way to give these patients “a second chance at life.” Without a new face, patients like Underwood have great difficulty speaking, swallowing, eating, expressing themselves, as well as all the other things we do with our faces that we never think twice about....

“Africa is a beautiful continent,” says Susan Murabana, a science educator based in Kenya. “We are privileged to have dark and unpolluted skies.” Native Africans have long relied on the position of stars and planets to log time and seasons, and shape society and ideologies. Many of the mathematical elements that make up their cultures have since been recognized in other myths, legends, and societies around the world. But the larger space community is only now catching on....

“Coral Bleaching: A Breakdown of Symbiosis” won the Expert’s and People’s Choice awards for Video in the 2016 Vizzies. See all 10 of the winners. This article was originally published in the March/April 2016 issue of Popular Science, under the title “The 2016 Vizzies.”

What is Bluetooth? While you may be wondering, ‘How does Bluetooth work,’ the first question really is what is Bluetooth? Bluetooth is a low-power, short-range radio technology that can connect and share data between electronic devices. For example, a Bluetooth speaker can connect wirelessly with a laptop, allowing it to receive and play music from the computer. Likewise, Bluetooth earbuds can connect to a phone to enable wireless, hands-free calling (and music), or connect a game controller to its console....

The option works with a range of physical activities beyond cycling and running—in fact, it’s designed to detect falls for any type of workout an athlete might select on the watch, from a walk to rock climbing to even water sports. To equip the watch to do this, Apple needed reams of real-world data to first learn how to recognize falls during a workout. After all, a mountain biker taking a jump and then landing back down hard on the trail will create a force that the watch can pick up, but obviously isn’t representative of a fall....

When it comes to concussions, most people don’t have to worry about the worst case scenario. Powerful head injuries and chronic blackouts from repeated pummeling or sports injuries inevitably lead to serious brain damage, yes, but most manage to avoid such constant concussions. But what about just one fist to the head? Or two helmet-denting tackles? When is it that cumulative concussions start to cause long-term trouble? It’s that line—or the lack of one—that makes parents, and even kids, nervous....

What we do know is that each of these submersibles will protect a complement of sailors from the ocean’s incredible pressure—and from the nuclear reactor contained within, which powers everything from the propulsion system to the lights by heating water into steam. For workers at Electric Boat, an arm of General Dynamics responsible for many of these vessels, craftsmanship is more than a matter of pride. A single mistake in their meticulous metalworking could prove catastrophic in the murky depths....

Just like a thermos is designed to insulate warm coffee from the cold elements of the outside world, so too does Pluto retain its own insulation tricks to keep its global ocean nice and toasty (relatively speaking). In a study published in Nature Geoscience on Monday, a team of planetary scientists demonstrate that a layer of gas likely exists just beneath the icy shell of the dwarf planet’s surface, capable of conferring a warming insulation to the ocean and keeping temperatures high enough so things stay liquid....

Jost and the other engineers decided the managers didn’t know they needed help. Lubrication involved many disciplines—fluid dynamics, metallurgy, physics—and influenced every aspect of production, but most people overlooked it. So Jost set out to change the world’s perspective. He invented a new name for a new discipline, tribology, from the Greek tribos, or “rubbing.” Tribologists would study “interacting surfaces in relative motion.” Jost calculated that tribologists could reduce British manufacturing costs by 515 million pounds per year....

“Tim Hortons clearly crossed the line by amassing a huge amount of highly sensitive information about its customers. Following people’s movements every few minutes of every day was clearly an inappropriate form of surveillance,” Canadian Privacy Commissioner Daniel Therrien said. Tim Hortons employed Radar, a third-party service provider based in the United States, to track and collect location information. Initially, the government report claims the company planned to use this data for targeted advertising, but then ultimately decided not to pursue that strategy....

If the urge to snack turns you into a Pac-Man—chomping your way through cookies, pizza rolls, and even that questionable-looking box of chocolate that’s been sitting in the back of your pantry for months—you can do something about it. Here are our best tips for damage control in the moment, and making healthier choices when you do blitz your pantry. And this advice applies whether or not you can blame your snacking on marijuana....