On March 22, a construction crew in Germany found an unexploded bomb in Essen, Germany, decades after it had been dropped during World War II. The area was evacuated, including part of a nearby hospital and a home for seniors. Late that night explosive ordnance disposal crews defused the bomb. The old weapon is a reminder, as war continues 1,000 miles east of Essen in Ukraine, that unexploded weapons are a multigenerational burden....
This isn’t the first time the FaceApp has spread around the internet. The app generated attention when it debuted back in 2017. We’ve also seen this kind of phenomena plenty of times before, including Snapchat’s gender swap filter, which was everywhere just a few weeks ago. The backlash to the FaceApp, however, has been swift and louder than usual because the developer operates out of Russia. To date, however, there’s no proof that the company has ties to the Russian government or has any bad intentions for the data....
“Today’s approval of a first-in-class therapy adds an important new treatment option for certain at-risk patients,” John Sharretts, director of the Division of Diabetes, Lipid Disorders, and Obesity in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research said in a statement. “The drug’s potential to delay clinical diagnosis of type 1 diabetes may provide patients with months to years without the burdens of disease.” Type 1 diabetes is a disease that occurs when the immune system attacks and destroys the cells that make insulin....
Streaming sites may not offer sustenance, but they do provide you with endless entertainment. For platforms like CuriosityStream, though, you also get brain food, thanks to its expansive roster of the world’s best documentaries. For a limited time only, you can grab a lifetime subscription on sale for less than the annual price of a Netflix subscription. Launched by Discovery Communications founder and media visionary John Hendricks, CuriosityStream is an award-winning streaming and on-demand viewing destination where you can bask in fact-based programming....
The study, which looked at 52 female undergraduates at the University of Texas at Austin, claims that women with a high level of the hormone both expressed more desire to cheat on their partner and were ranked as more attractive than their Estradiol-impaired peers. But some think that the study might be mistaking social effects for physiological ones. “If more attractive man comes along, women with high levels of this hormone are more willing to leave their partner for him,” said Kristine Durante, a doctoral candidate in psychology at UT Austin and lead author on the study....
Making room for everyone Elizabeth Fleming, Senior Florida Representative of Defenders of Wildlife. As told to Kaitlin Sullivan. Florida is one of the fastest-growing states in the nation. Over the past 30 years, the population—up by nearly 2.5 million since 2010—has spurred developers to convert forests and wetlands into suburbs, airports, and universities. These new hardscapes, which are most prevalent in Collier County on the southwestern shore, threaten biodiversity, increase flood risk, and squeeze endangered species like the Florida panther into tight quarters with humans....
1920s 1930s 1967 1969 1970s 2001 2002 2018 This article was originally published in the Winter 2018 Danger issue of Popular Science.
Some of the most common elements of a near-death experience include a feeling of peace or euphoria; a strange, nebulous feeling that they were “floating around the room” or having an out-of-body experience; seeing a tunnel with light at the end; or seeing family members or otherworldly phenomenon. But it’s also very difficult to measure or observe scientifically, despite being such a common and varied phenomenon, so it’s very hard to account for everything that happens during one....
Let me back this up. In October, a leak in an underground pipe north of Los Angeles started spewing methane into the air above the city. Methane is an extremely potent greenhouse gas, and it’s troubling even when released naturally from seafloors. It’s less studied than carbon dioxide, though that’s changing, and scientists are working on new storage solutions. The California leak is from a storage facility, which means the normally odorless gas has had an odorant added to alert humans of its presence....
If that seems crazy, there’s a shortcut. You either invest aggressively and hope for high returns, or you can just put together a puzzle and try your luck. The 2 Million Dollar Puzzle from MSCHF gives you the chance to become an instant millionaire just by solving it. And for a limited time, PopSci readers can get an exclusive discount on two of these puzzles, earning you the chance to win $2 million....
But if you can’t cook to save your life, the next best thing is to take her to a nice dinner instead. You don’t even have to break the bank to treat your mama to a fancy meal. Restaurant.com is currently offering e-gift cards for remarkable rates, so you can shower your mom with love on the most special day of the year. Rated 4.5/5 stars by verified purchases, this deal from Restaurant....
Clearly, gloomy skepticism has given way to glowing optimism about Africa, and for good reason—over the past 10 years, many of the economies within Africa are outpacing economies anywhere else in the world. In fact, according to the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) World Economic Outlook released in October 2012, 11 of the world’s 20 fastest-growing economies are in Africa, and this booming economic growth has helped create the fastest-growing middle class in the world....
But you don’t need to stay indoors as days get shorter. Making sure you’re prepared for the fourth season before you head outside can help you reap the great benefits of winter hiking. Evan Gill, an expert mountain climber known on YouTube as Black Sherpa, recommends starting with a warm, snug, synthetic base layer designed to wick moisture and dry quickly. Then add a warm mid-layer like a fleece or synthetic hoodie....
In the video an unfortunate tree has fallen onto a high-voltage power line. This provides a direct path for current to go into the ground, rather than travelling the normal route through the electrical grid. The resulting surge of moving charge results in sufficient resistive heating to ignite the tree and potentially start a forest fire. But why does the charge want to get to the ground in the first place, and for that matter, what do we really mean when we talk about “voltage”?...
The official cause of death is a smaller-than-expected number of orders from Emirates Airlines, which is the largest operator of the craft—although it will still receive 14 new A380s between now and 2021. “It’s a marvel of aviation to see an airplane that large, and that humans can make things that big fly,” reflected Richard Anderson, director of the Eagle Flight Research Center at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. By the standards of modern jets, the A380’s production lifespan—it first flew commercially in 2007—is short....
Hewitt knew he’d have to overcome a major obstacle: finding a way to keep the vehicle’s drag-inducing wheels out of the water. So when he finally had time to return to the project in 2004, he spent a year redesigning the 21-foot craft with tank-like rubber treads that could pivot 180 degrees when afloat. But its system of pumps and motors was prone to breakdown, so he was forced to start over....
Because phone cases come from so many brands and in so many shapes, colors, and materials, there’s no one perfect case for everyone. But below I’ve highlighted some of the most promising on the market. Some are stylish, some are ultra protective, and many are well-rounded, all-purpose cases. This list will be updated with picks for the Google Pixel 3 once it’s released. This list will also be updated with battery cases; we’ve got to test them first....
That idea—an AI fib sniffer—is in the news because of a border security project in Europe called iBorderCtrl that involves technology focused on “deception detection.” The initiative includes a two-step process, and the lie-detection part happens at home. According to the European Commission, the protocol begins with a pre-screening in which voyagers “use a webcam to answer questions from a computer-animated border guard, personalised to the traveller’s gender, ethnicity and language....
New findings published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences illustrate how insect and other arthropod populations in the rain forests of Puerto Rico have declined 60-fold over the last four decades; this time span saw a 2 degree Celsius rise in average temperatures. Moreover, the effects are already cascading into losses for the animals that prey on these bugs for food, threatening to crash the intricate food web that sustains and stabilizes the rainforest ecosystem....
This collection of equipment will start you on your way to building a home recording studio. You’ll probably want to upgrade down the road, but you’ll have a solid base on which to build. The Shure SM58 mic has a cardioid polar pattern, which means it’s more-sensitive at the front of the mic, less likely to pick up sounds coming from the sides, and will flat-out ignore noises that are 180 degrees opposite of the way that the mic is facing....
