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If you’re looking for wireless noise-cancelling headphones, Sony’s last-gen. but still potent WH-1000XM4 ($228, regularly $349) is a good pickup, as is the premium, sound- and software-rich Shure AONIC 50 ($249, usually $299). If you want the convenience of Bluetooth but don’t need ANC, the Edifier STAX Spirit S3 Wireless Planar Magnetic Headphones, on sale for $319 (regularly $399), feature driver technology from industry innovator Audeze that delivers a rich, rounded, ultra-wide 10Hz – 40kHz response, particularly on Android devices with an aptX HD/Adaptive connection....

BUY IT Hurry and snag this pet vacuum before this deal is lost forever like a dust bunny under a couch that hasn’t been moved in at least 10 years. More vacuum deals Roborock S7 MaxV Ultra Robot Vacuum and Mop $1,059 (was $1,399) Bissell Cleanview Rewind Pet Deluxe Upright Vacuum Cleaner $99 (was $139) Bissell, 2747A PowerFresh Vac & Steam All-in-One Vacuum and Steam Mop $129 (was $185) BISSELL Power Steamer Heavy Duty 3-in-1 Steam Mop and Handheld Steamer $119 (was $175) BISSELL SpinWave Robot Pet, 2-in-1 Wet Mop and Dry Robot Vacuum $229 (was $399) iRobot Roomba 692 Robot Vacuum-WiFi connected $174 (was $299) iRobot Roomba j7 (7150) WiFi Connected Robot Vacuum $349 (was $599)...

Stats Time: 6 hours Material cost: $15 (wood only) Difficulty: moderate Materials 1 (2-inch-thick) pine board (enough to make a 12 ⅜-inch square)3 (17-by-1 ½-inch) pieces of ash (or other hardwood)3 small wedges (made of scrap hardwood)Milk paintOsmo Polyx-Oil Tools Miter saw (or a hand saw)Table saw (or a hand saw)Jointer (or a hand plane)Thickness planer (or a hand plane)Bandsaw (or a coping saw or jig saw)Drill press (or a power drill or bit brace)Lathe (or a drawknife)ClampsCompassGlueDrawknifeCarpenters squareSquareNon-abrasive pads(Optional) sliding T-bevel...

Jaan Tallinn stumbled across these words in 2007, in an online essay called “Staring into the Singularity.” The “it” is human civilization. Humanity would cease to exist, predicted the essay’s author, with the emergence of superintelligence, or AI that surpasses the human intellect in a broad array of areas. Tallinn, an Estonia-born computer programmer, has a background in physics and a propensity to approach life like one big programming problem....

This rather foregone epiphany dawned on me recently after I received a letter in the mail from a former employer offering me a year of free credit protection. The gift of an incredibly generous HR department? No. This was my consolation prize for having my Social Security number and street address stolen when some thieves made off with company computers. Being exposed to the threat of identity theft through the carelessness of a former employer got me thinking: Who else out there has the goods on me, and what say do I have in all of this?...

However, a team of chemists have potentially discovered a cheap and effective technique for destroying the forever-chemicals that uses an ingredient of a very common household item: sodium hydroxide, commonly known as lye which is used to make soap. According to a recent study in Science, sodium hydroxide—when mixed with water and an organic solvent—readily degrades PFAS. The mixture doesn’t work on all PFAS compounds, but offers a potential blueprint for an inexpensive way to remove the contaminants from soil and drinking water....

Aside from transforming Sin City into basically the nerdiest place on Earth for a few days, CES typically offers a mix of cutting-edge tech products that range from exciting and potentially world-changing to completely ridiculous. Sometimes, you see both of these extremes co-existing in the same products. But even in the most fallow of years, CES offers an excellent window at the big new trends in consumer technology that companies hope will be successful in the coming year....

The study looked ahead to 1980-1985, trying to predict the next decade of remotely piloted vehicle innovation. Here’s the core of the study: Nowadays, demand has soared well beyond those estimates, with approximately 1 million drones or more in the United States–though if distinguishing between business and hobby use, the gap is significantly less. Cost savings estimates are all over the place, depending on the kind of drone used and the type of manned aircraft it’s replacing, but there are certainly plenty of cases where a drone is the cheaper option....

All mammals, including mice and humans, reproduce sexually and so rely on the fusion of gametes (eggs and sperm). But, in order to achieve fertilisation and sustain subsequent embryonic development, both male and female gametes must have undergone the long and complex procedure of multiplication, growth and maturation. An absolute requirement for the generation of healthy offspring is the production of haploid gametes: gametes that contain half the number of chromosomes as other cells....

The eatery notes in its 2014 shareholder report that it may be at a higher risk for food-borne illness outbreaks “due to our use of fresh produce and meats rather than frozen, and our reliance on employees cooking with traditional methods rather than automation.” Huh? How does fresh food make me ill? It’s doesn’t. It’s humans who make you ill, dirty unhygienic humans. It’s kind of simple. Fecal contamination is often found on fresh produce, especially leafy greens like lettuce and spinach, if it’s not properly washed or not cooked....

According to a 2016 policy paper from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), formal schooling is the primary approach to address environmental challenges. Since curricular content has been shown to influence students’ knowledge of environmental issues, it’s essential to analyze how textbooks frame and discuss the pressing issue of climate change. But, as it turns out, climate change coverage hasn’t changed drastically in science textbooks over the last 50 years, despite how much scientists have learned about the phenomena currently affecting and will continue to affect the entire planet....

The study looked at data from the UK BioBank, a biomedical research center that followed half a million residents of the United Kingdom from 2006 to 2010. The researchers found 222 oral glucocorticoid users and 557 users of inhaled glucocorticoids (779 total) who did not have a previous diagnosis of any neurological, hormonal, or mental health disorder. The team then performed cognitive and mental health testing on these 779 individuals and took diffusion MRIs of their brains....

Widespread testing for the SARS-CoV-2 virus is important to both slow the virus and gain information about how widespread it is in the US. But a second aspect of testing has gotten less attention: accuracy. It’s surprisingly hard to determine how accurate a coronavirus test is, identify the cause of any inaccuracies and understand how inaccuracies affect the data public health officials use to make decisions. There are two main types of test in use....

While the species is already too widespread and established for any hope of erradication, even simple population control is proving to be difficult. The animals are not attracted to the usual poison bait traps and so require specialized extermination. The colonies are polygyne (having multiple queens) and may even be interconnected into supercolonies, making colony destruction nearly impossible. Even when individuals are killed, the survivors will smartly pile their dead over the pesticide-treated areas to cross to safety....

The Space Surveillance Telescope, or SST as everyone referred to it yesterday, is one of DARPA’s longest-running projects. Typically, DARPA likes projects that finish in three years, from concept to prototype to something that can be refined into a useful tool for national security or the military. SST started in 2001, and yesterday marked the telescope’s transition from a DARPA experiment into an Air Force asset. (Besides air, the Air Force claims both cyber and space as domains, ensuring the service has a hand in protecting both the internet and satellite television....

1. North Face Summit L4 North Face makes a lot of great down jackets. This isn’t one of them. In this one, the company used springy polyester balls of synthetic insulation to mimic the shape of down. The balls trap heat like down plumes and feel nearly as plush. $299 2. Patagonia Fitz Roy Down Park This glossy jacket uses sustainably harvested down stuffed into a nylon shell with a water-repellent finish....

Nirav Patel, chief medical officer of University Medical Center New Orleans, where the cases were reported, says that the fungus was spotted during general lab tests, which involved screening samples from patients for telltale proteins, including those produced by C. auris. “It’s a difficult-to-identify organism,” he says. “It’s hard for most labs to isolate it at a very specific level.” Because of that, it can be misidentified as another, less concerning fungus....

The Kennedy administration sought to change that. The idea was to move away from the “protestant white male” archetype by adding an African American to the roster. And Kennedy picked Edward Dwight. A Kansas City native, Dwight left his hometown in 1953 to join the U.S. Air Force. He served as military pilot before completing his degree in aeronautical engineering from Arizona State University. He entered Test Pilot Training Program at Edwards Air Force Base in 1961, and in 1962 began training as an astronaut candidate....

Do you know you’ve invented something that’s poised to disrupt a market, or have you toiled building prototype after prototype in your home workshop to prove your idea works? Whether you’re a professional engineer working on a self-funded side project, a hobbyist who has launched a successful crowdfunding campaign to refine your gadget, or an obsessive teenager who’s built a sellable product in your bedroom, please tell us about it!...