The idea of being reduced to liquid does seem a bit disturbing to many—as far as BioSafe Engineering, an Indiana company that manufactures the steel cylinders knows, no funeral homes anywhere in world currently offer the service. In fact, a bill in New York to legalize alkaline hydrolysis became dubbed as the “Hannibal Lecter Bill.” But one funeral director is hoping to bring this new method of “mortuary science” to the public....
After 15 years of loyal service, the telecommunications satellite in geostationary orbit roughly 22,236 miles above the Earth was put out to pasture in 2020, with subsequent plans to then move it into a “graveyard orbit” in November 2021. In that window of purgatory, however, Koscher and fellow buddies within the hacking group, ShadyTel, obtained both a license to use an out-of-use uplink facility along with the Anik F1R satellite’s transponder lease....
Right now, the prototype can fly only up to four feet high, though the addition of a small gasoline engine and a few other tweaks should enable it to fly up to 100 feet—high enough to scope out a 10-story building. A single operator can control the whole thing remotely while a 360-degree rotating camera sends real-time video back to a laptop receiver. “This could save lives,” says team member Brandon McWhinnie....
Imagine a world where your sex cells determine your entire personality. If you have vigorous little sperm wriggling around your testes, you too must be energetic and raring to achieve. Carry a delicate basket of large, motionless eggs, and you’re probably more an inert, submissive type—waiting for life to happen to you. Were it not for the work of psychologist Helen Thompson Woolley, some version of such a presumptive existence—the one into which she was born in 1874—might still exist....
Mars images are stunning to see, but they offer real science value, too, because Curiosity’s science team will use them as their eyes on Mars. Curiosity’s view of the rim of Gale Crater and Mt. Sharp at its center will help the team determine where the rover should drive first, and after that, which rocks will be most interesting to zap with its ChemCam laser or drill with its robotic arm....
It sounds simple, but the details of how a bird interprets an auditory signal that she herself has produced then uses it to correct her melody aren’t totally clear. In fact, a recent study shows that some mistakes in vocalization are simply too big to rectify. For the study, scientists at Emory University and the University of California, San Francisco altered the auditory feedback of six male Bengalese finches by playing back, in real-time, an altered version of the birds’ own sounds....
One of the hallmarks of Y. pestis infection, along with two other lesser pathogens, Y. pseudotuberculosis and Y. enterocolitica, is the production of a group of proteins known as the Yops (Yersinia outer proteins). Within this group is the most dangerous protein, YopH. It has the ability to prevent immune cells from engulfing the bacteria for destruction, prevents the release of toxic defense chemicals, and restricts the ability of these cells from sending chemical signals designed to call for backup....
I don’t remember learning to echolocate. When I was an infant, I had cancer and had to have my eyes removed. I started clicking my tongue simply by instinct. Now I teach my methods to other blind people—adults, kids—to help them move around unassisted and regain independence. When I click my tongue, the sound waves echo back. The longer the time delay between the noise emitted and the return, the farther away an object is....
But there is some positive news for allergy sufferers everywhere. “The only good thing about getting older is that, in many cases, allergies are less prevalent,” says Clifford Bassett, medical director of Allergy & Asthma Care of NY and an allergy specialist at New York University. Changes inside and outside our bodies as we age affect the way we react to potential irritants from ragweed to crab to dogs. Why?...
For most of history, our numbers have been negligible. If Odysseus really did sail the wine-dark sea in the 12th century B.C., he was one of only around 50 million people alive at the time. As Muhammad composed the Quran some 1,800 years later, the population was roughly 200 million. But the Industrial Revolution pushed that crawl into a sustained sprint. Our numbers doubled in just 150 years, and Malthus’ world was making room for its 1 billionth member by 1804....
At its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) this week, Apple announced its implementation of the newly agreed upon passkey standards. It will roll out with iOS 16 and macOS Ventura, so it’s the first real-world look we’ve had at the long-promised password-less future (the FIDO Alliance, which is an industry group dedicated to “solving the World’s password problem,” has been working on this for a decade). In the WWDC keynote, Apple’s vice president of internet technologies, Darin Adler, called passkeys a “next generation credential that’s more secure, easier to use, and aims to replace passwords for good....
One important tool to protect residents who may be in harm’s way is by forecasting these lava flows, or the streams of boiling hot molten rock from within the Earth that are expelled from a volcano’s vent. Slow-moving lava averages 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit and destroys everything in its path with its intense heat. A team from the University of South Florida (USF) on the ground in Hawaii is collecting data to create models that can help improve lava flow forecasting tools....
Titanium has long been a go-to for very good reasons. It offers one of the highest strength-to-weight ratios of any metal on the planet, which means companies can make massive 460cc drivers that butt up against the PGA’s maximum size without adding weight that slows down a swing. Metals are ductile and flexible, which allows them to bounce back after deforming at impact. The allure of carbon fiber is that it’s even lighter than titanium, but it brings its own complications....
In the heat of summer, few toys are more fun for kids than a slip and slide. With a bit of plastic, some water, and enough speed, kids can zip across the yard with a squeal and a splash. A slip and slide can be as simple as laying heavy-duty plastic on a hill, but we wanted something a bit safer and higher-end. Our slip and slide has bumpers to keep kids and water on track, breaks down easily for storage, and as a bonus, recycles at least some of the water to keep the environmental and financial impact of our summer fun to a minimum....
Soon after you bring a shiny new smartphone home, you’ll start receiving a continuous stream of software updates from app makers, as well as operating system upgrades from Apple and Google. It may seem simple, but you probably have questions. Maybe you’re wondering how to find out what version of Android or iOS your phone is running, and why it matters. Or perhaps you’re not sure what you have to do to get the new iOS on your iPhone, or why your Android phone has to wait so long to get the latest software....
We’ve been relying on cloud storage more and more in recent years. From our photos and videos, to our music and movies, and even our devices’ backup, most of our precious files are out there—anywhere and everywhere all at once. Everyone involved gets their own Dropbox account, so users will only have access to their own files. The only extra power the administrator holds over the rest of the group is the ability to manage the billing and who gets to be in the family....
When to clean your dryer vent Guidance varies on how often you need to clear out the ol’ dust pipes, but most recommendations fall between every three months and at least once a year. You’ll probably need to do it more if you do lots of laundry, and less if you live alone. But if your clothes are taking increasingly longer to dry, your machine gets surprisingly hot to the touch, or (red alert) you notice a burning smell when the dryer is on, you should clean the vent and ducts immediately....
Why you should clean your earbuds or headphones I know what you’re thinking—a little earwax never hurt anyone, right? Unfortunately, no. When you let grime build up in your AirPods, you risk ear pain, fungal infections, excess earwax, and more. This is because even though earwax helps protect your ears in general, it can help foster bacterial growth when it gets stuck in your earbuds. Plus, if you use your AirPods or other wireless earbuds when you work out, moisture from your sweat can also potentially cause health issues in addition to general grossness....
Don’t rinse that bird Most people realize that raw poultry carries dangerous bacteria, but unfortunately, this leads some cooks to rinse their butterballs and chicken breasts before cooking them. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) notes that it’s “virtually impossible to wash bacteria off the bird,” and that splashing water on the uncooked carcass is much more likely to leave your sink covered in contaminants and spread germs to stuff you won’t cook, like lettuce leaves....
That’s because in a landfill, the scraps don’t just decompose and cycle back into the food web (and even then, biodegradable food left outside won’t necessarily degrade quickly, either). Piling up among our discarded goods and packaging, the scraps eventually begin to go through decomposition. But when scraps decompose anaerobically, the process creates methane. That’s the same potent greenhouse gas emitted through activities as varied as cow burps and farts to fossil fuel industry operations that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warns in its latest report is exponentially more heat-trapping than carbon dioxide....
