The science Besides He, the most important players in this story may be twin baby girls named Nana and Lulu. As far as we know the twins were edited as embryos using CRISPR-cas9, a gene editing tool. The stated purpose of the edit was to disable CCR5, a gene involved in allowing HIV to invade cells, which is how a virus infects a host. The twins don’t appear in a promotional video uploaded to Youtube by The He Lab, but the scientist himself does....

via GIPHY And now, a brief history lesson (it’ll be brief, promise!). Since the era of the Greek and Roman empires, taxonomists have tried (as best they can) to make sense of the world around them. Enter Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus, who burst onto the scene in 1757, with his namesake hierarchy system. Finally, there was order. Over the centuries, the Linnaeus hierarchy has evolved, but for the most part, things have remained constant for scientists identifying new species....

Up to five hours after a person dies, eyes still typically respond to light. But those light-sensing cells, called photoreceptors, cannot communicate with other retina cells, rendering them essentially ineffective. A team of researchers managed to take human eyes from a newly deceased organ donor and, using a bespoke carrier for the eyes that kept them oxygenated in transport, maintained the flow of nutrients. When the team then electrically stimulated the retina, they were able to restore the natural electrical pulses of photoreceptors in the macula, a region in the human retina responsible for our central field of vision....

However, it can be quite a challenge to see from the perspective of a minuscule insect. For the teensiest animals among us, strapping on a portable camera is more like being crushed by a giant rock. A handful of engineers from the University of Washington wanted to change that by pushing the limits of how small cameras can actually be, and what kind of information we can gather by using live miniature photographers instead of robot alternatives....

Plastic doesn’t typically have a strong odor when we encounter it, often in the form of plastic bags or six-pack plastic rings. But the material becomes home to some odorous sea life once it spends time in the ocean. Algae and microscopic organisms take up residence on it and release smelly volatile compounds such as dimethyl sulfide. These compounds make the material begin to smell like food sea turtles eat....

Estimates at the time of the 1980 gorilla census were in the range of 100,000 individuals, but since then experts believed that the number had dropped to less than 50,000. Imagine the census takers’ surpise, then, when 2008 numbers revealed more than 125,000 healthy gorillas in Congo’s Ntokou-Pikounda and Ndoki-Likouala regions—including a community of nearly 6,000 animals found living in a remote swamp in one of the country’s newly formed national parks....

Boeing, another company that aspires to carry astronauts to and from the space station, received a similar order in May. As Popular Science explained at the time, the order is a way for NASA to give these companies a heads-up so they can get all their ducks in a row in time for the 2017 launches. “It’s really exciting to see SpaceX and Boeing with hardware in flow for their first crew rotation missions,” said Kathy Lueders, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, in a press statement....

“Our art tells a story and our stories should be listened to as we intended,” she tweeted on November 20. The decision was applauded around the internet, and it signaled a sea change in the way we consume music—from the early 2000s celebration of the shuffle feature to a rejection of it as the default. “Most people don’t change from default settings unless they have almost an ideological reason to do so,” says Devon Powers, associate professor at Temple University, whose research focuses on popular music....

Recover from your lululemon Studio Mirror workout with one of the best percussion massagers or step into your own portable sauna. And, make sure you stay hydrated by taking a swig of cold water from your insulated water bottle. Here are some other fitness deals to go along with your new Studio Mirror: BalanceFrom Wide Grip Kettlebell Exercise Fitness Weight Set $39 (Was $79.99)BalanceFrom Puzzle Exercise Mat with EVA Foam Interlocking Tiles $77....

Are you looking to transition to two wheels but feel a bit intimidated by the complexity of shifting? You’re in luck. Even though the overwhelming majority of motorcycles today use manual transmissions, there’s a growing segment of bikes that don’t require any shifting or clutch operation by the rider. And, no, they’re not scooters. Yes, we’ve been down this road before: back in 2006, Yamaha’s FJR1300AE/AS model had a semi-auto clutch with electronic shifting, while a few years ago, Aprilia’s Mana 850 GT came with a CVT transmission with the option of either full-auto or manual shift....

Best overall: Core 11 Person Family Cabin TentBest for large groups: Tahoe Gear Ozark 3-Season TentBest for packing light: MSR Habitude 6-Person TentBest for a quick setup: Coleman Cabin TentBest all-weather: Teton Sports Mesa Canvas TentBest splurge: Whiteduck Alpha Canvas Wall Tent How we chose the best family tents One kind of family tent won’t work for every kind of family. In order to find the best family tents for you can your loved ones, we looked at reviews, recommendations, conducted user testing, and performed heavy research....

Best overall: AmScope Beginner Microscope STEM KitBest for 10-year-olds: OMAX-MD8 2ES10Best for young kids: Educational Insights GeoSafari Jr. Kids MicroscopeBest portable: Carson MicroBrite Plus Pocket Microscope Best kit: Omano JuniorScope Science Kit Best budget: National Geographic STEM Kit How we chose the best microscopes for kids In order to select the best microscopes for kids of all ages, we paid particular attention to the durability and magnification power of each model....

These 50 science-y destinations, each within a drivable distance from a state’s largest population center, are well worth a visit. In about a half day’s travel (often less!), you can take in a natural wonder like a glowing lagoon, get to know wildlife like mustangs and bison, or marvel at ingenious installations like a solar system model big enough to drive through. Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming...

Celebrate the “holiday” with a science-minded jigsaw puzzle that’ll keep your brain working the entire time. (Not much for puzzles? Well then I don’t know why exactly you clicked on this article, but regardless, you can check out my favorite board games here.) Before we get into the actual puzzles, there’s a specific puzzle situation I came across this December. What happens if you’ve just finished a puzzle, but aren’t quite ready to take it apart?...

As news of the explosion in Imo state disseminated across various media platforms, the nation was thrown into what Nigeria’s president called “shock and trauma.” He said the incident was catastrophic and described it as a “national disaster.” Illegal oil refining—popularly known as oil bunkering or oil theft—involves the siphoning off of crude fuel from pipelines often belonging to foreign companies, then transporting it to makeshift refineries hidden in bushes and forests several miles away by....

The Commission said in a release that it wants to learn more about the impacts of some common agreements between broadband service providers and the landlords of multi-tenant buildings. While the FCC prohibits these two parties from entering into exclusive contracts—meaning a building can’t make a deal to only offer residents one option for internet access—the agency acknowledged there are other types of agreements that can limit choices for residents....

Finding the right desk fan comes down to a few considerations—how much space you have to work with, your own personal work habits, and whether or not you want a nice, gentle breeze or you to prefer to work looking like the cover of a romance novel. As you can tell by its name, the Rowenta prides itself on being one of the quietest fan options available, and it lives up to its humble brag....

But a pair of German scientists wanted to know which birds, or rather bird photos, get the most attention. And to find that out, they turned to Instagram. The photo-sharing, influencer-making social media app can often feel like a popularity contest, and that’s what the researchers were counting on. In a new study published this week in i-Perception, scientists document their search for the most Instagrammable bird. They collected and analyzed more than 23,000 bird photos from nine of the most popular bird accounts, noting the number of likes while accounting for factors like how long the picture had been online and how many accounts the photo had reached....

You don’t necessarily need technology to improve a classic design: sometimes, the best way to get rid of flies is with a heavy duty, hand-shaped fly swatter. The plastic is flexible but strong, and won’t damage the wall you’ll smack. These vibrantly colored swatters are 18 inches long, so you can reach pests at a distance. Get a pack of five at a budget-friendly price, and keep one for every room in the house....