Crisp Photos Five- and eight-megapixel cameraphones will soon reach the U.S. But simply adding pixels won’t fix the dark, blurry photos from cellphones. So Kodak is changing how camera chips work. By augmenting the sensors for red, green and blue with pixels that capture all colors of light, its new five-megapixel chip produces sharper photos even in dim settings. It also reduces the static between pixels that causes grainy images. ETA: Early 2009...

Best overall: PreSonus StudioLIve 16.0.2 USBBest for live recording: Zoom LiveTrak L-20Best for tone bending: Behringer X AIR XR18Best for versatility: Keith McMillen K-MixBest portable: Zoom PodTrak P4 How we picked the best digital mixers When choosing the digital mixers for this roundup, we applied a specific set of criteria. First, the unit had to be affordable. We chose products that ranged from a little more than $200 to just over $1000....

The appliance market offers a wide variety of models to choose from so it is important to consider what type of jobs you want to accomplish in your kitchen, and therefore what features are a must. If multitasking is your preference you can find combination machines that offer more than just your basic processing/chopping. If you are a frequent host of big dinners, investing in a larger-sized machine makes sense, and conversely, if you are a smaller batch home chef a smaller machine may be the best choice for your daily use....

Invented over 100 years ago, the prototype blankets were bulky and dangerous. In the 1920s, they were commonly used in tuberculosis sanatoriums, as these patients were prescribed fresh air. The heated blankets were used to keep patients’ bodies warm while their lungs breathed in the cold, fresh air. It wasn’t until the late 1940s and 1950s that these types of blankets were commonly used in homes. Today, we are fortunate enough to have more options than ever....

Best heavy-duty: Poulan Pro Gas-Powered Dual-Sided Hedge Trimmer Best for small spaces: Sun Joe Cordless Grass Shear / Shrubber Handheld TrimmerBest for topiary precision: DEWALT 20V MAX Cordless Hedge TrimmerBest for beginners: WORX WG261 20V Power Share Cordless Hedge TrimmerBest budget: BLACK+DECKER Electric Hedge Trimmer The best hedge trimmers: Reviews & Recommendations The best hedge trimmers run the gamut from powerful gas models to easy-to-maneuver cordless ones. They range from quiet to loud, including a plethora of affordable options as well as more high-end models worthy of a landscape artist or, well, you!...

Best foot massager: Cloud Massage Shiatsu Foot Massager MachineBest massage gun: Sportneer K1 Massage GunBest massage chair: OWAYS Zero Gravity SL Track Massage ChairBest scalp massager: LATME Electric Scalp MassagerBest hand massager: Lunix LX3 Cordless Electric Hand MassagerBest budget percussion massager: TOLOCO Massage Gun How we picked the best massagers Because there are a wide variety of massagers on the market, we broke our search down to five key types: foot, neck, chair (full body), hand, and scalp....

Though I see it ideally as a very dynamic piece of clothing, there are absolutely certain rain jackets better suited specifically for various activities. Depending on your budget, you can find expensive, high-tech jackets loaded with features, and basic, reasonably priced ones. A full list of great packable rain jackets would be very long, so I’ve narrowed and selected the best packable rain jackets. Best overall: Showers Pass Refugee JacketBest for hiking: Rab Kinetic Alpine 2....

This sprawling trilogy starts in the Cultural Revolution, when a young woman trained as an astrophysicist meets an alien from the planet Trisolaris. The resulting series, which was a catalyst for the resurgence of sci-fi in China, takes readers on an ethically-charged, carefully conceptualized journey through Cixin Liu’s fictional universe. Before Blake Crouch’s novel about a New York City cop investigating “False Memory Syndrome” was even published, Hollywood mogul Shonda Rhimes published the rights to turn the book into a film and/or television series....

Fend Off Fender Benders with a Sonic Distance Sensor Developed by William Finucane. Adapted with permission from his original guide in the Mad Science World on www.wonderhowto.comRig a DIY Polygraph Test Developed by William Finucane. Adapted with permission from his original guide in the Mad Science World on www.wonderhowto.comCreate a Mesmerizing Persistence-of-Vision ClockCraft a DIY Digital Photo Frame Developed by John B. Carnett Please download the application key here.Improvise a PlanetariumGet Your Air Drums On with Electrified Drumsticks Developed by Maayan Migdal....

In an effort to refine the geographic profiling technique used to capture serial killers, scientists from Queen Mary’s School of Biological and Chemical Sciences in London tested the technique on bumblebees. Using computer model simulations to study the foraging habits of bees allowed researchers to distinguish between different types of foraging behavior. The experiments highlight the two aspects on which geographic profiling relies: the fact that serial crimes happen near the killer’s home; and that the home is surrounded by a buffer zone, an area close to home where a crime has a low probability of being committed....

As of Wednesday morning, 32 people in 11 states had been infected with a dangerous strain of the bacteria E. coli, according to the CDC. There are no deaths reported at this time, but there have been 13 cases severe enough for hospitalization and at least one instance of kidney failure. This isn’t merely a U.S. problem, either. The Public Health Agency of Canada reports 18 cases of illness connected to the same strain of bacteria, in Ontario and Quebec....

But still, that hasn’t stopped carmakers from bringing us exciting new concept cars, important new production models, and cool bits of technology that stand out from otherwise unremarkable new models this year. Our favorites from the New York auto show, currently ongoing at the Javits Center in Manhattan, include these noteworthy new vehicles. Kia HabaNiro concept Kia’s spicy concept car’s name is a combination of the habanero pepper and the company’s Niro EV (thus, the “HabaNiro”), and designers aimed to live up to expectations with a bright red cabin finish....

2016 Best Of What’s New Winners In-Depth Best of What’s New was originally published in the November/December 2016 issue of Popular Science.

The surface of the batea is adorned with gold, orange, and red motifs of flowering trees, picturesque houses, and men on horseback to depict a scene from the Latin poem “Aeneid” when the protagonist provokes his enemy and starts a war. During his life, de la Cerda’s craftsmanship was sought after by the elite, says José L. Lazarte, the assistant paintings conservator at the Met. “It’s just such a beautiful thing to look at, and totally worth it for a court of any sort,” he says....

In case you don’t know, Massimino belongs to a very elite club, even among spacewalkers. He’s one of the few people to have traveled to—and repaired—the Hubble Space Telescope, which orbits Earth 353 miles overhead, peering into the beginnings of the universe. Everyone has, of course, seen Hubble’s break-the-Internet images of towering nebulae, crablike galaxies, and one very acned red-spot on Jupiter. Well, each one should probably come with a Mike Massimino photo credit....

The Quest was a big deal as a virtual reality headset, but it had its drawbacks. At $299 it was expensive when you consider the relatively limited pool of content from which players had to choose. Its front-heavy design could make it uncomfortable during long sessions. And the displays were good, but not mind-blowing. Now, however, Facebook has introduced its new Oculus Quest 2 Virtual Reality VR Headset and it improves upon its predecessor in almost every way....

The tall German shouts the news and trots down the cinderblock hallway toward the front door, drawing a wake of colleagues and graduate students. They flood the sidewalk, standing on tiptoe and squinting through the asphalt’s thermal shimmer as an SUV pulls up and a small group gets out. Finally, a tugboat of a man dressed in a blue sport jacket and print tie emerges, and tows his entourage across the parking lot toward the crowd....

The Tempe Police Department released a 14-second clip of the moments leading up to the fatal Uber crash. It shows an outside video, which includes the victim, as well as an inside view of the cabin, which shows the reaction—or lack of reaction—by the person in the driver’s seat. What does it mean to be a safety driver? Both Uber and Lyft (the latter of which hadn’t responded for comment at the time of publication) have dedicated training programs to teach flesh-and-blood people how to act when behind the wheel of a car that drives itself....

Los Angeles and San Francisco, for example, have reinstated their mandates requiring people to wear masks indoors—even vaccinated folks. On the other coast, New York City followed France and Italy’s lead, becoming the first US city to require proof of vaccination for anyone hoping to enter indoor establishments, such as restaurants, gyms, and theatres. Others may follow suit. If you’re fully or partially vaccinated, the easiest way to prove it is to carry your official vaccination card wherever you go....

The response from the candidates? Silence. Before April’s Pennsylvania primary, the organization invited the contenders to share their positions at a Philadelphia event. Only one candidate even bothered to send regrets. It’s sad to see the people vying to lead the free world run from the chance to talk about stem cells, climate change and the other issues that will transform our lives during their terms. It’s especially sad considering that a Harris poll found that 85 percent of Americans wanted such a debate....