Robot arms often attempt to mimic human hands, which are evolutionarily primed for grasping objects thanks to our fingers and opposable thumbs. That said, our mammalian mitts are pretty complicated biological tools, and as such, are difficult to fully mirror with even some of the most advanced robotics. Instead of optimizing neural networks, sensors, feedback loops, and artificial intelligence systems, however, Harvard’s project leads relied on some relatively basic concepts like inflatable tubing....

This is the question participants in the University of Chicago’s General Social Survey have been answering since 1972. Recently, University of Pennsylvania economists Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers took this survey’s data from 1972 through 2006 to see if people had gotten happier since the decade of bell bottoms and disco. What they found was that, as a whole, we have not gotten any more cheery. However, the gap between those who are “very happy” and those who are “not too happy” has narrowed significantly....

Reuters reports that China is planning to send its Chang’e-4 lander to the lunar far side in 2018. Previously the country had aimed to get there by 2020. Although spacecraft have seen the “dark” side of the moon before, we’ve never landed there. In 2013, China’s Chang’e-3 lander and Yutu rover became the first spacecraft in 37 years to land softly on the surface of the moon. The two spacecraft still seem to be functioning today, but their functions may be limited–the Yutu rover lost mobility within the first few days of landing, and the moon’s frigid temperatures could have wreaked havoc on the probes’ systems over the past two years....

They originally created the pigs as lab animals to study human diseases, but on September 23, BGI announced that it would start selling the pigs as pets. The micropigs will only weigh about 30 pounds as adults. BGI priced these pint-sized pets at $1,600. To make a micropig, scientists started with the already miniature pig species called Bama. Bama pigs weigh 70-100 pounds instead of upwards of 200 pounds, the weight of a normal farm pig....

According to drone maker AeroVironment, this year’s resupply mission, which left from Tasmania on December 30, 2015 and reached McMurdo Station on January 18, 2016, was the first ever to feature drones helping the Coast Guard in the Ross Sea. There, they navigated romance subplots with Rachel scouted the icy waters of the relatively hospitable (for Antarctica) but still pretty bad route to the station. Using drones instead of other aircraft means at minimum there are no lives at risk if something goes wrong....

However, despite that list, research agreements between Coca-Cola and academic researchers often includes provisions that allow the company to review and exert varying amounts of control over the results of the studies they fund, according to an analysis published this week in the Journal of Public Health Policy. A team of researchers submitted requests under freedom of information laws in the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Denmark to obtain documents around Coca-Cola’s work with academic institutions....

As the number of cases of COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, continues to grow, the nation is on edge. Doctors and scientists do not know what percentage of the general population has been infected and what percentage of the infected develops symptoms. State and local governments and the federal public health system are deploying strategies to contain the spread of the virus and consider ways to mitigate the effects of the disease on vulnerable groups, the health care system and the economy....

This post has been updated. For the past month, New York City has been the epicenter of the nation’s COVID-19 pandemic. As of mid-April, the city had recorded more than 142,000 cases—exceeding any place else in the nation—and nearly 10,000 deaths. Hospitals across the boroughs and surrounding counties are overwhelmed, and the outbreak isn’t predicted to ease for at least several more weeks. New York City isn’t the only community that’s reeling from the arrival of COVID-19....

“This model is the first to explain the configuration of Uranus’s moon system,” said Ida Shigeru, a planetary scientist at the Tokyo Institute of Technology in Japan, in a press release. The bizarre planet demands an origin story unusual enough to match its oddball nature. Earth, Jupiter, and most of our cosmic crew spin “vertically” like tops, their north poles all pointing out into the universe in the same direction as the north pole of the sun....

The drug, called Dsuvia, is a new take on a medication called sufentanil, a 10-times more powerful version of fentanyl (which is itself known to cause overdoses even in small amounts). Dsuvia is a 30-microgram tablet form of this injectable, designed to be taken sublingually—under the tongue—via a special applicator that dispenses a single dose. The FDA’s Anesthetic and Analgesic Drug Product Advisory Committee voted in favor of the new drug, formulated by AcelRX Pharmaceuticals, on October 12....

In a study online today in the journal Cephalalgia, University of Cincinnati researchers say that there’s a increased chance of headaches when lightning is nearby. Participants recruited based on the criteria for International Headache Society-defined migraines were instructed to record their headaches in a diary every day for three to six months. For chronic headache sufferers, the study found that the risk of headache increased 31 percent when lightning struck within 25 miles of participants’ homes, and the risk of migraine increased 28 percent....

Spring can be just as itchy, sneezy, and wholly uncomfortable for some dogs as it is for their allergy-prone owners. Just like us, our pups can be allergic to particles of dust and pollen as well as foods like wheat and fish, all the result of an overactive immune system fighting against harmless adversaries. And, just like their human pals, dog allergies are more common today than decades ago—almost one in five make a trip to the vet for allergy relief, says Christopher Reeder, a dermatologist with BluePearl Veterinary Partners....

Here are some of our favorite high-tech multi-cookers currently on the market. Sauté, steam, ferment, or pressure cook your meals with this feature-packed, Wi-Fi enabled smart pressure cooker from CHEF iQ. Its unique blend of quick-cooking technology and constantly-updating firmware and recipe companion app make this cooker a great option for adventurous home cooks with limited free time on their hands. You can even start the cooking process remotely using the app, or let the cooker measure out exactly what you need thanks to its built-in onboard scale....

Are you the type of person whose dish-washing system includes scrubbing plates first before using hot water and a sudsy sponge to finish cleaning them? These bright white cellulose sponges have a soft surface on both sides that allow you to do just that. The set of four average-sized sponges (4.3 by 2.8 by 0.4 inches) is dry and flat in the package until you add water, making them super compact and easy to slip into your bag as an emergency aid for spills....

Unless you’re an entomologist (and on the clock), you probably hate being surrounded by bugs, especially if they bite. While these creatures play important roles in the environment, they can be a real nuisance to humans in the outdoors, and some of these bugs do transmit diseases. Your favorite store-bought bug repellent can keep them away for awhile, but what happens when the DEET can runs dry? Worse yet, what about when you’re in a survival situation and the bugs won’t leave you alone?...

Doing an engine tune-up isn’t as common as it used to be, but it’s not lost in time. While today’s cars are loaded with all kinds of sensors and highly regulated ECUs, you still want to go ahead and perform a tune-up every now and again. At the very least, it’s a way to bond with your car and get you under the hood and give you a better understanding of how everything works in harmony to provide motion....

Last week, advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended booster shots of Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine for people 65 and older, those who live in long-term care facilities, or individuals who have certain conditions that put them at heightened risk from COVID-19. The move comes after an announcement on Wednesday by the Food and Drug Administration authorizing a third shot of the vaccine for adults who are over 65, vulnerable to becoming seriously ill with COVID-19, or whose occupations may frequently expose them to the novel coronavirus....

Today in the journal PNAS Nexus, biologists found that synthetic spray fertilizers can temporarily alter electric cues of flowers, a shift that causes bumblebees to land less frequently on plants. The team also tested a type of neonicotinoid pesticide—known to be toxic and detrimental to honeybee health—called imidacloprid, and detected changes to the electric field around flowers. Interestingly, the chemicals did not seem to impact vision and smell cues, hinting that this lesser-known signal is playing a greater role in communication....

Without a crystal ball, how are these scientists predicting the disease’s next move? It all goes back to those oceanic drifters known as plankton and — you guessed it — global warming. Cholera is a water-borne infection caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae, which has a known association with copepods, crustaceans that live on a particular type of plankton called zooplankton. Cholera outbreaks are tied to environmental factors, including sea surface temperature, ocean height, and biomass....