The Five-hundred-meter-Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) is set to start operations this year as the largest single-aperture radio telescope on the planet, and will let researchers continue to search for life in the galaxy. FAST will be around 650 feet larger than the current record holder, the 1000-foot wide Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. But its influence will extend beyond 500 meters. The Chinese government is relocating people living within 3 miles of the telescope, seeking to prevent electromagnetic interference with the telescope....

The J-20 is a “fifth-generation” heavy, twin-engine stealth fighter with canards (appendages on the wings that offer greater stability), advanced active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, and three internal weapons bays for air-to-air missiles and bombs. Similarly to to Lockheed Martin’s F-22 Raptor and Russia’s Su-57 fighters, the J-20 is a high-speed fighter that’s very maneuverable, with capacity for long range and stealth. Its large size and weapons bay has led many to believe it would also be used for long-range strikes and as an interceptor....

Dittmar’s experience might ring familiar to others. Close to 15 percent of the adult US population reports some difficulty hearing—an issue that’s gotten little attention as mask wearing becomes the necessary new norm. With nose and mouth coverings, individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, or speak foreign languages will have a harder time relying on lip movements and facial expressions to understand the discourse around them. Dittmar’s story shows that this issue predates COVID-19—but the pandemic has brought it to scale, while adding the challenge of managing infection....

In that spirit, the next generation of planetary missions will look past surface appearances. NASA’s InSight probe, launching in March, will establish a seismic station on the Red Planet; it will sense mars­quakes and use them to map the planet’s interior. A complementary European-Russian probe called Exo­Mars 2016, lifting off almost simultaneously, will use a chemical sniffer to ferret out atmospheric methane from possible Martian microbes. Then in September, OSIRIS-REx will head to Bennu, the kind of carbon-rich asteroid that may have seeded ancient life on Earth, to collect samples and bring them home for analysis....

“In general, you don’t want to get stung by a cone snail,” says Iris Bea Ramiro, a biomolecular researcher at the University of Copenhagen. The venomous sting of some cone snails is dangerous—and sometimes even fatal—to humans. But it turns out that the chemical cocktail could also be turned into a painkiller. In a paper published today in the journal Science Advances, Ramiro and a team of scientists identified a unique peptide from an understudied deep-water cone snail that shows signs of relieving pain....

So, I set out to do just that and the criteria of the experiment were as follows: I needed to find all of the programming I normally watch or record and it had to be full screen. I’d connect my laptop to my 32-inch LCD to replicate the 10-foot experience and I’d swear off of illegal downloading. I’d score freebies wherever possible, but allow myself to tap iTunes for stuff I couldn’t find free....

More than 1,200 Americans have experienced heart health issues since being vaccinated with either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna mRNA vaccines. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is investigating this link, but still strongly recommends that anyone aged 12 and older get their shots. The heart conditions in question are myocarditis, inflammation of heart muscles, and pericarditis, inflammation of the tissues surrounding the heart. In a presentation this week, the CDC outlined what they know so far about the link between vaccines and these conditions....

But over the past decade, thanks to a pair of satellites orbiting 300 miles above Earth’s surface, researchers have been keeping tabs on the seasonal ups-and-downs in groundwater stores all over the world, and tracking longer-term trends like the depletion of the Ogalalla aquifer under the southwestern U.S. This year, a few designers took the data from the GRACE satellites’ gravity measurements and created some stunning visualizations that allow us to see, for the first time, the resource we rely on most....

Lake Kivu, located on the border between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is one of Africa’s largest lakes. It covers 1,040 square miles and is nearly 1,600 feet deep. The region is particularly volcanically active, and magma and groundwater feed gases and minerals into the lake. Carbon dioxide dissolves best in high-pressure, low-temperature water like that at the bottom of the lake—and the CO₂ makes the water more dense, so it stays at the deepest levels....

Well, sort of. It depends on what exactly you mean by “poop.” If you mean solid waste coming out of a hole at the end of a tube just for poop, well, plants obviously don’t do that. But pooping is really just a way for our bodies to pump out stuff they can’t use, or that might hurt us. And plants totally do that, too! When the Venus flytrap closes shut on a tasty bug meal, for example, it releases chemicals that liquefy all the soft parts....

I encountered a malnourished algorithm when I looked at my 2022 Spotify Wrapped and saw my favorite artist was Peppa Pig. I frowned, befuddled. Why did Spotify think the cartoon piglet was my latest obsession? Then I remembered I’d spent a week with my 2-year-old niece over the summer, and how playing Peppa Pig songs on my phone was the only way to keep her entertained. Well, that made more sense....

Attending Build typically requires a $2,000 ticket and however much it costs you to make the trip out to Seattle. This year, however, all you have to do is register for the festivities and then curate a schedule to help you navigate more than 600 sessions. Those cover the breadth of Microsoft’s software offerings—including Windows and Office—and broader technology topics that could be useful for any kind of coder. The event kicked off earlier this afternoon and goes until Thursday....

For every day The recyclable aluminum body of the Baronfig Squire Rollerball is thicker toward its point, which helps you grip it comfortably. The water-­based ink it deploys flows easily for consistent handwritten lines. For emergencies The steel Gerber ­Impromptu Tactical Pen has two tips: a retractable ballpoint for scribbling and a spike for shattering the windshield of your car so you can escape. At an eighth of a pound, it’s heavy....

If there is one meal that’s more satisfying than a delicious, well-crafted sandwich—it’s a delicious, well-crafted sandwich stuffed with the hard-earned meat of wild game or fish that you’ve brought home from the woods or the water. Over the years, we’ve published many sandwich recipes, but the eight here—featuring venison, moose, upland game, and no shortage of fried fillets—are our favorites. So dig in, and enjoy. Fried catfish po’boy If you ask me, there’s no recipe more representative of Cajun cooking that the humble po’boy....

This is especially evident in places like central Africa and in South American tropical rainforests where certain animals—from the world’s largest to its smallest—help keep trees safe and healthy, which is critical as trees absorb vast amounts of planet-warming carbon pollution. Recent research warns that losing the creatures that nurture trees puts forests in danger. This, by extension, is helping to accelerate dangerous climate change. In central Africa, for example, elephants eat fast-growing trees, making room for those that grow more slowly....

In Saturday’s Democratic debate, frontrunner and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for a “Manhattan-like project” to get around encryption technology when moderator Martha Raddatz asked Clinton whether she would force Apple CEO Tim Cook to give law enforcement a key to encrypted communications on Apple devices. This was Clinton’s response: The Manhattan Project was one of the more remarkable works of human science and engineering, and also one of the deadliest....

At one point in humanity, animal furs and pelts were our best option—they’re great insulators and give that cool “north-of-the-wall” look. Now, we have more efficient methods for bottling in body heat, but that has made the process of buying a winter warmer confusing, filled with tons of inconsistent standards and industry-specific jargon. Here’s a guide to for finding the right jacket. What to look for in a winter jacket While there are metrics you can use to guide your winter jacket purchase, there isn’t one perfect jacket to suit everyone’s needs....

Engineers can now measure for themselves what diving does to the human body, without any actual humans being harmed in the process. They created mannequins, like crash-test dummies, fitted them with force sensors, and dropped them into water. Their results, published in the journal Science Advances on July 27, show just how unnatural it is for a human body to plummet headlong into the drink. “Humans are not designed to dive into water,” says Sunghwan Jung, a biological engineer at Cornell University, and one of the researchers behind the study....

UK paper The Guardian followed up with even more vets, who discussed the dangers of allowing pups to chase sticks. Sean Wensley, president of the British Veterinary Association, warned that a seemingly innocent game of fetch with a stick could result in paralysis, fatal blood loss, or serious infection. Runa Hanaghan, deputy veterinary director of prominent UK humane society Dogs Trust, recounted several gruesome injuries that dogs had suffered in stick-fetching-mishaps, including one dog who ended up with holes in its head, and another with a splinter in its tongue....