I’m not talking about the typical, well-known ones like Nova Launcher, either (though I do love Nova Launcher). While lots of home screen launcher apps aim to amplify Android’s typical layout, others seek to use an entirely different paradigm. Some look awesome, some offer denser information up front, and others are simple and minimal, so you aren’t constantly distracted by your phone. Check these out: Launcher 10: Windows Phone-Style tiles on Android Remember Windows Phone—the operating system so few people used it became a bit of a punchline?...

Since then, machine guns have replaced heavy javelins, but the weight soldiers carry into war has remained stubbornly consistent: Today, as in Roman times, the average foot soldier lugs about 55 percent of his bodyweight into combat. And though Kevlar is much lighter than bronze, new field tools such as radios, night vision goggles, and all the batteries necessary to power modern war have offset any lightening of loads. That’s a significant issue....

“All cultures seem to be obsessed with removing earwax,” says Henry Ou, a pediatric otolaryngologist at Seattle Children’s Hospital and the University of Washington. Despite all of our creative removal efforts, earwax coats the canal for a reason—and it’s best if you leave it be, Ou says. Even though it might clog your earphones or stain your pillows (I can relate), earwax is a significant and necessary substance. Whether crusty or creamy, you should appreciate this bodily secretion—the contents of which is unique to you—for keeping our ears healthy and clean....

Enjoy mess-free shavings using this Philips Norelco wet and dry shaver. The 5370 shaver is 32 percent off, so it’s now down to $80. The shaving head moves in five directions, and lets you shave dry or with shaving gel. Use the Turbo+ boost mode to get 20 percent more power. It holds a 60-minute charge and comes with two attachments: one to trim your nose or ear hair and another precision trimmer for mustaches....

As I researched my recent book, Power Button: A History of Pleasure, Panic, and the Politics of Pushing, about the origins of American push-button society, five main themes stood out, influencing how I understand buttons and button-pushing culture. 1. Buttons aren’t actually easy to use In the late 19th century, the Eastman Kodak Company began selling button-pushing as a way to make taking photographs easy. The company’s slogan, “You press the button, we do the rest,” suggested it wouldn’t be hard to use newfangled technological devices....

A lot of these more ambitious AI projects are still some way off. But there’s plenty of fledgling artificial intelligence already running in our phones, computers, and household gadgets—and you may not even be aware of it. Here are five different ways that AI is already able to make your life a little bit easier. Before we start: The definition of artificial intelligence is a pretty broad and uneven one, but here we’re going to use it to mean smart hardware or software that can make decisions and learn on a basic level without any human help....

So we salute the beginner-friendly pothos, survivors even after we forgot to water them for two weeks. We pay our respects to succulents—low-maintenance, resilient, and incredibly cute. We bow to philodendrons, growing leaves galore despite the most negligent of cares. If 2022 is the year you finally sail off on your own plant-parenthood journey, let us (and our plants) bequeath you some knowledge. It’s simple: the dirt your plant lives in provides necessary nutrients for growth....

In fact, there are all kinds of features Apple’s browser offers that you won’t find in Chrome—from copying text in images to hiding your IP address from trackers. Live Text is a macOS feature built into Safari that uses optical character recognition to identify text in images, allowing you to highlight and copy it. To use it, just open a photo on Safari and start selecting the text you see in it....

In late April, the residents of Aguas Zarcas saw a giant fireball light up the sky as it hurtled towards the ground and broke up into hundreds of pieces in the atmosphere. Within minutes of the fall, local news media reported pieces were falling through the roof of a house at hundreds of miles per hour, destroying a dining room table. “It really arrived with a big bang,” says Garvie....

Summer is almost here, and for many Americans, that means it’s time to start planning that long-awaited road trip. With 237 million visitors in 2020, national parks are some of the most popular destinations for this kind of travel, as they provide a unique opportunity to connect with nature while being socially distanced at the same time. But there are nuances that can make or break your visit to a national park, and they don’t reveal themselves until you’re actually there—which can be too late....

You can read that part again if you’d like, but it’s not going to get less bizarre. How is it that a bunch of stars catastrophically exploding somewhere else could possibly lead to bipedalism in Homo sapiens? Let’s take this step. Adrian Melott, an astrophysicist from the University of Kansas and lead author of the new paper, has been studying supernovae for much of his career. But just a few years ago, researchers found iron-60d deposits around the globe hinting that a particular group of supernovae had exploded from a shared distance, during a shared timeframe....

There are eight other nations with nuclear weapons: The United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, Israel, India, and Pakistan. In the 21st century, only North Korea has conducted live nuclear weapons tests. For the other countries, maintaining and sustaining nuclear warheads without real-world tests is an engineering challenge. One way to manage this is through computer modeling, which lets nuclear laboratories refine warhead design and study new types of warhead refurbishment....

It was with that attitude that I met last week with Peter Lyngdorf, creator of the $148,000 Steinway-Lyngdorf Model C stereo (which is a bargain compared to his $188,000 Model D). I can’t say I came away a true believer, even after spending two hours in Manhattan’s swank Core Club with the truly brilliant and charming Mr. Lyngdorf. But I do appreciate what he’s up to, and I learned some lessons that carry over to buying even the budget gear that a mere journalist can afford....

The disease, which attacks some of the most iconic coral species, like brain coral, is a major cause for alarm for reef scientists. Here’s what you need to know. What is stony coral disease? “This disease is particularly worrisome because it’s widespread and it progresses rapidly,” says Porter. Among the reasons to worry is that the disease seems to be borne from coral to coral in the water, says Erin Muller, Program Manager and Science Director at the Elizabeth Moore International Center for Coral Reef Research and Restoration at the Mote Marine Laboratory....

But the tech giants that produce those devices are making it hard for businesses like Johnson’s to repair people’s broken gadgets. Major phone manufacturers often restrict independent shops’ access to parts, diagnostic tools, and software information needed to perform fixes. Johnson says that it’s impossible to fix some features, like Face ID and the cameras in newer iPhones, because of software locks and serialized parts. Customers instead have to take their devices back to manufacturers, often facing steep prices for repairs....

Clark’s design eliminates the labor-intensive welding and heat treatment process associated with modern bike manufacturing. The current prototype has an inner and outer frame that is made of polypropylene — that could be replaced with recycled plastic in the future. Prototype components were thermoformed and welded together without adhesives, but future versions could be compression-molded. While we’re not expecting Lance to saddle up anytime soon, a lower-cost alternative for more social riders might be of interest....

What is the House Science Committee? The House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology has legal oversight over federal, non-military science research and development in areas like energy, outer space, the environment, and ocean science. That includes partial or total legal jurisdiction over federal science agencies like the National Science Foundation, NASA, and the National Weather Service. Who currently controls the committee? Republicans have controlled the House of Representatives, and therefore the House Science Committee, since 2010....

The young patients shared a similar list of symptoms, including jaundice, vomiting, diarrhea, and gastrointestinal pain. At least six experienced complete liver failure and had to undergo an organ transplant. But the source of the disease is still unknown, the WHO stated. Laboratory results ruled out Hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E—the viruses that typically cause liver infections. The tests did, however, detect SARS-CoV-2 and adenovirus in several patients....

The B-2 Spirit was a victim of its time: a highly advanced bomber that entered service right as the Cold War ended. As American security concerns switched from fears of Russian attack to worries about the side effects of Russian economic implosion, a top-of-the-line stealth bomber became the easiest fat to cut off the Pentagon’s budget. After just 21 planes were delivered, the program ended, leaving America with a super-fancy flying machine to show off at parades....

Now that the virus has spread to humans, however, scientists are racing to identify all the other ways that people can—and cannot—catch it. The new virus, officially known as SARS-CoV-2, is a member of the coronavirus family, a group that includes the viruses that caused deadly outbreaks of SARS and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), as well as far less dangerous viruses that cause the common cold. These closely related viruses—and some preliminary studies of people with COVID-19—can give us some clues about how the new coronavirus might be transmitted....