(You can check out our interview with Pixel Qi founder Mary Lou Jepsen here.) The display combines the full color and fast motion of regular LCDs with E Ink’s ability to operate without a backlight. Installation takes only about 15 minutes, with no special connections or software needed. Click to launch the step-by-step photo gallery Right now, the display costs $275 at MakerShed.com, so it’s still best for early adopters or people who often use their netbooks outside....

“From a learning perspective, you don’t need to sound like you have lived in Paris your whole life in order to speak French and be understood, and have a great time communicating,” says Blanco. “We learners hold ourselves to these really difficult goals that aren’t always very realistic,” says Cindy Blanco, managing editor of learning content at Duolingo. “People feel so self-conscious about how they sound when they’re speaking a different language that they don’t get the practice, learn new vocabulary, or try out new grammar....

The researchers were presented with a challenge from DARPA to create a device that can detect non-metal explosives buried underground, but it can’t touch the object for fear of detonating it. Using microwaves to detect the objects seemed like a great strategy. All materials heat up when they absorb the waves, but different molecules do so at different rates, causing them to vibrate and emit characteristic ultrasound waves. If the researchers could detect the specific ultrasound waves, they could find the buried plastic explosive....

Thanks to a burgeoning conservation ethic, many saltwater anglers choose to release their catches. Others do so because of fishery-management rules, or because it’s required in tournament regulations. As a result, anglers release many, many saltwater fish every year. But just how many? In my home state of Georgia, anglers released more than 1 million red drum during 2018, according to the Marine Recreational Information Program. For the entire United States, that number climbs to 18 million redfish released....

The Tudor Pelagos is one of the best high-end diving watches out there. Not only is its performance ahead of the rest, it is one of the best looking models on the market. It is water-resistant up to 500 meters and measures 42mm in diameter. It is made from super durable, yet lightweight titanium with a sapphire crystal dial. This watch also comes with a helium escape valve, which helps protect the watch during deep dives....

This option holds 24 cups of food (dry or semi-moist) and dispenses it at scheduled feeding times. It will run for almost a full year on a single set of batteries, and both the plastic pieces and bowl are dishwasher friendly. If you’re going on a trip and can’t find a cat-sitter, this feeder will have you covered; you can program up to 12 meals at a time. Best of all, if your puppy friend has eyes that are too big for his stomach, there is a great slow feed option that will dispense smaller portions....

Mitchell passed away Thursday, February 4, 2016, one day before the 45th anniversary of his lunar landing. Rather than write a long commemorative article of a man lucky and clever enough to join the elite group of astronauts who walked on the Moon, I thought I’d let Mitchell tell you about his mission in his own words. I’m also still live tweeting the Apollo 14 so come follow me on Twitter — @astVintageSpace — to get a sense of Mitchell as he, Shepard, and Command Module Pilot Stu Roosa return home from the Moon....

The officers set up the animals in environments where shooting them is illegal and then wait out of sight for poachers who attempt to shoot. They can control the robots with a remote. Although the robotic animals can’t walk or run, they are capable of more subtle movements like lifting their leg or turning their head. And as recent reports suggest, they’re realistic enough to be effective at luring in poachers....

No matter how often you bathe your pet, they still have the tendency to smell funky. As a pet parent, the onus is on you to get rid of the funk without getting rid of the pet. You can always scrub and try all sorts of cleaning methods, but if you want to make less of an effort, you may want to try the VentiFresh Plus. Just in time for those still celebrating Pet Day (which is everything really), it’s available on sale for 29-percent off....

A print for whiz kids everywhere This looks like a lovely abstract painting of various colored dots, which means when people compliment you on it innocently you get to say “thank you! It’s urinalysis results.” Yes, each row on this poster represents a specific urine test, and the colors show the various results that test can have. Relish how beautiful a gross test can be and hang this beauty on your wall ASAP....

Vertigo, chest pain, and uncontrollable eye movement soon racked Howe’s milk-infused patient. Naturally, the physician doubled the dose. “I am of the opinion it had no effect,” Howe noted in an 1875 account of the procedure. The patient promptly died. Surprisingly, Howe was not the first to conduct milk transfusions—years earlier, in the midst of a cholera epidemic, two doctors brought a cow to a Toronto hospital and pumped the animal’s milk into their own patients....

As unappealing as it may all sound, the popular, luxurious fabric indeed stems from a two-protein compound secreted by its namesake worm, which uses its threads to help weave cocoons. However, a team of Chinese researchers have also found that—apart from expensive sheets—humans can produce far more uniform micro- and nanofibers by imitating silkworms’ head movements as they secrete, pull, and weave their silk. The group recently showcased their work in a new paper published with the American Chemical Society’s journal, Nano Letters....

“Casual” games, long despised by real gamers for their rudimentary gameplay mechanics and simplistic graphics, are making a comeback on the Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, and Sony PlayStation 3. And it’s not because people are hankering to play Uno or Solitaire again. Unusual play mechanics and a new visual flair increasingly set casual games apart from brain-dead shooters. One of the most unusual games I’ve seen, which will be released sometime late in 2008 for PS3, is called Flower....

Starting with location data tied to phones at a cement factory in Syria, the Journal “tracked the movements of people who appeared to be American special operators and other military personnel,” eventually finding those same devices at Forts Bragg and Hood within the continental United States. That same data, matched to specific though nameless identifiers, could also be found at a base in Kuwait, as well as private residences in the States....

“It is imperative that we … work to rebuild, innovate, and expand (STD) prevention in the US,” said Leandro Mena, director of the CDC’s Division of STD Prevention, in a speech at a medical conference on sexually transmitted diseases yesterday. Now, health officials are developing some new approaches to the problem. According to Mena, one option is home-test kits for some STDs that will make it easier for people to learn they are infected and to take steps to prevent spreading it to others....

Even if you’re on an unlimited data package with your network provider, there might be times when your connection is spotty and inconsistent. In that case, you’ll want to reduce the load as much as possible. Most streaming apps let you specify the quality of the audio and video you want, and as a result, how much data they’ll consume. These are a handy group of settings to get familiar with....

While the results confirm that the majority of people suffering from chronic pain do not experience suicidal tendencies, the subjects who do may, according to Florida State University professor Thomas Joiner, be misunderstood in their motivations. The usual assumption is that the suicidal are a hopeless and depressed lot, and Mark Ilgen, the study’s lead author, confirmed that pain can certainly depress an otherwise optimistic disposition. Joiner suggests, however, that while “in the public mind, a kind of fearlessness does not seem to fit with suicide…Here, the public mind is mistaken....

To do that, a team of architecture students first had to model the virtual environment based on historical drawings of the southern London region. Computer science students then turned those models into a textured, animated interactive experience. And finally, theater students added their voice acting expertise to the project. Visitors to the I-CAVE will enter a room with giant, high-resolution screens, and don VR goggles. The main VR explorer’s goggles have motion sensors, so they control the experience, though three other people can tag along, too....

Luckily, technology is paving the way for jobs you’ll actually be excited to do. Menial tasks like email can be automated. Decision-making can be done with artificial intelligence. And “deep learning” can teach robots to be creative and even generate ideas. Granted, automation is something Popular Science has been excited (and worried) about for decades, so we turn to our ever-entertaining archives for some historical guidance. The goal today is to integrate these technologies into the workplace in ways that make our jobs easier, safer, or more efficient (without making us humans obsolete)....

It takes a lot for that singular product to rise above the rest. The 99 others on our annual Best of What’s New list represent the greatest steps across the universe of science and technology. This year saw the introduction of cars that can talk to other cars, a next-generation wireless network fast enough to replace cable-bound broadband, and a “meat” burger that could convince even the most bloodthirsty of omnivores to ditch beef....