Some researchers turned to plants as well, assessing their potential role in reducing the spread of COVID-19 in confined spaces. Experiments show that plants have the ability to reduce pollutants and airborne volatile organic compounds (VOC), so it’s sensible to assume that they can markedly purify the air. However, this isn’t exactly the case. Houseplants can remove urban pollutants in indoor spaces A 2022 study published in Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health found that potted plants in indoor spaces can remove nitrogen dioxide (NO2), a chemical compound that is “representative of polluted conditions regularly encountered in urban areas,” says Christian Pfrang, study author and associate professor in atmospheric science at the University of Birmingham....

Your owner’s manual likely recommends a 600-, 1,000-, or even a 1,500-mile break-in process where you limit throttle angle and revs, and constantly vary engine speed so that all those new internal components can get to know each other. For a new-bike owner, it’s a slow, grueling march toward your first service. But do you need to bother with all those baby steps? There are riders who claim a gentle break-in is a waste of time and that you’re better off riding it like you stole it from the second you leave the lot....

The plight of koalas during the recent bushfire crisis made headlines here and abroad. But the emergency for our wildlife is not over. Koalas that survived the flames are now dying from starvation, dehydration, smoke inhalation, and other hazards. Over the past three weeks in one wildlife conservation property alone, our rescue team found koalas recently crushed under fire-damaged trees, and koalas with burnt paws after descending to the smoldering ground after the inferno had passed, hoping to change trees and find food....

In nine videos, he captures the extent of the emergency. Watch, below, and meditate on the fragility of humanity and all its works:

Before continuing, I’ll let you come up with your own definition of “healthy eating.” The point here isn’t to tell you exactly what foods to eat, but to help you eat whatever it is you consider healthy, no matter where you are. That’s true whether you follow a strict ketogenic diet, or if you subscribe to Michael Pollan’s “eat food, not too much, mostly plants” advice. So, if the Big Mac is your idea of a nutritious meal, these tips will help you just as much as they’ll aid someone who’s vegan....

This story originally featured on The Conversation. In her documentary “Miss Americana,” music icon Taylor Swift disclosed her history of eating disorders. Her revelation underscores the fact these disorders do not discriminate. According to the advocacy and awareness organization Eating Disorders Coalition, they strike all genders, races, ethnicities, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Despite their prevalence—the problem is worldwide—myths about eating disorders abound. Such as that they are a choice. They are not....

There is nothing better than riding your motorcycle out into the wild, finding a scenic spot, and plunking down for a night or two. With the ability to cover ground quicker than a car, truck, or RV, a motorcycle is perfectly suited to finding wonderful out-of-the-way places to get a good night’s rest. Today on MC Garage we talk about motorcycle camping essentials. I love motorcycling camping, and if you haven’t tried it, well, you’re missing out....

But what is uranium, exactly? And what do you need to know about it beyond the red-hot headlines? Here we answer your most pressing nuclear questions: Where does uranium come from? Uranium is a common metal. “It can be found in minute quantities in most rocks, soils, and waters,” geologist Dana Ulmer-Scholle writes in an explainer from the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources. But finding richer deposits—the ones with concentrated uranium actually worth mining—is more difficult....

If you’ve fallen into the leatherworking ASMR TikTok vortex, you might be thinking about getting into the craft yourself. After all, leather is just very expensive paper, right? Just cut it up, glue it together, and voilá! You have a nice wallet you can brag to your friends about. What more is there to it? A lot, actually, which is why getting started can feel a bit overwhelming. Worry not—whether your first attempt is a notebook cover or some fringey pair of chaps, we’ve collected all the basics you’ll need to know....

Cleary’s theory is that déjà vu is connected to human recognition memory, which allows us to recognize that something happening right now has also happened before. There are two forms of human recognition memory: recollection and familiarity. As you may have guessed (or could you almost swear somebody had told you this before?), recollection memory means you know why a particular moment seems familiar—you can pinpoint the exact time or place when it happened before....

Today, Facebook announced Search FYI, an expansion of the traditional search tool, that lets users search the entire catalog of more than 2 trillion (2,000,000,000,000) posts. Everything you’ve ever posted publicly? Accessible. (Time to set some new privacy permissions, right?) The expansion of search also pushes news to the forefront of accessible content. Simply typing “water on mars” or “Benghazi” into the search bar now brings up a little flag that says “Happening Now” and the number of how many people are talking about that topic, linked to a page with what Facebook’s algorithm sees as legitimate news sources....

AI-powered facial recognition has been criticized by groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) for years. While law enforcement use is often the most worrying, studies have shown that these tools simply aren’t accurate in identifying attributes like gender—especially among diverse and minority groups. For example, MIT’s Media Lab found that IBM, Face++, and Microsoft’s facial recognition disproportionally misclassified the gender of darker-skinned faces and female faces. The worst performing tools misclassified the gender of darker-skinned female faces 34....

There’s no guarantee that someone who abuses an animal will do the same to a human being. Crime statistics, however, do point to a trend—one study by the Chicago police department found that, of the people charged with animal abuse over the course of three years, 65 percent had been arrested for assault of a human being. Another 2008 study found that number to be closer to 40 percent. While it’s important for law enforcement officials to pay attention to these sorts of trends, it’s just as important for those of us who learn about them not to over-simplify what those trends mean....

Fans were surprised by the revelation that Final Fantasy VII Remake will be released in episodic fashion. In an interview with gaming site Gematsu, producer Yoshinori Kitase explained the decision by saying, “The idea that a remake of Final Fantasy VII would not fit into a single release was there from the very beginning. We still can’t share more information about its multiple parts, but please look forward to future announcements....

In a new study published in Royal Society Open Science, the authors announced that the South Atlantic humpback whale population had recovered to almost pre whaling numbers. “We were happy to see that,” says Alex Zerbini, marine mammal ecologist at NOAA’s Alaska Fisheries Science Center. “It was a little bit unexpected for us that they had recovered so well.” Many cetacean species were drastically reduced during the whaling boom that peaked in the early 1900s....

Avoid burns Even seasoned hands can’t handle the heat coming off hot briquettes. Kevlar-­stitched leather Kim Yuan gloves will protect your paws from temperatures in excess of 650 degrees. But at just 1.2 millimeters thick, the garments still let you retain dexterity. Move meat A long grabbing tool will prevent you from having to reach out over the flames. The stainless-steel 17-inch Cave Tools tongs, with their large grooves and tooth-filled ends, allow you to deftly manipulate nosh such as racks of ribs or slippery vegan sausages....

Now assume you could avoid the streets entirely and get to lower Manhattan in minutes. By some estimates, more than 200 startups are racing to deploy what popular culture has dubbed flying cars. And, by their admittedly optimistic estimates, there’s a chance that the 45-minute drive on pavement from JFK will be converted to a 10-minute flight through the air by the end of this decade. Leaders in the quest to make cabs airborne believe everyday passengers at places like airports will exchange treks on four wheels for sorties through the skies....

Now if that sounds fall-asleep-on-your-keyboard boring, consider that you may end up doing some good. Scientists will actually test some of the proteins that players develop to see if they could be used in new drugs. In the game, which you can access here, you start out with a few practice levels in which you learn the basics of protein folding, then graduate to real proteins. “We’re hopefully going to change the way science is done, and who it’s done by,” says Zoran Popovic of the University of Washington....

Although the research has been mixed, concern also remains that playing on turf might pose a slightly greater injury risk than playing on grass. A new analysis published in The American Journal of Sports Medicine, for example, found that playing football on turf may lead to more posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) injuries than playing the same game on grass. “Turf does seem to be associated with increased injuries in the lower extremity,” says lead author Galvin Loughran, a medical student at Georgetown University School of Medicine....

Strain : A Family Game of Competitive Bioengineering | Copernicus Toys Caption: Go head-to-head as you build your own micro-organisms. Badge: Best for aspiring scientists In about sixty minutes, players compete against each other to build the best micro-organisms. You’ll be provided everything you need to get started, including 80 cytoplasm tiles, 100 petri dish tiles, and 40 organism tiles. The game is designed for players 10 and up, so it’s perfect for any young scientists in the family....