Davis, it turns out, is possibly the bike-friendliest town in the nation. It boasts the greatest number of bike lanes per capita of any American city, and the students and professors of UC Davis are the backbone of a daily parade of thousands of citizens whizzing and dinging between farmers’ market and campus center, campus center and kindergarten. As a daily cyclist on the very un-bike-friendly streets of New York City, I smiled to see these happy, helmetless denizens safely pedaling their frisbees and picnic baskets and children to and fro....

The culprit? Dead batteries in the auto-deflation device, according to a new report from the LA Times. The failed batteries were the last in a chain of failures, from a malfunctioning air pressure sensor to the strong nearly 70mph winds that bent the JLENS’ floating, blimp-like body out of shape. Normally, when this happens, the tethered blimp is supposed to deflate so doesn’t, say, get lost in Amish country. Instead, as the LA Times reports: As designed, JLENS is meant to protect the Washington, DC area from attack by spotting incoming missiles....

There are a lot of online resources and apps that can help you go from “total noob” to “master coder.” Here are some of the best we could find out there, but rather than putting all your eggs in one basket, we’d highly recommend using more than one platform at a time. When it comes to learning to code, there isn’t a ‘one-stop shop’ so don’t be afraid to pick a couple of apps, try them, and take what you need from the parts that work for you...

Best overall: Shokz OpenRunBest waterproof: Shokz OpenSwimBest for calls: Shokz OpenCommBest for multitasking: HAYLOU PurFree Bone Conduction HeadphonesBest for kids: N/0 Kids Bone Conduction HeadphonesBest budget: Tayogo bone-conduction headphones How we chose the best bone-conduction headphones Bone-conduction headphones are still a relatively new product but—after consulting academic articles, peer recommendations, real-world user impressions, and our own first-hand tests—certain models stand out. Following our extensive research, we selected pairs that address the specific needs of athletics, work environments, and age....

Best heated: Etekcity Foot-Massager MachineBest for feet and legs: Cloud Massage Shiatsu Foot-Massager MachineBest vibrating: Daiwa Felicity Foot MassagerBest shiatsu: RENPHO Foot-Massager MachineBest budget: TheraFlow Dual Foot-Massager Roller How we picked the best foot massagers Foot massagers come in various designs and motions. Some models mimic the ancient Japanese art of shiatsu, which involves applying pressure at different points to knead and rub the muscles and connective tissue. Others vibrate, apply heat, or use water jets to work out tension and heal sore muscles....

Best overall: AOC G2490VXBest curved: AOC C24G1ABest for consoles: Acer Nitro QG241Y PbmiipxBest 27-inch: AOC 27GS2Best budget: Sceptre E248W-19203R How we picked the best gaming monitors under $200 As a critic covering games and gaming hardware, I’ve written about computing and monitors for Popular Science, Popular Mechanics, and NBC Select. I’ve researched, tested, and reviewed dozens of gaming monitors, and have a strong sense of which specs are important, and which are not....

These winter-wonder accessories come in all shapes and sizes, which is why it’s so important to find the right pair for your feet. The best snow boots are well-insulated with a waterproof exterior and minimal room for droplets to sneak in and soak your socks. Plus, they should match your personal style, the perfect combination of form and function. Don’t let a little snow stop you from enjoying time outside or, worse, numb your toes before you get to work in the morning....

The Astros went on to win the 2017 World Series, but rumors of their underhanded tactics spread throughout the league, and last November, reporters at The Athletic exposed their methods. Twitter sleuths quickly identified mysterious noises in clips of the team hitting. MLB officials investigated, releasing a report this month that detailed Houston’s “banging scheme.” Cheating in baseball is basically as old as baseball itself. Past pitch-tipping allegations include a moving awning on a nearby apartment, a telescope in the outfield, and flashing lights for batters....

It’s not difficult to see why, either. Zoom is simple to use, smooth and stable in operation, and packed with handy features and settings suitable for a variety of video calling setups. It’s perfect for large work meetings and larger (and louder) family chats. Anyone can get started with Zoom in seconds, but there are plenty of tricks and options underneath that friendly user interface. Get to know them all and you’ll be the most clued-up Zoomer on your next video chat....

“In order to achieve the political reality of passage, [the conservationists] had to bring in other stakeholders—off-highway vehicle users, public utilities, renewable energy, big mining, travel and tourism, county government,” says Randy Banis, a member of the California Desert District Advisory Council and an avid off-roader. “The only way to get people to the table is by accommodating their needs within the bill.” That bill is the California Desert Protection and Recreation Act which proposes a swath of new protected lands including pristine wilderness, new additions to national parks, and recreational areas for off-roaders....

AFB’s vice president at the time, Pat Moeller, a few other staff members, and I are seated around an oval table. Moeller is middle-aged, likable, and plainspoken. He has a small mouth with naturally deep-red lips and a pronounced Cupid’s bow, but it would be inaccurate to say he has a feminine appearance. Rather, he has the look of an Army man, which he was when he helped develop foods for NASA’s Apollo program....

Bluetooth versions: Does 4.2 versus 5.0 matter? When shopping for Bluetooth headphones, you’ll probably see a “version” somewhere in the specs: Most recent devices probably work with Bluetooth 4.1, 4.2, or the brand-new 5.0. And if you look around the web, you’ll find lots of claims that Bluetooth 5.0 drastically increases the technology’s range, bandwidth, and other capabilities. This is true…but these improvements don’t necessarily make headphones better. Most of the current improvements apply to the “Bluetooth Low Energy” protocol, which communicates with fitness wearables, keychain trackers, or smart-home devices....

Viruses multiply by invading a host cell, hijacking its machinery and using it to make new copies of itself. Cells have warning systems that can detect this invasion and call in reinforcements, but that can take a while. The virus has to orchestrate its actions carefully–if it moves too fast, it won’t have time to make new copies of itself, and if it moves too slowly, it might be stopped by immune defenses....

These virtual assistants are going to be a large part of the future mobile phones, whether you like them or not. All major mobile operating systems have a digital personality baked into their software — Apple’s Siri, Microsoft’s Cortana, and Google Now — and they all generally do the same thing. Siri, Google Now, and Cortana can all schedule appointments, set reminders, look things up on the internet, and few other simple tasks....

Developed in the mid-1960s, the box pleat is a grid of vertical and horizontal creases combined with some well-placed diagonals. A Swiss physicist named Emmanuel Mooser popularized the pattern when he used it to create what’s now known as Mooser’s Train, one of the great achievements in origami. At the convention, Demaine began to wonder whether the box pleat could be used to make even bigger, more complex designs. Could it fold into a Mooser’s Passenger Jet, a Mooser’s Rocket Ship, or a Mooser’s Full-Size Nuclear Submarine?...

The athletes that perform these stunts are part of a global community that practise parkour – a gymnastics-like activity that developed from military obstacle courses. The objective of parkour is to move rapidly and effectively through a complex physical environment. Our research shows that science can help you practise better parkour – through running up walls more efficiently, and expanding your landing options. Even if you don’t plan to take up the sport, it’s an incredible thing to watch....

Best for people with cold feet: Heat Holders Thermal SocksBest for techie coffee and tea drinkers: Ember Travel MugBest shoes for winter walks: Volt Lava BootsBest hoodie: Chrome Merino Cobra HoodieBest slippers: Glerups Wool Slip-OnBest for the couch potato: The Comfy Wearable BlanketBest heated blanket: Bedsure Heated BlanketBest space heater: De’Longhi Ceramic Tower HeaterBest for cold sleepers: Eddie Bauer Flannel CollectionBest jacket: Oros Atmos JacketBest for campers and commuters: Hydro Flask 16oz Insulated CupBest for the cook: Fuego Box Spicy Box of AwesomeBest fire pit: Solo Stove BonfireBest for cold hands: Öjbro Karg GloveBest for dry hands and chapped lips: Aquaphor’s Healing OintmentBest blanket: Brooklinen Cashmere and Lambswool Throw BlanketBest personal heater: Ostrichpillow Heatbag...

When scientists examined the brains of healthy rats, they found that ITC neurons were crucial to overcoming anxiety. If a certain sound made a rat tremble with fear, ITC neurons fled to the amygdala, and forced the rat to remember similar situations that weren’t so terrifying. Scientists think that ITC neurons inhibit anxiety by blocking signals to the brain stem which induce the fear response. That means the horrors of PDSD and other anxiety disorders could be treated more efficiently in the future – simply by jacking up the sensitivity of that helpful ITC neuron....

But the jellyfish has a life cycle so radical you can hardly call it a transformation. The blobby marine mushroom beachgoers know and fear represents just the tip of the biological iceberg. If you could ask the creature itself (and it could respond), it might tell you it considers its main form to be the humble “polyp”—a small rod on the ocean floor that pumps out stringy medusa, which we know as jellyfish....