In the fall of 2018, He Jiankui astonished geneticists and bioethicists worldwide when he announced the birth of twin girls Nana and Lulu. He and his team altered their genomes using the relatively easy-to-use gene-editing technique known as CRISPR when they were embryos. This marked the first such babies born in the world to have their genomes altered in this way. He’s stated intent in editing their embryos was to replicate a mutation that exists in just 11 percent of Northern Europeans, on a specific piece of a gene known as CCR5....

In his new book, Chip Walter analyzes how modern humans evolved into today’s dominant, and only surviving human, species. Here he speculates on humanity’s next chapter. Evolution, as the past 4 billion years have repeatedly illustrated, holds an endless supply of tricks up its long and ancient sleeve. Anything is possible, given enough millennia. Inevitably the forces of natural selection will require us to branch out into differentiated versions of our current selves, like so many Galápagos finches… assuming, that is, that we have enough time to leave our evolution to our genes....

If you only hope to point your phone at a subject and get usable—and often pretty impressive—shots, then the new iPhone camera is unbeatable. But if you already know how to use a camera—even on a previous iPhone—there’s a learning curve that might change at any time thanks to software updates, and it could have a real effect on the look of your photos and videos. Plus, the 11 Pro is a reminder that iPhone photography—and smartphone shooting on the whole—is increasingly different than typical photography....

Simon Scott, the owner of Falx Air, an aviation company based in Staffordshire, England, wants to revolutionize not just medevacs but all personal air transportation. A former communications specialist in the British Army’s Air Corps, Scott has been designing Falx Air’s hybrid-electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing (VTOL) craft for the past eight years. He’s currently bench-testing components in the hopes of getting a single-passenger prototype ready to be certified in January by the Civil Aviation Authority, Britain’s equivalent of the FAA....

That’s a lot to take in. It’s okay. Let’s all calm down, and take a look at why. In a paper published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers found that in order for something the size of a human to grip to walls the same way that geckos and spiders do, that human would need sticky pads that covered 40 percent of its body, or nearly 80 percent of its front....

Of course, that doesn’t necessarily mean organic food makes you a healthier person. That’s the central issue at the heart of a recent study published in JAMA that’s making headlines for purportedly showing that eating organic reduces your risk of cancer. Like so many studies claiming that any specific lifestyle choice will prevent cancer, there’s a lot more to this story. What did the study actually say? This is a classic case of association: French researchers asked 68,946 adults, also all French, to report how frequently they consumed organic food....

In most home-brewing setups, each step in the process requires moving the beer to a new container by hand, which increases the chance of contamination and requires lifting. Carnett’s machine keeps everything in the carts’ closed system—he only has to swap a few CO2-pressurized hoses to move the liquid along. The delicious brew’s journey begins in the boil keg, where concentrated wort extract is heated by a propane burner for 90 minutes....

Currently, light pollution is growing at two percent every year—that’s twice the rate of population growth. Rapid industrialization and booming cities have made artificial lighting ubiquitous. However, the effects of this aren’t just limited to starless skies. Several studies link light pollution to deteriorating health of wildlife, humans, and the planet. Artificial light interferes with our circadian rhythms by messing with melatonin production, and interrupts natural processes like breeding and migrating in everything from sea turtles to birds....

The maiden flight of the weird bird lasted over two hours. It eventually came down for a safe landing on a runway in Mojave, California. Here’s what to know about the Stratolaunch, by the numbers. 385 feet That’s the wingspan of this massive aircraft. For comparison, that’s over 100 feet longer than the wingspan of a Boeing 747-800, the aircraft that will constitute the next-gen Air Force One. It’s also over 100 feet wider than the wings of an A380, the largest passenger plane in the sky—and a craft that Airbus will stop making....

1. Pocketknife 2. Razor When shaving, a worn or nicked blade will butcher sensitive skin. The 0.6-​inch-​wide cutter on the Waldorf 24 Carat Gold straight razor is carbon steel, which hones easily but is prone to corrosion over time. The gold outer coating, however, fights off rust while adding bling. 3. Kitchen knife Kyocera’s 6-inch Chef’s ­Santoku has a ceramic blade that’s harder than steel, so it stays sharp up to 10 times longer than its flame-forged counterparts....

To avoid the stench of a decomposing piece of fruit on my porch, this year I made jack-o’-lanterns out of wood. This is a relatively straightforward build that still provides plenty of opportunities to flex your creativity. And regardless of the age and dexterity of the people living with you at home, you can make this project a family affair—I built three in my first batch, and had each of my kids and my wife design the faces....

“At NASA, we actually have a higher microbiological standard compared to most companies in the general food industry,” says Xulei Wu, a NASA food scientist and food system manager for the International Space Station. In other words, NASA is a stickler about food safety and storage when it comes to space travel. To reduce the risk of potential sickness, all food products sent to the ISS must undergo rigorous testing....

This catapulting technique of the species was described for the first time in a study published today in the journal Current Biology. “By performing these behaviors, male’s risk of sexual cannibalism can be greatly decreased,” Shichang Zhang, study author and arachnologist at Hubei University in Wuhan, China, wrote in an email. Out of 155 matings, Zhang and his team observed 152 males perform the jump after the first mating encounter in the experiment—all 152 survived....

“We think about birds [in human landscapes] as mostly needing birdseed,” Burghardt says. But work over the past decade paints a different picture, one that points to the importance of insects for many. However, the vast majority of plant-eating insects are evolved to only eat a small number of native plants, which means that in gardens without the foliage of choice, they’re not around. For human gardeners, as well, introducing native plants and seeing the wildlife—from caterpillars and other insects to birds—they attract can be “a pretty rewarding process,” Burghardt says....

“[W]hile earlier voxels were purely mechanical structural pieces, the team has now developed complex voxels that each can carry both power and data from one unit to the next,” explains MIT News‘s recent writeup. “This could enable the building of structures that can not only bear loads, but also carry out work such as lifting, moving and manipulating materials—including the voxels themselves.” The innovations also rely on the robots’ capability to determine when they need to pause to build bigger versions of themselves to continue the job as the project’s size increases....

Sleep masks can make any hour bedtime. Unfortunately, most masks trap your eyelids, stimulating a locked-in sensation counterproductive to real rest—not to mention crushed lashes. But YIVEW’s contoured cover bubbles up in the middle, ensuring you can still blink, and seals above and below your eye holes, blocking out light. The result is ocular freedom—and some sweet Zzzs. Dawn simulation has clinical roots: it’s an effective treatment for seasonal affective disorder, or SAD....

Today at an event in New York City, Zero Motorcycles, which makes sleek-looking electric two-wheelers, unveiled a new battery architecture that they brag has around 20 percent additional capacity but weighs about 6 pounds less. They’re pairing this power pack with a new iteration of its SR motorcycle, which they also unveiled. The new battery system from Zero is housed in a fancy-looking module made from diecast aluminum and polycarbonate....

Humans have always been fascinated with things that levitate, and while you can’t exactly have a floating frog in your home, the next best thing is to have a levitating lamp. For a limited time, you can take home the Kickstarter-funded Gravita Levitating Smart Lamp for 33% off. The Gravita Lamp is minimalist in every sense of the word. Using the same science as that of Geim’s experiment, this lamp is able to hang mid-air without any wires attached....

In an interview with New Scientist, Zufferey explains that the trick to pulling off the stunning feat requires a few augmentations from actual avian behavior. Although the spring-loaded claw grasps a 6cm diameter branch much like its zoological inspirations, the final approach differs from its real-world counterparts. Generally, birds hover above their intended perch for a few moments before touching down. Zufferey’s invention, however, simply slows down as it nears its final destination using optical camera assessments, thus allowing the springed talons time to trigger within just 25 milliseconds, according to the team’s paper published with Nature Communications....

The riveting Speedy Mag Wireless Charger boasts a battery that gives life to devices quickly and effectively—with the ability to power iPhone 8 and newer and all Qi-enabled wireless devices (including Androids). It also comes complete with a built-in magnet and metal plate that works seamlessly with iPhone 12 or newer and magnetically attaches for instant charging. Measuring 5 inches by 3 inches, the sleek and compact construction will allow you to place it neatly into any bag, backpack, or overnight bag and take it with you wherever you go....