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Here are the Echo deals that we’re tuning in to on Prime Day: Echo Frames (2nd Gen) $119.99 (Was $269.99) Peer into the future with the Echo Frames, which allow you to make calls, listen to podcasts or Audible books, set reminders, add to your to-do lists, get the news, or control your smart home all using your voice. These aren’t your regular smart glasses. For podcasts, music, or audio books, Echo Frames direct sound to your ears while minimizing what others around you can hear by using open-ear audio with Auto Volume, which also adjusts the volume based on the noise level of your surrounding apartment....

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Pentagon’s futuristic research wing, is making a silent motorcycle for the silent professionals. At a conference today in Tampa for Special Operations, DARPA showed off two different bikes. As Defense One reports: The combustion engines are for when the bikes don’t need to be quiet. Running on fuel, they reach 80 decibels — somewhere between a vacuum cleaner and a garbage disposal....

At the biotechnology company BioXcel, a treatment for agitation that takes the form of a thin film, applied under the tongue, is currently working its way through clinical trials. Along with the usual safety and efficacy tests, the company announced that its planning to test a method of drug delivery for patients with Alzheimer’s, who are particularly affected by agitation, that integrates data from a wearable movement tracking device like an Apple Watch....

That’s the problem with labels like “biodegradable” or “compostable.” These products—typically made from plant sources, often corn—biodegrade eventually, meaning that microbes and other organisms break the materials down into soil. But the environment the products are disposed in matters. As the banana peels and straw morphed into crumbly compost, the “compostable” bags and “biodegradable” cups hung around, full intact. They would have decayed if they were sent to a large-scale, industrial recycler, where workers manage the conditions and chemistry of materials, ensuring the frenzied action of millions of microbes capable of breaking down these tough materials....

The COVID-19 pandemic caught the world in many ways by surprise. Without a rulebook in hand, front line doctors have been forced to make tough and quick decisions on how to treat their patients. This has led to an unprecedented number of experimental treatments and trials to combat the novel virus. Now, a few months into this ongoing pandemic, some physicians and researchers worry the medical community may be trying too many unproven or experimental treatments as they try to keep COVID-19 patients alive....

A short 3 months ago, Newitz asked contestants to build a real life form using MIT’s registry of standard biological parts known as “biobricks” and/or other scientifically credible materials. At stake was an all-expense paid trip to Hong Kong to attend the fourth annual Synthetic Biology Conference. The winner will rub elbows with leading researchers in the biotech field, but not before having his entry passed by an elite panel of judges: MIT synthetic biologist Drew Endy (who helped create biobricks), UC Berkeley biology researcher Terry Johnson, Spore game developer Jason Shankel, and UC Berkeley geneticist Michael B....

Moderna and Pzifer’s mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines are safe for immunocompromised people with a wide range of illnesses, a new analysis shows. Researchers in Italy tracked more than 550 people in fragile health who received two doses of an mRNA vaccine, and found that the side effects were in line with those experienced by the general population.The individuals who participated have immune systems that have been weakened by illness or treatments such as chemotherapy....

“The idea is to provide a solution to a capability gap which is an inability to acquire, track and destroy low, slow drones that proliferate all over the world,” Tim Reese, director of strategic planning, told Scout Warrior. The laser can destroy drones as big as 55 pounds, and Reese says it may be ready on special Stryker vehicles within 11 months. General Dynamics is working on the laser for the Stryker, with immediate plans to move from a 2 kilowatt laser to a 5 kilowatt laser, and a goal of an 18 kilowatt laser by 2018....

Bacteria and other tiny organisms have traditionally been viewed as a threat to art. But a small number of researchers in Europe are making microbes work for them. Specialized microbes have been set loose on everything from centuries-old frescoes to oil paintings to massive cathedral walls, all in an effort to clean and restore the original glory of these pieces of cultural heritage. Most recently, during the coronavirus shutdown, a team from the Italian National Agency for New Technologies (ENEA) successfully removed decay from the famous Michelangelo-carved tombs of the Medici family in Florence, Italy....

One virus in particular that is on the rise is the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). In a statement last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a warning that RSV cases, after rapidly declining in April 2020, are back and climbing, especially in the South. CDC data show that the rate of positive RSV antigen tests are currently about tenfold what they were this time last year....

Now, scientists using the XMM-Newton, ESA’s super-sensitive detector, have begun to pick up some of that missing mass by studying X-ray emissions coming from tendrils of gas stretching between two galaxy clusters, Abell 222 and Abell 223. These gaseous filaments connect many other galaxies in the universe, forming a kind of cosmic web, and studying those other links will be the next task. “This is only the beginning. To understand the distribution of the matter within the cosmic web, we have to see more systems like this one,” says astronomer Norbert Werner....

If you’ve barely even brewed a pot of tea in your lifetime, but are looking to brew your own beer, the Mr. Beer Starter Kit is perfect for you. Made with the absolute beginner in mind, this kit gives you all the tools necessary to make quality home brew and learn the craft as well. It’s ideal for anyone who doesn’t have a lot of time on their hands; you can craft your first batch in just 30 minutes....

There wasn’t as much obvious muscle on display in Detroit as there has been in recent years—particularly last year’s double-whammy rollouts of the Ford GT and Acura NSX—but there was lots of technological finesse. Hybrids and EV’s are part of the fabric of our automotive lives now, and the focus is shifting to how to integrate everything into a more broadly beneficial collective. Call it a smarter, more evolved vision of the future on display—and a gorgeous one, to boot....

The location in Kokomo is centrally located for several of Stellantis’ midwest-based vehicle assembly plants, and in close proximity to the company’s supplier base. Construction is scheduled to begin later this year, with production capacity online by 2025. The company projects the new assembly plant will create around 1,400 new jobs, and will be operated as a joint venture alongside brand partner Samsung. “Just under one year ago, we committed to an aggressive electrification strategy anchored by five gigafactories between Europe and North America,” said Carlos Tavares, CEO of Stellantis, in a release....

“American Lobster Larva” won the People’s Choice award for Photography in the 2016 Vizzies. See all 10 of the winners. This article was originally published in the March/April 2016 issue of Popular Science, under the title “The 2016 Vizzies.”

The researchers examined the skulls of 39 bat species from two major groups called Yinpterochiroptera and Yangochiroptera. They discovered that the yangochiropterans, which includes most bat families and 82 percent of echolocating species, have inner ears unlike those of any other mammal. These bats have inner ears with extra space inside the cochlea and more neurons, which may help them hunt within a broad range of environments. “We posit that it enables the really complicated echolocation calls that the yangochiropteran bats are famous for,” says Bruce Patterson, a curator of mammals at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago and coauthor of the findings....

In Alaska and Canada, beavers have mostly made their homes in forests. But things are changing. Summers are longer, seasonal winter ice is thinner, and shrubs are increasingly sprouting up, making the tundra an increasingly appealing place for the rodents. In recent years, researchers have documented beavers setting up their dams in these treeless landscapes, and more lakes are now pocketing the tundra. Benjamin Jones, a geographer at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, wondered if beavers were to blame for some of these changes....

Scientists recorded honeybee hives during times of peace and in the midst of hornet attacks, and discovered that the arrival of the winged predators triggered a cacophony of noise and activity. Particularly striking was a harsh sound that changed pitch quickly and unpredictably—qualities also heard in the alarm shrieks, fear screams, and panic calls of mammals and birds. At the same time, worker bees began assembling at the entrance of the nest to repel the invaders....

Still, they are relatively niche compared to larger full-size and TKL form factors. You won’t find many keyboards of this size from mainstream peripheral brands like Apple or Logitech. Instead, most 60 percent keyboards are made by gaming and enthusiast brands, which offer products ranging from slim and minimal to loud and colorful. That said, there are still plenty of great options for anyone who wants to minimize their keyboard’s desk footprint without building a custom keyboard from scratch....

If you suddenly discovered you’re an artist but all you have is some printer paper and a pencil you’ve had laying around the house since the last time you went to Ikea, fill up that shopping cart with these 10 essential pieces of art supplies. Strathmore sketchpad The kind of sketchbook you’ll need will depend on what technique you’re experimenting with, but if you’re starting with the basics, with this sketchpad by Strathmore you’ll be more than set....