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Getting a good microphone is a key step in creating a sweet at-home studio. And the iconic Shure SM58—on sale for $94, half-off its regular $196 pricetag—is a great place to start. This durable mic can do it all, from recording vocals to tracking drums, and is perfect for the budding recording artist looking for the beginnings of their recording set-up. Want to expand the budget and arsenal? The equally renowned Shure SM7B—beloved by podcasters and broadcasters, but also music producers on our staff, for its vocals handling—can be had for $359, which is 28% off its regular price....

Some highlights: A springtime heat wave resulted in the warmest March since record keeping began.Wisconsin and 24 other states experienced the warmest March on record.In March, three Michigan high temperature records were beaten by a margin of 32°F.On March 20, some 700 records were tied or broken–the most on a single day in 2012. It was 89°F in Columbia, South Carolina, that day.The oldest high-temperature record that fell in 2012 was beaten when the mercury hit 87°F at Elko Regional Airport in Nevada on April 22....

Chemists from the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia have done research that suggests mice may have a specific taste for calcium. Because mice and humans share many of the same genes, the finding suggests that humans may have the ability to taste the elemental nutrient as well. The chemists experimented with 40 different types of mice, measuring the preference for calcium in each, and found only one type of mouse that had a strong liking for the nutrient....

According to The Guardian, only four (known) people have been able to solve this since the book was first published. But the age-old mystery saw a resurgence of interest after it was popularized through TikTok by user Sarah Scannel, prompting a 70,000-copies reprint by Unbound. The Washington Post reported last year that this novel has quickly gained a cult following of sorts, with the new wave of curious sleuths openly discussing their progress in online communities across social media....

Colorectal cancer affects about 5 percent of Americans over their lifetimes. Current treatments for rectal cancer can involve one or a combination of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. These treatments have a risk of multiple side effects, however, that can lower a person’s quality of life. “Our first duty is to save our patient’s life. But the standard treatment for rectal cancer with surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy can be particularly hard on people because of the location of the tumor,” said Andrea Cercek, a medical oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York and lead study author in a press release....

But in 2014, there was real-world evidence to the contrary. Thirty-five people were hospitalized after eating commercially prepared caramel apples. The culprit, it seemed, was Listeria monocytogenes, a type of bacteria that can cause fever, headache and vomiting weeks after being ingested. The researchers decided to investigate the cause of the outbreak. They prepared mixtures of four different Listeria strains and put them on the stems, skin, and bottom (calyx) of 144 Granny Smith apples....

We’ve featured Garmin watches many times in our coverage, from our Instinct 2 Solar review to naming the Vivomove HR as the best hybrid smartwatch with heart rate monitor. The fēnix 6S lets you combine mapping, music, and pace planning on your workouts so you can make the most of your marathon prep. It features a built-in heart sensor and pulse oximeter, and plenty of built-in programs for practically every sport....

To detect the AIDS-causing virus using the new method, researchers add serum from a patient’s blood sample to a solution of gold nanoparticles. If the nanoparticles come into contact with an HIV biomarker called p24, they clump together into an irregular pattern that turns the mixture blue–indicating a positive test result. If p24 is absent, the gold nanoparticles separate into ball shapes, and the mixture turns red, signaling a negative result....

Prius models from 2004-2009 have become big targets. Green Car Reports says the theft rate for Prius models from those years were more than 40 times higher in 2020 than it was four years earlier, based on information from the Highway Loss Data Institute. But there is a reason that criminals are absconding with this particular component. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) stated in a 2021 release that reduced mining production in recent years have caused prices for rare metals (like those used in catalytic converters) to skyrocket....

The winning team, from Cornell, used a fuel cell to generate DC current that powered a Lego motor. Other fuels this year included candy sours (citric acid), beetle liver (catalase enzyme), and fire starters (magnesium). The race’s twist is that the car must also stop using a chemical reaction, and the closer to the finish line it stops, the better. The Cornell team is the first in history whose vehicle stopped directly on the finish line with a braking system made from an Iodine solution and a light sensor....

But just how much these systems will be impacted has been up in the air. However, a new study, published this week in the journal Nature Communications, finds that climate change is expected to strengthen El Niño and La Niña events by 2030. In the study, researchers analyzed 70 years of sea surface temperature data from the Pacific Ocean. They used this data to model the changes in the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) alongside the expected projections of continued global warming....

It’s an impressive toolset that could certainly help the public prepare for an increasingly volatile, costly, and dangerous climate, and includes stark visualizations of our current situation. There are also resources and data for community organizations, local, state, Federal, and Tribal governments to aid in planning, as well as links to grant funding made available for various projects through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Throughout the CMRA site, however, readers will probably notice a particular phrase reappearing multiple times: climate resilience....

It was another hot day in the Negev desert of Israel, and several researchers from Ben-Gurion University were setting up a field lavatory. Essentially a toilet seat stuck over a metal frame with a plastic bag receptacle underneath, this makeshift privy was an artifact of minimal convenience, typically used when scientists work in remote places where even portable jones and outhouses don’t exist, or when the surrounding ecosystems are too fragile to process human waste....

But big things can come in very small packages. In a paper published today in Science researchers announced that they have observed the most luminous, and most powerful supernova ever seen, coming out of an object just 10 miles wide in a distant galaxy. The supernova was spotted last summer by researchers working on the All Sky Automated Survey for SuperNovae (ASAS-SN). Named ASASSN-15lh, the tiny, powerful and dense object at the center of the glowing ball of gas might be the remains of a unique neutron star, called a magnetar....

In many regions of the U.S., the number of coronavirus cases is likely 10 times greater than what official counts show According to data released Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of actual cases of coronavirus far exceeds the official counts in many regions. The authors of the study told The New York Times the reason for the vast undercounting is likely because many people who are asymptomatic or have mild cases of the virus won’t get tested....

Before combat can even begin, militaries start generating waste. Disposing of refuse, such as wrappers, containers, and disused packaging, is a problem at every stage of the life cycle. It takes energy to ship the packaging into a country, it requires dedicated resources to get rid of it, and improper disposal can leave long-lasting damage on the environment and on people who breathe the fumes from burn pits. That’s why DARPA, the Pentagon’s blue-sky projects wing, wants future supplies packaged in waste that is itself useful a second time, whether as fuel, building material, or food itself....

What a relief, many of us thought this morning. We re-elected a president who supports public funding for research (truthfully, public funding for anything). We re-elected a president who acknowledges the reality of climate change (at least you did in your victory speech if not during the campaign). We re-elected a president who so eloquently describes occupations like doctors, scientists and engineers as the definition of American aspiration. Still, we have some things to discuss....

The study, published in Current Biology, found dog puppies are more attracted to humans, read human gestures like pointing more skillfully, and make more eye contact with humans than their close relatives, wolves, even when the wolf pups were reared by humans nearly from birth. It’s the largest study thus far to investigate the domestication hypothesis, which posits that dogs’ ability to understand human communication is a product of generations of domestication, rather than training completed by one canine in a single lifetime....

Where cotton candy is artificial and almost entirely made of sugar, the most common kind of glass is formed from sand. These so-called silicate glasses constitute the cups we drink from, and the window panes we gaze through. But there are many other types of glass, all forged in fire. Uranium glass, which gets its viridescent tint from an oxidized form of uranium, was popular in late 19th and early 20th century home goods....

Lake Powell, which stretches along Utah and Arizona, dropped to 3,554 feet this week—the lowest depth since its initial filling in the 1960s. Lake Mead, the nation’s largest reservoir by water capacity, is also at its lowest level since it was filled in the 1930s. It’s currently at a depth of 1,067 feet, holding just one third of its potential capacity. Water availability for those living in areas of drought is not the only thing at stake....