Awe-inspiring science reporting, technology news, and DIY projects. Skunks to space robots, primates

[ad_1] You know the type. They work 60 hours a week, have half a dozen side-hustles, and never, ever cancel plans. You love their natural ambition, but also are aware that sometimes they need a little encouragement to unwind, something that's especially crucial given the tumultuous world events of 2017. The gifts we showcase below appeal to all five senses, and will hopefully help your loved ones keep calm. The blue light form our beloved devices can upset our circadian rhythms. The Philips Wake-Up Light changes color and brightness level to simulate a natural sunrise and sunset in your bedroom. It'll help your restless friends ease in and out of sleep. $127 . If Philips' Wake Up Light is out-of-stock on Amazon, this newcomer from iHome is a great alternative. It multitasks as a diffuser, sound soother, light therapy powerhouse, and Bluetooth speaker. And unlike a straight diffuser, iHome's Zenergy “Aroma” features a unique way to control the intensity of your desired a...

[ad_1] Thousands of American Airlines flights next month, including those during the busy holiday period, don't have pilots assigned to them, the airline's pilot union said. The Allied Pilots Association, which represents some 15,000 American Airlines pilots, said the airline notified the union about a problem with the pilots' schedule bidding system last Friday. American Airlines did not immediately respond to request for comment. "It's a really bizarre situation," a union spokesman said. It was not immediately clear how pilots would be assigned to the remaining flights, or whether any flights will be cancelled, but the union said American's plan to do so violated union contracts. ...

[ad_1] A Dutch scientist found two baby earthworms wriggling around in soil that is supposed to replicate the surface of Mars. But we're still pretty far away from gardening on the red planet. For now, scientists don’t have access to real Martian soil. So Wieger Wamelink, biologist at Wageningen University, bought a simulation from NASA at a hefty $2,500 for about 220 pounds (he created a crowdfunding campaign to help with the costs). The U.S. space agency fetched that dirt from a volcano in Hawaii and the Mojave desert, then sterilized it to copy the lifeless Martian environment. Wamelink and his research team then put the simulation soil through a Martian colony scenario. They were enthusiastic when they added adult worms that not only survived, but reproduced. “That was way beyond what we expected,” says Wamelink. The discovery that earthworms could survive on the red planet would be thrilling. These underrated annelids are crucial to a healthy ecosystem on Earth. T...

[ad_1] Our colleagues from across the ideological spectrum – regardless of whether they ultimately support or oppose the current plan – recognize the record-setting rate at which the United States taxes job-creating businesses is, either significantly or entirely, a burden borne by the workers they employ. The question isn't whether American workers are hurt by our country's corporate tax rate – it's how badly. As such, the question isn't whether workers will be helped by a corporate tax rate reduction – it's how much. The enactment of a comprehensive overhaul – complete with a lower corporate tax rate – will ignite our economy with levels of growth not seen in generations. A twenty percent statutory rate on a permanent basis would, per the Council of Economic Advisers, help produce a GDP boost "by between 3 and 5 percent." As the debate delves into deficit implications, it i...

[ad_1] It's not just the Raiders spending big on stadiums. MLB team the Texas Rangers is expecting its $1.1 billion Globe Life Field to open in 2020. The Oakland A's, in the city which lost its hometown Raiders to Las Vegas and the Warriors to San Francisco, has selected a site near Laney College for its stadium, also opening in 2020. College teams and major league soccer teams have also leaned on tax exemptions, just with much lower price tags. Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas, now called Toyota Stadium, cost the public $69 million, or 57 percent of its total cost, according to Harvard professor Judith Grant Long's 2012 book "Public-Private Partnerships for Major League Sports Facilities." Financing for the Las Vegas project becomes trickier when you factor in who owns the Raiders. There are 18 billionaire owners in the National Fo...

[ad_1] Just bagged yourself a shiny new gadget? You're probably eager to start playing with it as soon as possible. But to make sure your new device's life stays trouble-free, you should first take the time to set it up properly. Follow these simple pointers to keep it running smoothly for years to come. 1. Install all updates Installing system updates can be a chore, but they're there for a reason: They squash performance bugs, patch up security vulnerabilities, and generally make your device's operating system more stable and reliable. If you're lucky, they might throw in some extra features too. Because updates can affect the rest of your system, you want to install these before you take any other steps. Even if you purchased a shiny new gadget, its manufacturer may have released a few software updates since it left the factory. So as soon as you switch it on, you may receive a plethora of alert prompting you to install pending updates. Click or tap a notificatio...

[ad_1] It would be easy to dismiss the myth of the yeti as just that: a myth. There’s no conclusive evidence that a giant, ape-like creature lives in the Himalayas (or anywhere else, for that matter). But the beauty of science is that we don’t just have to roll our eyes. We can test the hypothesis. And yetis, as it turns out, are real. That is, if you’re willing to accept "yeti" as the nickname of a reclusive (but not at all undiscovered) population of bears high in the Himalaya mountains. We probably know less about these very real bears than we “know” about the yeti, which is why biologist Charlotte Lindqvist was so interested when the Icon Film company reached out to her with a proposition. Lindqvist had researched an ancient polar bear that, according to a 2014 study, was the real culprit behind yeti lore. Icon Film wanted to know if she thought that was plausible, given criticism the study drew. Was the yeti really this an extinct beast, or was it inst...