Notes is even more useful with iOS 18. Image: Graphicscoco/Getty ImagesShareApple has packed a lot into iOS 18, not just the mobile operating system but also all the apps that run on top of itand one of the most useful upgrades is in the Notes app. You can now record voice memos right inside Notes, and even have the text transcribed while you talk.There are all kinds of scenarios where you might find this useful, from lectures to interviews to your own personal thoughts and musings. You can listen to the voice notes and review the text any time you like, and export the text elsewhere too (if you need to share notes from a meeting, for example).Note that the Voice Memos app includes transcription features with iOS 18so you can use that as an alternative to Notes.Recording voice notesTap the paperclip icon to find the option to record (and transcribe) audio. Screenshot: Apple With a note open on your iPhone, tap the paperclip icon on the toolbar underneath the note, then choose Record Audio. You get a new recording interface up on screen: Use the large red button to start recording, then tap it again to pause and resume recording. You can record several segments in the same audio file, if needed.The playback controls on the recording screen are all straightforward: You can listen to what youve already recorded via the play button, and use the jump buttons on either side to go forwards or backwards in the audio in increments of 15 seconds. Note you cant resume a recording unless youre at the end of it.Tap on the speech bubble in the lower left corner and you can toggle between the sound wave view and the transcription view. If you start recording while the transcription view is showing, youll see the text update in real time as you talk. If you play back the audio in transcription mode, the text is highlighted as the clip plays.If youve enabled Apple Intelligence on your iPhone, you have access to a few additional features. You can tap the Summary button at the top to see an AI-generated summary of everything youve said so far, which can come in useful if youre recording lengthy audio clips (for meetings and presentations, for example).At the top of the recording you can see a date and timestamp to help you identify it, and you can give it a name by tapping the three dots (top right) and Renameprobably a good idea to avoid a whole series of clips just called New Recording. When youre happy with your clip, tap Done to save it in the note.Accessing voice notesYour voice memo and its transcription are embedded in the note. Screenshot: Apple Recordings appear as small embeds inside notes, and you can have multiple clips inside the same note if you need. Each embedded recording comes with an AI-generated preview summary, and you can see the clip length and title too. To have the audio played back, just tap the play button.Tap on the title of the voice recording to go back to the main recording screen again. From here you can listen to the clip, view the full transcription, and append more audio to the end of the file, just as you could when you first created it. Tap Done or swipe down from the top to go back to your note.When youre on the recording and transcription screen, tap the three dots (top right) to find more options to play around with. The menu enables you to add the full text of the transcript to your note, copy the transcript to the iPhone clipboard (for pasting into another app), or search through the transcript.You can also save the audio clip to the main Files app on your iPhone, or share the clip to a different app. Finally, theres a Delete option, which erases the recorded audio and its attached transcript. Anything you delete is fully wiped and cant be brought back, so be careful with this (you do get a confirmation screen before deleting forever).These transcription features can be applied to existing audio recordings too; you dont have to record something new. Tap the paperclip icon inside a note, choose Attach File and select an audio file, and itll be embedded in the note in the same way as a live recording. Tap on the audio file to see a transcription.

The right add-ons can level up your Spotify experience. Image: Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesShareWhen apps and platforms get as big as Spotify, they start to attract all kinds of add-ons, extensions, and plug-ins. Extra tools from third-party developers can introduce new functionality or helpfully tweak some part of the core experience.Of course Spotify is already packed with features, but these additional apps that run on top of Spotify can help you get even more from your music and the platform. Give one or more of them a whirl with your own account to see if they can find a place in your music streaming setup.PlaylistAIPlaylistAI works as an iOS app or a ChatGPT plug-in, and can then export created playlists to Spotify (and several other streaming music platforms)the idea is you describe the type of music you want in your playlist (whether its for a long road trip or a quick workout session at the gym), and the AI makes some tailored suggestions.DiscoverifySpotifys recommendation algorithms are fine, but with Discoverify, it could be even better. Log in with your credentials, and youll be presented with a playlist based on your recent listening history (and you can get a new one each day). We especially like the options that appear before your playlist is generated, which let you choose how the mix is balanced (between gentle acoustic strumming and high-tempo danceability, for example).ReceiptifyReceiptify is simple, but effective: You connect it up to your Spotify account, which can be done with a couple of clicks, and itll give you a receipt-style rundown of your musical tastes that you can easily share with others. You can customize your receipt in several different ways too, narrowing down your listening to a certain time period. You can even see overall stats on your receipt, like the average age of the songs you listen to.Get your receipt from Spotify with Receiptify. Screenshot: Receiptify Spotify PlayerGet Spotify Player installed on Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge, and youve got a much easier way of managing playback on your computer. The browser add-on brings with it playback controls, easy access to a volume slider, and even album art, so you know what youre listening to even if the actual Spotify desktop app is hidden away in the background. It really does improve the Spotify experience, and feels like an official add-on.ObscurifyTrue audiophiles will be interested in checking out Obscurify, which compares your listening habits to other users on the platform (Spotify Wrapped does a similar trick, but you can use Obscurity any time of year). If youre mainstream or otherwise, Obscurify will tell you about it, and it can offer up recommendations tooso its a great way of finding new artists that match with musical preferences that you might not realize you had.SongscapeSongscape does something genuinely different from the norm with your Spotify stats, presenting them as a funky three-dimensional chart that visualizes the type of music you listen to using dots and colors: You can see how your mix of tunes looks in terms of its tempo, energy, and volume, for example. Its a really interesting way of looking at how the Spotify algorithm views you, and you can listen to some of your favorite tracks as well.Songscape gives you a genuinely different look at your tunes. Screenshot: Songscape Last.fmLast.fm has been around since way back in 2002, right when the digital music revolution was just beginning. Connect it to your Spotify account for a much more detailed look back at your listening: It can track the tunes you queue up across multiple devices and multiple services, giving you a supercharged version of Spotify Wrapped, any time of the year. Its also great for discovering new artists you might like, based on what you already listen to.SoundiizShould you ever want to leave Spotify for another platformor perhaps more relevant for this guide, move from another platform to Spotifythen Soundiiz is the perfect assistant to help you move. It lets you sync your playlists between multiple platforms with ease, and the long list of supported services includes Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, Deezer, Amazon Music, and YouTube (very handy if youve been doing a lot of your listening via videos).Stats.fmSome Spotify listeners just want as many statistics as they can get access to, and Stats.fm unlocks a lot of the information that Spotify has about your listening habits but which it doesnt necessarily share. The app is available for both Android and iOS, and lets you dig into the genres you like, the amount of time youve been spending on Spotify, who your favorite artists are, and much more, and you can track these trends over time as well.

Stack CommerceShareWe may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn more If your current tech setup feels more meh than modern, this bundle is the upgrade youve been waiting for. With Microsoft Office Professional 2021 and Windows 11 Pro, you get lifetime access for $54.97 to two tools that redefine how you work, create, and stay organized.Microsoft Office Professional 2021 is your all-in-one productivity powerhouse. From crunching numbers in Excel to designing sleek presentations in PowerPoint, it covers all the essentials and more. The suite includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, OneNote, Publisher, and Access, making it perfect for professionals, students, and anyone who needs reliable tools for document creation and data management. Plus, the intuitive ribbon interface lets you customize layouts and access features with ease giving you the freedom to focus on what matters most.Paired with Windows 11 Pro, youre set for an operating system built for the modern professional, complete with the AI-powered assistant, Copilot. Its seamless interface, enhanced security features like biometric logins and TPM 2.0, and productivity tools like Snap Layouts, and improved voice typing make multitasking a breeze. And for gamers, DirectX 12 Ultimate delivers stunning graphics for immersive experiences.Whether youre working from home, running a business, or simply staying organized, this bundle combines the best of productivity and performance in one purchase.This lifetime Microsoft bundle saves you from monthly subscription fees while keeping you up-to-date with updates included for both productson sale for $54.97 until February 2.StackSocial prices subject to change.The Ultimate Microsoft Office Professional 2021 for Windows: Lifetime License + Windows 11 Pro Bundle $54.97See Deal

Stack CommerceShareWe may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn more It sounds insane, but I know what I sawa UFO. Or, I think it was. Too many people have drones these days, so I guess it couldve been anything. Alas, I was sitting on my porch, enjoying my new pair of night vision binoculars, when I saw something moving in the dark. It was too fast for it to be a plane.I can see over 1,300 feet away with these bad boys, and, boy, I saw something alright. A flying sauceror a UAP as the kids call it these days. Better yet? My binoculars have a built-in camera and I started recording. Can you believe they were only $84.97 (reg. $169.99)?Seeing is believing, and you need these to seeWanna know how I know that UFO was real? My footage didnt save. The binoculars work; I have dozens of 36MP photos and 4K videos of tweety birds from my backyard. But those aliens? They wiped my darn UAP pictures. Those suckers. This is all Ive got:At least I got to see them in the flesh. Im surprised they didnt wipe my memory (yet). The cool thing about these binoculars, compared to night vision goggles, is that I dont have to squint through uncomfortable eyepieces to get a glimpse at some aliensjust look through the 4.5-inch LCD screen. I can also use it to play videos back.The only slightly annoying thing is that they have to be charged, which is obvious since theyre digital. But a 4,000mAh rechargeable battery lasts me quite a few nights of bird-watching and now UFO hunting. Ill be waiting for my visitors to return.Grab yourself a pair of these digital binoculars with night vision and recording capabilities for only $84.97(reg. $169.99) and save 50 percent. This price drop only lasts until February 23 at 11:59 p.m. PT.StackSocial prices subject to change.4K Night Vision Digital Binoculars with 8x Digital ZoomOnly $84.97 at Popular Science

This elegant nanoflower adds antioxidant, antibacterial and antibiofilm properties when applied to electrospun nanofiber bandages. Credit: ACS Advanced Bio MaterialsShareFlowers may be small, but their petals often add up to a comparatively massive amount of surface area. The same can be said even at the microscopic level of a nanoflower, compound combinations in chemistry that grow to form plantlike shapes. With this in mind, a research team based at Italys University of Genoa have designed a novel nanostructure that relies on carnation-like nanoflowers containing enough surface area to host numerous wound-healing drug molecules.The medical innovation is detailed in a study published in the journal ACS Applied Bio Materials. According to its creators, the bandage prototype uses two polyphenol-based materialscopper phosphate and tannic acid. These reagents possess well-documented anti-inflammatory and antibiotic properties. Once mixed and placed in a saline solution, the copper phosphate-tannic acid compounds begin to self-assemble and grow into recognizable, flower-like structures. From there, researchers then carefully attached these nanoflowers on small strips of electrospun nanofabric.Polyphenols, natural compounds abundant in phenolic structures, have received widespread attention due to their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and anticancer properties, making them valuable for biomedical applications, the team wrote in their study. However, the green synthesis of polyphenol-based materials with economical and environmentally friendly strategies is of great significance. Get the Popular Science newsletter Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. By signing up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.With the dressings ready for testing, the team introduced these nanoflower bandage samples into harmful bacteria cultures, including E. coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus. According to an accompanying announcement on January 31st, the nanoflower-covered fabrics not only inactivated the bacteria, but did so through the addition of antibiotic-resistant biofilmsall while protecting lab-grown human cells.Researchers say their new, nanoflower based approach appears to be both cost-effective and extremely efficient, allowing for better means to speed up wound healing and fight infections. The possible benefits from nanoflowers arent limited to medicine, either. Another study, published in October 2024 in Advanced Materials, points to uses across real-time imaging, wastewater purification, and even microrobotics.

The new research confirms past anecdotal evidence. Credit: Deposit PhotosShareResearchers say they have made a startling discovery in the Amazon River. But their evidence wasnt collected from the waterit could be seen from shore. After around 219 hours of observations, they can confirm that male Amazon river dolphins (Inia geoffrensis), also known as botos, often roll onto their backs and urinate over three feet into the air. It isnt random. The male botos appear to be peeing with a purpose.Over four years, a team from Canadas CetAsia Research Group traveled to the Amazon river, where they then closely watched river dolphin social interactions. Researchers documented a total of 36 separate instances of male botos deciding to pee while floating in the unconventional position. The findings, presented in a recent study published in the journal Behavioural Processes, support rare, anecdotal stories of past boto behavior.Aerial urination starts with a boto slowly positioning itself upside down, exposing its penis above water, and ejecting a stream of urine into the air, the team explained in their study.Whats more, another male dolphin was swimming nearby about two-thirds of the time, and often approached the urine stream as it landed in the water about three feet away. They sometimes waited in place, but in other instances, they even pursued the pee trajectory using their snout, or rostrum.We were really shocked, as it was something we had never seen before, study author Claryana Arajo-Wan recounted to New Scientist on January 31st.Urine is a common communication tool used by many terrestrial animals such as dogs, bears, and cats. Its seen far less frequently in aquatic environments, but Arajo-Wan and their colleagues offered a few examples in their study. Dominant male African cichlid fish (Astatotilapia burtoni) interpret urine pulses for both reproductive and territorial information. The narrow-clawed crayfish (Astacus leptodactylus), meanwhile, urinates as a sign of aggression. In both of these cases, however, its more about the act of peeing than what is actually in the pee itself.This makes the boto behavior all the more interesting, according to researchers. Dolphins lack a strong sense of both smell and taste, so its still somewhat unclear how they are interpreting the urine streams. The studys authors hypothesized that the male Amazon river dolphins may rely on their rostrum bristles to interpret their fellow botos urine composition, such as hormonal content indicating physical health and social position. A previous study from a team at Stephen F. Austin State University in Texas confirmed bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncates) use their tongues to identify other cetaceans through the taste of their urine. Knowing this, its also possible that botos in the Amazon may engage in similar activities. Get the Popular Science newsletter Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. By signing up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.But all that still doesnt explain why the botos are firing pee streams into the air. Researchers conceded that aerial urination likely serves a social function beyond waste elimination, but stopped short of landing on any definitive reason beyond possible social or communicative functions. Given their heightened ability to sense acoustical signals, it may be that the aerial urine alerts dolphins to check it out as it hits the water.Regardless of the actual reason, confirming the unique behavior among Amazon river dolphins now opens up the possibility for future study. With more timeand more peeresearchers may eventually learn much more about the aquatic mammals complex social dynamics.

ShareWe may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn more The best floorstanding speakers are the showstoppers of any audio setup, delivering cinematic sound that doesnt just fill your roomit fills your soul. Whether youre diving into the immersive world of home theater or exploring the nuances of a perfectly mixed album, the right speakers can elevate your listening experience to new heights. But not all tall speakers elevate the soundstage equally. To help you cut through the noise, weve curated this ultimate guide to some of the best floor speakers. From slim models for compact spaces, theres a perfect pair of tower speakers waiting for you in this roundup of the best floorstanding speakers for 2025.Best overall design: Polk Legend L800Best powered: KEF LS60 WirelessBest value: Definitive Technology Dymension DM70Best bass: GoldenEar T66Best for compact spaces: Bowers & Wilkins 704 S3Best budget: JBL Stage 2 L280FHow we chose the best floorstanding speakersSelecting the best floorstanding speakers requires balancing key factors like sound performance, room compatibility, and long-term value. The audio-obsessed PopSci team explored dozens of options, focusing on brands with a strong legacy of acoustic excellence and evaluating models designed for a range of listening scenarios and preferences.While we reviewed high-end audio in person when possible, we also leaned on peer experiences, expert opinions, and detailed technical data to ensure our recommendations hit all the right notes. Whether youre after room-shaking bass, sleek designs, or versatile connectivity, our guide highlights standout floorstanding speakers that deliver exceptional performance and value.The best floorstanding speakers: Reviews & RecommendationsFloorstanding speakers combine powerful audio performance with bold design, making them a centerpiece of your sound system. Below, youll find a diverse selection of floorstanding speakers, each chosen for its ability to deliver exceptional audio in its own unique way.Best overall design: Polk Legend L800Polk Why it made the cut: The Legend L800 redefines stereo with its patented SDA technology, delivering a spacious, three-dimensional soundstage that will convince you that youre seeing an album live from the front row.SpecsDrivers: Two sets per speaker: two 1 tweeters, two 5.25 midrange, two 10 woofersFrequency response: 32 Hz 38 kHz (-3dB)Dimensions: 48.6 H x 17.99 W x 17.38 DBuilt-in subwoofers: NoPrice: $2,999 eachProsSDA technology creates an astonishingly lifelike stereo imageFlagship driver technologies deliver natural, balanced soundBraced cabinet minimizes resonancesConsBulky footprintPolks flagship Legend L800 floorstanding speaker re-introduces an inventive approach to stereo sound developed by Matthew Polk in the 1980s. At the heart of its design is Stereo Dimensional Array (SDA) technology, which uses a second driver array alongside the traditional drivers to eliminate interaural crosstalkthe distortion that blurs stereo imaging in traditional speakers.In a nutshell, SDA drivers produce a signal thats out of phase with the interaural crosstalk signal coming from the opposite channel. When these signals arrive at your ear at the same time, they cancel each other out, leaving the true stereo signal. This produces an expansive soundstage that extends far beyond the physical placement of the speakers, immersing you in a breathtakingly lifelike audio experience. Whether youre listening to an intimate jazz trio or the sweeping score of a blockbuster film, every sonic image is reproduced with uncanny accuracy.The L800 pairs Polks Pinnacle Ring Radiator tweeter for crisp, high-frequency clarity with Turbine Cone midrange drivers for lifelike vocals and instruments. Dual 10-inch woofers deliver deep, tight bass thats both powerful and controlled, and a unique port design uses diffusors and flares to smooth airflow for distortion-free low-end, even at high volumes. (The L800 can be fitted with Polks L900 Height Module for Dolby Atmos overhead effects.)The L800 makes a statement with its formidable shape and premium woodgrain finish, available in Piano Black or Brown Walnut. Built with internal bracing for resonance-free sound, the L800 is as much a visual centerpiece as it is an acoustic powerhouse.If youre looking to bring the ultimate stereo or home theater experience into your living room, Polk Legend L800 produces stereo sound as it was meant to be heardexpansive, immersive, and astonishingly real.Polks SDA technology is virtualized in some of the companys soundbars, letting you experience a similar soundstage for a fraction of the cost of the L800. Check out the MagniFi Mini AX, which produces surprisingly wide sound in a unit measuring just a foot wideand comes with a wireless sub.Want to stick with two-channel but on a much tighter budget? The Polk Reserve Series features some of the Legends trickle-down tech, like the Pinnacle Ring Radiator tweeter and Turbine Cone midrange woofers, but priced starting around $549 each for the entry-level R500. Bassheads, though, might end up wanting more low-end. So, if you need more dynamic range but are not ready to add a subwoofer, step up to the 6.5-inch woofers of theR600 or the 8-inch woofers of theR700.Best powered: KEF LS60 WirelessTony Ware Why it made the cut: The KEF LS60 Wireless redefines what a powered wireless speaker can achieve, offering true hi-fi performance with its cutting-edge Uni-Q driver technology, tri-amped precision, and seamless streaming capabilitiesall in a sleek, minimalist design tailored for modern music enthusiasts.SpecsDrivers: 5 per speaker (two 1 tweeters, two 5.25 midrange, two 10 woofers)Frequency response: 31 Hz 24 kHzDimensions: 48.6 H x 17.99 W x 17.38 DBuilt-in subwoofers: NoPrice: $4,999/pr.ProsExceptional sound clarity with wide, immersive soundstageComprehensive streaming and connectivity optionsBuilt-in tri-amped system with 1,400W of total power, just add outletsConsHighest-resolution playback requires a wired connectionThe KEF LS60 Wireless reimagines hi-fi performance in a sleek, connected speaker thats as stylish as it is capable. Built to celebrate British brand KEFs 60th anniversary in 2022, this tri-amped system is centered around the companys Single Apparent Source technology: Four back-to-back 5.25-inch Uni-Core force-canceling woofers are arranged around KEFs 12th-generation Uni-Q driver array, which positions the tweeter at the center of the midrange cone.This waist-height configuration sits at a perfect seated listening position and delivers a cohesive soundstage where low, mid, and high frequencies appear to radiate seamlessly from a single point. In addition, its wide dispersion means more people can enjoy evocative imaging without having to be in one sweet spot (and theres less futzing with toe-in, etc.). The speaker integrates KEFs Metamaterial Absorption Technology (MAT)an intricate, maze-like structure designed to absorb unwanted soundwaves coming from the rear of the tweeterfor clearer, more detailed highs.With a wireless resolution of up to 24-bit/96kHz and support for higher-res playback (up to 24-bit/192kHz) via a wired connection, the LS60 Wireless accommodates serious audiophile listening. It runs on KEFs W2 wireless platform, which offers an intuitive setup process and a range of features designed to enhance your listening experience, including basic and advanced EQ settings to optimize sound for your listening space. The system seamlessly supports Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and popular streaming services like TIDAL and Spotify, plus AirPlay 2, Chromecast, and Roon for whole-home sound. (Pairing systems via AirPlay? We have a few pro tips for you.)The KEF Connect app allows for seamless customization, letting you tailor the sound to your preferences and space with ease. Comprehensive connectivity options, include RCA, HDMI eARC, RJ-45, and optical and coaxial digital inputs and an RCA sub out. Connecting a turntable requires a phono preamp. (If youre primarily interested in connecting a turntable, check out our guide to the best speakers for turntables.)With its high-resolution audio capabilities, thoughtful design, and extensive streaming and connectivity options, the LS60 Wireless delivers a compelling mix of modern convenience and high-fidelity sound, bridging the gap between audiophile performance and all-in-one simplicity. The LS60 offers exceptional clarity and a wide, immersive soundstage; instead of flooding you with sheer volume, the multiple drivers establish a depth of field that lets you swim in the details. While its bass performance is exceptional for its shockingly slim profile, adding a subwoofer or twoparticularly our favorite, the KEF KC62, which shares the Uni-Core designsupersizes low-end impact for bass-heavy music or home theater setups, while freeing even more headroom for fluid midrange.Its available in a spectrum of finishes, including black, gray, white, a very striking royal blue, and a luxurious Lotus Edition British Racing Green. For tighter spaces (and budgets), were partial to KEFs LS50 Wireless II powered bookshelf ($1,999/pr), which we explore in detail in our guide to the best stereo speakers.Best value: Definitive Technology Dymension DM70Tony Ware Why it made the cut: The DM70s bipolar driver array creates an enveloping soundstage, while its built-in powered subwoofer and passive radiators produce deep, precise bass without the need for a separate sub.SpecsDrivers: Bipolar array: Two 1 tweeters, four 5-1/4 mid/bass driversFrequency response: 30 Hz 23 kHz (-3dB)Dimensions: 47.4 H x 11.3 W x 16 DBuilt-in subwoofers: 10 active woofer, two 10 passive radiatorsPrice: $1,199 ea.ProsSpacious, 3D sound from front and rear-firing driversBuilt-in subwoofer delivers powerful bassCustomizable sound profiles for varied listening preferencesConsForward/rear focus toggle requires experimentation for optimal setupNot ideal placed against a wallThe Definitive Technology Dymension DM70 might look like a minimalist monolith, but beneath its sleek, fabric-wrapped exterior lies a powerhouse of multidimensional acoustic engineering. This three-way tower features a bipolar array comprising dual 5.25-inch long-throw midrange drivers and 1-inch aluminum oxide dome tweeters, oriented back-to-back to face the speakers front and rear. The front array produces clear, focused sound while the rear-facing array enhances the sense of space, enveloping the room in energy for a listening experience that feels both expansive and natural, as if the performance is unfolding around you. (For a more direct experience, a rear-panel switch lets you bring down the rear driver output by half, or -6dB.)The DM70 produces its integrated powered subwoofer, a 10-inch active driver supported by two passive radiators in a configuration Definitive calls 3XR Architecture, named for its ability to provide three times the sound-radiating surface area compared to standard subwoofer designs. Together, they bring depth and precision to the bass without the need for an external subwooferturning these towers into a near-complete 2.1 system. Whether its the subtle resonance of a bass guitar or the room-rocking rumble of an action scene, the DM70 anchors its sound with authority. Add to that Definitive Technologys signature BDSS driver tech for seamless midrange clarity, and you have a speaker thats as much about muscularity as it is musicality.The DM70 proves that form and function can exist in perfect harmony, which is perfect for audiophiles who want cinematic sound in a refined design. While not cheap, its a low investment for such high output compared to something like our next pick. And if you crave even more soundstage, theres the $1,599 DM80 with 12-inch subwoofers (conversely, the $959 DM60 features 8-inch drivers). For Dolby Atmos overhead audio, add the DM90 height modules, sold separately.Best bass: GoldenEar T66Tony Ware Why it made the cut: This tech-rich tower reflects GoldenEars decades of expertise in high-performance audio, advancing its signature AMT tweeter and integrated subwoofer design to deliver remarkable clarity, impactful bass, and an immersive soundstage.SpecsDrivers: One ribbon tweeter, two 4.5 mid/bass driversFrequency response: 29 Hz 25 kHz (-6dB)Dimensions: 48.8 H x 11.8 W x 14.75 DBuilt-in subwoofers: Two 5 x 9 quadratic subwoofers, two 8 x 12 passive radiatorsPrice: $3,600 ea.ProsExceptional bass performanceWide, immersive sound stageStriking visual designConsRequires two open outletsBass tuning can take some tweakingThe GoldenEar T66 embodies a legacy of innovation, building on the expertise of founders Sandy Gross and Don Givogue, who previously co-founded Definitive Technology. Their commitment to pushing the boundaries of speaker design is evident in the T66, which refines GoldenEars iconic tower speaker concept with both advanced acoustics and elegant aesthetics.At its core is a robust powered subwoofer section based around dual 5 x 9 front-firing quadratic subwoofers and acoustically coupled side-firing passive radiators, delivering deep, articulate, room-filling bass. The DAppolito driver arraytwo midrange drivers with Multi-Vaned Phase Plug (MVPP) flanking GoldenEars High-Velocity Folded Ribbon AMT (Air Motion Transformer) tweeteris engineered to produce breathtaking detail in an immersive soundstage that can remain cohesive, even off-axis. And its all protected by its distinctive curved metal grille.Youll want to ensure your listening position places your head in the line with the tweeter, however, as there is an audible drop-off in high-end energy if too low. Once youve settled in at the right height, however, youll be treated to astoundingly dynamic transients that dart effortlessly through a tight, textured sound field. Able to draft every contour from even the most corrugated mix, the T66 is an experience thats uninhibited but not undisciplined.Internally, a sophisticated crossover and premium AudioQuest wiring enhance clarity and minimize noise and distortion, ensuring every detail of your music or movie soundtrack comes through. (Two sets of binding posts give you the option to bi-wire the speaker if thats your preference.) The racetrack subwoofers are driven by a beefy, DSP-controlled 500-watt amplifier inspired by the companys SuperSub amp, and a level control lets you compensate for room gain.Narrow in body but not output, the T66s cabinet, available in high-gloss black ($6,900/pair) or the striking Santa Barbara Red splurge finish ($7,200/pair and possibly a special order), is designed to complement both sound and style, offering superior rigidity while minimizing resonance.Acquired in late 2024 by PML Sound Internationalthe parent company of Paradigm, Anthem, and MartinLoganGoldenEar is part of a family capable of delivering refinement and rumble. Whether used in a two-channel hi-fi setup or as the foundation of a premium surround system, the T66 exemplifies GoldenEars dedication to delivering powerful, room-filling sound with elegance and precision, continuing the founders tradition of excellence in every sense.Best for compact spaces: Bowers & Wilkins 704 S3B&W Why it made the cut: This slender floorstanding speaker combines premium Bowers & Wilkins technologies with a space-saving design, delivering clarity and impact that belies its size.SpecsDrivers: One 1 tweeter, one 5 midrange, two 5 woofersFrequency response: 48 Hz 28 kHz (-3dB)Dimensions: 36.4 H x 6.5 W x 10.4 DBuilt-in subwoofers: NoPrice: $1,999 ea.ProsExceptional midrange claritySlim, elegant design fits smaller spacesPrecise, natural bassConsIf youre an extreme basshead, this may not be for youThe Bowers & Wilkins 704 S3 takes a thoughtful approach to combining compact design with audiophile-grade performance. As the most compact floorstanding speaker in the 700 Series, its ideal for smaller rooms or setups where space is at a premium, yet it doesnt shy away from delivering powerful, detailed sound.Borrowing from the flagship 800 Series Diamond, the 704 S3 incorporates advanced technologies like the Decoupled Carbon Dome tweeter, which provides sparkling clarity and pinpoint imaging, and the Continuum cone midrange, which delivers nuanced and transparent reproduction of vocals and instruments. Dual Aerofoil bass drivers round things out with tight, punchy low-end, while the Flowport design minimizes distortion for smooth, extended bass.The addition of Bowers & Wilkins Biomimetic Suspensiona feature first introduced in the companys flagship modelsmarks a significant leap in midrange performance, reducing unwanted resonance for improved clarity. The revised cabinet design, with its curved front baffle, minimizes diffraction, allowing the speaker to acoustically disappear into the room.The result is a speaker that combines high-end audio with refined aesthetics. For those looking to elevate their stereo or home theater setup with studio-quality sound and premium design, the 704 S3 strikes an impressive balance. Available in stunning white, black, and mocha finishes.If youre looking for signature Bowers sound in a smaller footprint, explore our review of the companys small and mighty 705 S3 bookshelf. We were also huge fans of the curvy, compact Zeppelin all-in-one smart speaker, and even more so the updated Zeppelin Pro, which we think is an elegant addition to any space. (Listening on the go? Weve explored B&W products from the Px8 wireless headphones to the new Abbey Road Studio Mode in Volvo EX90 EV SUVs.)Best budget: JBL Stage 2 L280FTony Ware Why it made the cut: For newcomers to the world of discrete components, JBL Stage 2 loudspeakers offer options that can help you assemble a voice-matched system quickly and affordably.SpecsDrivers: One 1 anodized aluminum tweeter, two 8 polycellulose ribbed cone woofersFrequency response: 33 Hz 25 kHz (+-6dB)Dimensions: 43.8 H x 14.1 W x 16.5 DBuilt-in subwoofers: NoPrice: $599 ea.ProsModern Insta-friendly aestheticAffordableDynamic, with wide dispersionVoice-matched drivers, so you can add more Stage 2 speakers without coherence issues.ConsWhile a great foundation, some EQ may still be required depending on space/preferenceRevealed at a premiere held in July 2024 at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, the new JBL Stage 2 speakers introduce easily integrated and optimized sound at approachable price points. Recognizing an emerging market of budding audio enthusiasts the two-channel and home cinema curious JBL launched its own soundbar alternative. Available in Espresso (wood) and Latte (white) enclosures, the flagship L280F floorstanders are rockin rectangles that can blend into the background of a Gen Z apartment. But theyll take center stage once fed some signal.The feature that immediately stands out is the 1-inch anodized aluminum dome tweeter of this 2.5-way tower is mounted in a next-generation HDI [High-Definition Imaging] Horn (trickle-down waveguide tech from the high-end custom installation Synthesis line). This ensures a wide stereo stage and sibilance-free intelligibility. Thats paired with two dual 8-inch polycellulose ribbed woofers and dual flared rear ports (so dont back them up too close to the wall, but do remember to toe them in 40-60 degrees). Paper cones have a more natural tone, allowing for midrange/bass without breakup. Its a high-output system thats a balance between bright, airy, engaging, and low-end anchored. And with some EQ tweakswhich can be done manually or with the optimization built into JBLs matching Modern Audio AV receiver lineyou can achieve maximum linearity and clarity.Whats particularly nice about JBLs approach is you can start with an affordable hi-fi system, getting two of the L280F speakers for the price of one of our value pick above. Later, you can scale up to a 5.1 multi-channel system if/when the urge takes holdall without fear of tonal mismatch. The full Stage 2 line includes multiple towers with dedicated posts for adding height modules, as well as bookshelf/standmount, center channel, and subwoofer options.What to consider when choosing the best floorstanding speakersChoosing floorstanding speakers can feel overwhelming with so many factors to weigh, from sound quality and aesthetics to technical specifications. (New to the world of speaker technology? Well help you get up to speed on the basics.) Here, we focus on a few key essentials: room size, bass response, build quality, and of course, budget. By prioritizing these considerations, you can narrow down the options and find speakers that fit seamlessly into your space and provide outstanding audio tailored to your needs.The size of your spaceThe size of your room is a critical factor in choosing floorstanding speakers. Larger rooms generally benefit from speakers with more powerful drivers and greater wattage, which can fill the space with dynamic sound. Smaller rooms, however, may experience distortion or muddiness if the speakers are too powerful for the space. Compact towers or models designed for near-field listening are better suited for cozier setups. Additionally, consider placementensure you have enough floor space and that the speakers can maintain adequate distance from walls for optimal sound performance.How much bass?If you love hip-hop or EDM, or you crave action-packed movies, big bass is probably your jam, so look for speakers with larger woofers and/or integrated subwoofers. Some models, such as the Definitive Technology DM70 and GoldenEar T66 profiled above, include features like passive radiators to enhance bass clarity. If you prefer a more balanced sound or have neighbors to consider, opt for speakers that offer controlled, precise bass rather than overwhelming power. You can always add a standalone subwoofer later if you crave extra depth.Build quality and designFloorstanding speakers are not just about soundtheyre a visual centerpiece in your room. Consider models with high-quality materials and finishes that complement your decor. Rigid enclosures minimize vibration for cleaner sound, while details like magnetic grilles or premium wood veneers can elevate aesthetic appeal. Consider durability if you have kids or pets.Budget and valueFloorstanding speakers are an investment. With models available at a wide range of price points, its important to set a budget and stick to it. While more expensive speakers tend to come with higher-quality components and advanced technologies, there are plenty of midrange models that deliver exceptional value. Consider your long-term needs and whether additional features, like built-in amplification or room correction, justify a higher price.FAQsQ: Do I need an amplifier for floorstanding speakers? Most floorstanding speakers are passive, meaning they require an external amplifier or AV receiver to function. (The amplifier powers the speakers and processes the audio signal.) Be sure to match passive speakers with an amplifier that offers adequate wattage and impedance for optimal performance. If youre using powered (or active) speakers, such as the KEF LS60 Wireless, above, the amplifier is built-in, so you can connect them directly to your audio source without additional equipment. Q: Do floorstanding speakers need spikes? Spikes, or spike feet, can improve the stability and performance of floorstanding speakers, especially on carpeted floors. They reduce points of contact between the speakers and floor, which isolates speaker vibrations, minimizing unwanted resonances and improving bass control and overall clarity. Spikes are generally the best solution for carpeted floors, because they ensure floor contact and speaker stability even with a high pile. While not mandatory, spikes or other isolation accessories (were partial to IsoAcoustics products) are a worthwhile investment if youre looking to optimize sound quality, particularly in high-end audio setups. Q: How do you break in floorstanding speakers? The concept of speaker break-in divides audiophiles, with some viewing it as a myth, and others arguing its critical for optimal performance. Heres the deal: When you first start using new floorstanding speakers, components like the spider and surround (parts that allow the cone to move) may seem stiff. Playing music over time can help these parts loosen slightly, potentially improving bass response, tonal balance, and overall clarity. However, the difference is usually subtle, and some experts suggest the perceived improvement may be more about your ears adjusting to the sound than any physical changes in the speakers.If you want to break in your speakers, simply play musicpreferably something with a wide dynamic range and a mix of deep bass and crisp highsat a moderate to slightly loud volume for about 2040 hours, no special tracks or settings are required. The most important thing is to enjoy your speakers right out of the boxtheyre designed to sound great from day one. Final thoughts on the best floorstanding speakers for youBest overall design: Polk Legend L800Best powered: KEF LS60 WirelessBest value: Definitive Technology Dymension DM70Best bass: GoldenEar T66Best for compact spaces: Bowers & Wilkins 704 S3Best budget: JBL Stage 2 L280FGreat floorstanding speakers do more than play soundthey create experiences. With stunning clarity and cinematic bass in sleek designs, these systems turn every song, movie, or game into a moment to savor. Whether you crave deep, thunderous lows, crystal-clear detail, sleek design, or a perfect blend of all three, theres a model here to meet your needs. So choose confidently, knowing youre moving in speakers that will move you.

A bronze statue of a standing dragon that breathes actual fire. It was created by Polish sculptor Bronislaw Chromy and is at the foot of Wawel Castle in Krakow, Poland. The sculpture is one one of Krakow's most recognizable symbols. Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesShareA famous dragon sculpture that spits out real fire is going to be a little less dramatic this month. The Wawel Dragonor Smok Wawelskiin Krakow, Poland will have to hold its fiery breath so that authorities can see why it has been guzzling too much fuel lately.Krzysztof Wojdowski, spokesman for Krakows road infrastructure office, told the Associated Press that officials will inspect the gas lines and pipes that feed the19-feet metal dragon to look for ways to reduce energy bills. The sculpture is expected to begin to breathe fire again by March, pending the investigation. Get the Popular Science newsletter Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. By signing up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.The dragon sculpture at the foot of the Wawal Castle in the southern historic city attracts millions of visitors every year. Flames shoot out from its snout every three to five minutes using a natural gas nozzle in its mouth. It was created by Polish sculptor Bronislaw Chromy during the 1960s and officially installed in 1972.A metal dragon statue in front of the Wawel Castle (UNESCO World Heritage Site) in Krakow, Poland. CREDIT: Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images. It is inspired by the ancient tale of the Wawel Dragon. The beast lived in a den under Wawel Hill and terrorized the residents of King Kraks citycurrent day Krakow. Some tales say that the beast fed on cattle, while others say it only ate young virgins. No knight was able to vanquish the beast with force, but then a young shoemaker named Skuba outsmarted the dragon. Skuba took a rams hide and loaded it with sulfur and pitch. He placed the ram hide in front of the dragons den as bait. The dragon ate the hide and immediately felt a shooting pain and burning in the throat. In order to quench this burning thirst, the dragon drank from the nearby Vistula River. Depending on who is telling the story, the dragon either drank so much water that it burst from fullness or the gasses produced by a mix of water and sulfur caused the dragon to explode. Either way, the beast was vanquished and the townfoldand very brave shoemakerrejoiced.[ Related: Could dragons be real? Not in the way we think. ]The fire-breathing sculpture now stands at the foot of Wawel, near the dragons former den. Visitors can now explore into this dark cave that leads down from Wawel Hill to the banks of the Vistula River.To see another sculpture with a fire element, you can visit Herning, Denmarks Elia. The spherical metal dome sculpture created by Ingvar Cronhammar will occasionally spout fire from a center column.

Sierra Space has passed yet another major benchmarkone that didnt involve inflating (and subsequently popping) space station module models. According to the startups January 29 update, the companys retro-futuristic spaceplane, Dream Chaser, recently demonstrated the ability to handle critical payloads destined for the International Space Station. Beyond the ISS, Sierra Spaces Dream Chaser Cargo System (DCCS) may also serve future orbital installations in similar capacities.Milestones like Sierra Spaces Joint Test 10B are needed to confirm Dream Chasers ability to handle specialized payloads such as vital scientific research, Pablo Gonzalez, Sierra Space Vice President of Crew and Cargo Transportation Systems, said in a statement earlier this week.Dream Chaser may arrive at the ISS as early as May. Credit: Sierra Space Last months test required coordination across multiple locations. While Dream Chaser itself was located at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, control rooms also participated in the exercise at Sierra Space in Louisville, CO, and the Marshall Spaceflight Center in Huntsville, AL. During the test, Dream Chaser demonstrated the ability to exchange data between multiple payloads inside the pressurized cabin, air-cool capabilities, and the need to consistently maintain in-cabin power.Joint Test 10B focused on three payloads, all of which are potentially slated to be aboard DCC-1, Dream Chasers first official ISS mission currently scheduled to launch no earlier than May. The first cargo, a cryogenic preservation system designed by researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, will store scientific samples at temperatures anywhere between -95 and 10 degrees Celsius (-130 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit). The Powered Ascent Utility Locker (PAUL) from Sierra Space collaborator, Space Tango, is intended to hold a pair of CubeLab experiments requiring power during Dream Chasers ascent to the ISS. Finally, NASAs Single Stowage Locker is a standard compartment system frequently used to transport experiments and other materials to and from the ISS.[ Related: Watch a giant, inflatable space station prototype explode during its intentional ultimate burst ]Dream Chasers design is noticeably different from current reusable payload systems like the SpaceX Dragon or Northrop Grumman Cygnus capsules. Instead of parachute reentry systems, Dream Chaser is much more like a NASA space shuttle, and returns to Earth through a runway landing. The aesthetic callbacks arent an accident, either. As New Atlas noted on January 30th, Dream Chaser is based largely on the HL-20 Personnel Launch System, a spaceplane concept first developed by NASA in the 1980s. The HL-20 itself is descended from the US Air Forces X-20 Dyna-Soar spaceplane originally meant for missions during the 1960s.An earlier iteration of Dream Chaser was originally in the running for NASAs astronaut transport contracts, but lost out to SpaceX and Boeing. Sierra Space has since retooled the spaceplane, removing the passenger section and installing an expendable cargo module capable of ferrying 11,000 lbs of pressurized cargo along with 1,100 lbs of unpressurized cargo into orbit. During its return flights, the Dream Chaser Cargo System (DCCS) can also handle 3,860 lbs of cargo.Dream Chasers first transport mission is at least a few months out, but as Gonzalez explained this week, tests like these brings us another step closer to launch.The post Curvy spaceplane is one step closer to its ISS rendezvous appeared first on Popular Science.

February 1 through 9The Planet Parade ContinuesFebruary 8 and 9Alpha Centaurids Meteor Shower Predicted PeakFebruary 12Full Snow MoonFebruary 16Venus Reaches Peak Brightness of 2025Were in the depths of winter in the Northern Hemisphere. If you can force yourself out from the covers and into the cold, dark night, therell be plenty to see in the night skycloud cover permitting. Here are some of this months highlights.February 1 through 9: The Planet Parade ContinuesAs we discussed last month, late January and early February will provide a stage for a Planet Parade, with six planets lining up in the night sky. On February 1, we should see the crescent moon in close proximity to Venus for the second-last time this year. The last time will be March 1. On February 5, the moon will be awfully close to Uranus, although youll need a telescope to see it. By February 6, the moon will be directly above Jupiter. And finally, on February 9, its Mars turn to appear closest to the moon. You can consult the Farmers Almanac for the details on the ins and outs of the 2025 Planet Parade.February 8 and 9: Alpha Centaurids Meteor Shower Predicted PeakFebruary is a pretty subdued month as far as meteor showers go. However, If you happen to be in the Southern Hemisphere, theres one shower that reaches peak brightness this month: the Alpha Centaurids. Sadly, they wont be as bright this year as in other years, as their peak brightness on February 8 will coincide with the waning moon, but at least theyll be there.February 12: Full Snow MoonFebruarys full moon is known as the Snow Moon, for fairly obvious reasons. The name comes from the Naudowessie tribe of North Dakota, but similar names are found amongst many other Native American languages. These include the Deep Snow Moon (Mahican), Midwinter Moon (Oneida), Hungry Month (Cherokee), When the Bear Cubs are Born Moon (Anishinaabemowin), and the somewhat more optimistic First Flower Moon (Catawba).The moon will be at its brightest at 8:53 a.m. EST on February 12, but itll be below the horizon.Its brightest visible appearances will be the night before or a little later in the day on the 12th. To calculate exactly when the moon will be at its brightest near you, consult the Farmers Almanacs moonrise calculator.February 16: Venus Reaches Peak Brightness of2025Venus! It might be a stifling hellscape up close, but its awfully pretty in the night sky. Therell be no better time to see it this year than on February 16weather permitting. That night,. Venus will be the brightest it will be in 2025, with a stunning magnitude of 4.6. It should be the brightest object in the sky apart from the moon.The usual sky gazing rules are key this month: Go to a dark spot away from the lights of a city or town and let your eyes adjust to the darkness for about a half an hour.The post February stargazing: Planet parade continues and Venus shines appeared first on Popular Science.

Stack CommerceShareWe may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn more So you want to learn German. Are you going to watch a bunch of YouTube videos and try to brute force your way to fluency?Learning a programming language like Python is a little different from trying to speak a new language, but learning it on your own is still a major challenge. Thats why its useful to check out resources like the Complete Python Certification Boot Camp. This 12-course meal of knowledge is a beginner-friendly way to learn Python, and its on sale for $19.99.Hands-on projects for Python beginnersWhere do you want to start? If youre a total beginner, theres a Python foundations course that breaks down the basics. If you want a more hands-on introduction, switch over to Python Turtle to learn how to use basic commands and use code to draw.Once youve got the basics down, you can focus more on the type of programming you want to do. If you want to work in AI, check out the course on Deep Learning. That one even has you build 15 different projects from scratch.Want to program your own tech? Theres a course all about programming Raspberry Pi to run a security camera.If you need to learn Python for a job, then definitely take a look at the PCEP prep course. Thats where youll study for the certification exams employers will be looking for.Every course is led by professional developers, so you arent learning on your own.All thats left is to get started.Its only $19.99 to enroll in the 2025 Complete Python Certification Boot Camp Bundle.StackSocial prices subject to change.The 2025 Complete Python Certification Boot Camp Bundle $19.99See Deal

Stack CommerceShareWe may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn more If youre a developer or programmer, youve probably heard of Visual Studio. Its the gold standard for development environments, loved by seasoned coders and beginners alike. Now, you can get Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022 for Windows at its lowest price everjust $27.97 (reg. $499).Whether youre coding for web, mobile, or desktop platforms, this robust IDE will transform how you build, debug, and collaborate on projects.What sets Visual Studio 2022 apart? First, its the first 64-bit IDE, meaning you can handle even the most complex workloads without performance hiccups. Tackling large projects? Youre covered. Building cross-platform apps? Thanks to tools like .NET MAUI and Blazor, its never been easier.The platform also includes IntelliCode, an AI-powered assistant that anticipates your next move, helping you code faster and smarter. For teams, Visual Studios collaboration tools like Live Share ensure seamless real-time teamwork. Share your project in a secure environment, edit code with your team, and debug togetherno matter where you are.And with CodeLens, youll always have insights at your fingertips. Youll be able to do helpful things like see commit history, track authors, and make informed decisions without leaving your editor.This productivity powerhouse is designed to simplify complex workflows. At a fraction of the original price, this is your chance to level up your coding game without making much of a dent in your wallet.Whether youre a student building your first app, a freelance developer managing client projects, or part of a professional team, Visual Studio Professional 2022 has the features you need to succeed.If youve been on the fence about trying it out, nows the best time to do it.Get Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022 while its just $27.97 (reg. $499) through Feb. 16 at 11:59 p.m. PT.StackSocial prices subject to change.Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022 for Windows $27.97Get It Here

Only about 10 to 20 percent of people can wiggle their ears. Deposit PhotosShareOur distant ancestors had several body parts that have become fairly useless over the course of evolutionour wisdom teeth, the tails that are present during the sixth week of gestation, and the auricular muscles in our ears. The auricular muscles helped change the shape of the shellor pinnaof the ear and helped humans living millions of years ago listen closely. They are still used by roughly 10 to 20 percent of people with the fun ability to wiggle their ears.However, these vestigial muscles might be used more than scientists once believed.study published January 31 in the journal Frontiers in Neuroscience. Get the Popular Science newsletter Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. By signing up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.There are three large muscles which connect the auricle to the skull and scalp and are important for ear wiggling, Andreas Schreer, a study co-author and neuroscientist from Saarland University in Germany, said in a statement. These muscles, particularly the superior auricular muscle, exhibit increased activity during effortful listening tasks. This suggests that these muscles are engaged not merely as a reflex but potentially as part of an attentional effort mechanism, especially in challenging auditory environments.Sounds vying for attentionThis new study used a technique called electromyography to try to determine how hard a person is listening without asking individuals to report it. Electromyography measures the electrical activity in a muscle and can help scientists pinpoint activity in the auricular muscles that is already linked to listening closely. Similar research found the largest musclesposterior and superior auricular musclesreact during attentive listening. These muscles pull the ears up and back and scientists believe that they have historically been involved in moving the pinna in order to capture sounds.The exact reason these became vestigial is difficult to tell, as our ancestors lost this ability about 25 million years ago, Schreer said. One possible explanation could be that the evolutionary pressure to move the ears ceased because we became much more proficient with our visual and vocal systems.To see if these muscles are more active during more difficult listening tasks, the team studied 20 people without any documented hearing problems. They first put electrodes on the participants auricular muscles. Then, they played an audiobook and some distracting podcasts from speakers positioned in front of or behind the listeners. All 20 participants underwent 12 five-minute trials, covering three different levels of difficulty.[ Related: Yes, humans are still evolving. ]During easy mode, the podcast was quieter than the audiobook, while the speakers voice was a stronger contrast to the audiobook. In the medium and difficult modes, the researchers added a podcast that sounded more like the audiobook and made the distractors louder. However, they had to make even the most difficult situations achievable because if the participants gave up, a physiological effort would not register on the machines.The team then asked the study participants to rate their effort levels and to estimate how often they lost what was going on during the audiobook in each trial. Participants were also quizzed on the material in the audiobook.Just trying its bestThe team found that two auricular muscles reacted differently to the various conditions. The posterior auricular muscles reacted to changes in direction. By comparison, the superior auricular muscles reacted to the difficulty level of the task. The participants self-reported measures of how hard it was to listen and how often they lost track of the audiobook also increased in line with the difficulty of the task. The accuracy of their responses to questions about the audiobook also dropped significantly between the medium and the difficult mode.According to the authors, this correlated with the superior auricular muscles activity levels. These muscles did not activate more during the medium mode than they did during the easy mode, but were very active during the difficult mode. This suggests that the activity of these muscles could provide an objective measure of listening effort. However, it remains unclear if the muscle activity actually helps people hear better.The ear movements that could be generated by the signals we have recorded are so minuscule that there is probably no perceivable benefit, said Schreer. However, the auricle itself does contribute to our ability to localize sounds. So, our auriculomotor system probably tries its best after being vestigial for 25 million years, but does not achieve much.Additional research is necessary to confirm the results and develop any practical applications. Like many hearing studies, the sample size was relatively small and made up of younger individuals without hearing problems. Larger and more diverse participant groups tested in more real-world conditions are needed in order to confidently say that these muscles are doing more than just sitting in our ears.Investigating the possible effects of muscle strain itself or the ears miniscule movements on the transmission of sound is something we want to do in the future, said Schrer. The effect of these factors in people with hearing impairments would also be interesting to investigate.

Constantly scratching and picking at an itchy rash really does make it worse. But why? According to newly released research using mice as a model, scratching aggravates inflammation and swelling in a type of eczema called allergic contact dermatitis. The findings are detailed in a study published January 30 in the journal Science.Allergic contact dermatitisalso called contact dermatitisis an allergic reaction to various skin irritants and allergens. Common triggers include poison ivy, metals commonly found in jewelry like nickel, and ingredients in cosmetics or laundry detergent.While the signs and symptoms vary based on the allergen and individual, common symptoms of contact dermatitis include an itchy rash, leathery patches on the skin that are darker than usual, dry or cracked skin, bumps or blisters, swelling, burning, and tenderness. Get the Popular Science newsletter Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. By signing up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.The urge to scratch these rashes can sometimes be irresistible, despite the fact that it can worsen symptoms and slow down healing time.Scratching is often pleasurable, which suggests that, in order to have evolved, this behavior must provide some kind of benefit, Dr. Daniel Kapan, a study co-author and dermatologist at the University of Pittsburgh said in a statement. Our study helps resolve this paradox by providing evidence that scratching also provides defense against bacterial skin infections.Mice in a cone of shameTo see what is driving this vicious cycle, the authors used itch-inducing allergens to induce eczema-like symptoms on the ears of two groups of mice. They used standard mice and a group that do not have the sensation to itch because they lack an itch-sensing neuron.When the normal mice were allowed to scratch, the team saw that their ears became swollen. Their ears also filled with inflammatory immune cells called neutrophils. By comparison, the inflammation and swelling appeared to be milder in the mice that lacked the itch-sensing neuron and normal mice that physically couldnt scratch because they were wearing tiny collars. These Elizabethan collars are similar to the cone that a dog might wear after a veterinary procedure. According to the authors, this experiment confirms that scratching further aggravates the skin.The team also found that scratching causes pain-sensing neurons to release a compound called substance P. The compound then activates mast cells. These are the key coordinators of inflammation that drive itchiness and inflammation in the skin.In contact dermatitis, mast cells are directly activated by allergens, which drives minor inflammation and itchiness, said Kaplan. In response to scratching, the release of substance P activates mast cells through a second pathway, so the reason that scratching triggers more inflammation in the skin is because mast cells have been synergistically activated through two pathways.[ Related: These are the most common allergies (and the deadliest). ]Why mast cells are importantWhile mast cells are involved in a wide range of inflammatory skin conditions and allergic reactions, theyre important for protecting the skin against bacteria and other pathogens. The team were curious if scratching-induced activation of mast cells possibly affects the skin microbiome. A second experiment revealed that scratching reduced the amount of Staphylococcus aureus on the skin. This is the most common bacteria involved in skin infections.The finding that scratching improves defense against Staphylococcus aureus suggests that it could be beneficial in some contexts, said Kaplan. But the damage that scratching does to the skin probably outweighs this benefit when itching is chronic.The team is now investigating new therapies for dermatitis that suppress inflammation by targeting receptors on mast cells. These treatments could potentially be used in several inflammatory skin conditions including rosacea and urticaria.

A recently discovered, sizable asteroid may come within striking distance of Earth in less than eight years. But although the rock is potentially even larger than the one believed responsible for the historic Tunguska event in 1908, the odds are currently in humanitys favor.On December 27, 2024, the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) telescope in Rio Hurtado, Chile, detected a hunk of space rock approximately 828,800 kilometers (515,000 miles) from Earth. Astronomers confirmed the object as a near-Earth asteroid, and catalogued it as 2024 YR4. But additional calculations soon raised red flagsits estimated 130-328 feet diameter and potential orbital path meant that, for the first time ever, an asteroid met the requirements to trigger the two UN-endorsed global planetary defense groups, the International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN) and the Space Mission Planning Advisory Group (SMPAG).Once initiated, the organizations leverage every available research telescope around the world to train their lenses on the object and gather as much data as possible. 2024 YR4 is now speeding away from Earth, but astronomers gleaned enough information to estimate when it might return. Based on the available calculations, the asteroid will again near the planet on December 22nd, 2032. And when it does, theres an approximately 1.3 percent chance it will hit us.Asteroid 2024 YR4 has an almost 99 percent chance of safely passing Earth on 22 December 2032, the European Space Agency said in its announcement on January 29, while still cautioning that a possible impact cannot yet be entirely ruled out.Any percentage indicating an asteroid strike might cause some people to worry, but as it stands, the odds remain incredibly slim. Putting it another way might offer further assurance against space-induced catastrophe: While 2024 YR 4 currently checks all the boxes for Level 3 on the Torino Impact Hazard Scale, the asteroid warning systems definition makes it clear that such objects will most likely be reclassified down to 0 pending additional telescopic observations.Astronomers may only have a limited window to gather more information, however. The ESA noted on Wednesday that 2024 YR4s elongated path around the Sun currently has it moving away from Earth in nearly a straight line, making it hard to learn its orbit. Experts likely have a few months before the asteroid begins fading from view. Until then, international agencies will continue coordinating their telescopes to observe 2024 YR4. This includes employing the European Southern Observatorys Very Large Telescope in Chile. Astronomers also estimate the asteroid will become observable once again in 2028, allowing for further analysis.While 2024 YR4 appears unlikely to hit Earth, such events do happen every few thousand years. When they do, the damage is impressive. The Tunguska event, for example, is believed to have occurred after a roughly 130-feet-wide asteroid exploded over Siberia in 1908. Over 800-square-miles of forest was flattened by the resulting force, or over twice the area of New York City. If 2024 YR4 ends up topping out at astronomers maxiumum 328-feet-wide estimate, the fallout could be even worse.Available information doesnt narrow down a potential strike zone much, but that will also likely change as more data is collected. Regardless, based on what the experts already know, theres no real reason to start digging your asteroid bunker. And if those predictions are revised for the worse, theres already plenty of agencies readying plans to knock problematic space rocks out of Earths path.The post Agencies plan for near-Earth asteroids close encounter in 2032 appeared first on Popular Science.

This is the best time of year to buy a new TV. All of last years awesome models are on sale so retailers can start stocking the new versions that debuted at the Consumer Electronics Show held every year in January. That translates into big deals on TVs that will still arrive before the big football game happening in February. Right now, Samsung has dropped the price of its most popular TVs by hundreds of dollars (and sometimes more than $1,000).85 Class Samsung Neo QLED 4K QNX1D $1,749 (was $3,999)SamsungSee ItIf youre going to get a new TV, it might as well be huge and impressive. This is a super-bright Neo QLED 4K display with just about every feature you could ask for. You get current-gen HDMI 2.1 ports, a 120Hz refresh rate, gaming mode for low latency, and native access to any streaming app you could want. This is a TV you can put on the wall and enjoy for a decade. It also comes in smaller (cheaper) sizes below:55 Class Samsung Neo QLED 4K QNX1D $849 (was $1,799)65 Class Samsung Neo QLED 4K QNX1D $1,149 (was $2,199)75 Class Samsung Neo QLED 4K QNX1D $1,699 (was $2,999)65 Class The Frame QLED 4K LS03D $1,299 (was $1,999)SamsungSee ItIf you dont want a massive black void in your room when youre not streaming content, then the Frame TV is a great option. In art mode, it displays famous works of art or your own personal images. The matte screen does a phenomenal job of avoiding glare, so it looks like a real painting is hanging in your room. You can even swap out the trim to match your space perfectly.43 Class The Frame QLED 4K LS03D $799 (was $999)50 Class The Frame QLED 4K LS03D $849 (was $1,299)55 Class The Frame QLED 4K LS03D $899 (was $1,499)75 Class The Frame QLED 4K LS03D $1,799 (was $2,999)85 Class The Frame QLED 4K LS03D $2,999 (was $4,299)The Freestyle Projector 2nd Gen with Gaming Hub $599 (was $799)SamsungSee ItIf you want more flexibility than a TV can provide, check out this stand-alone projector thats on sale for $200 off right now. It automatically adjusts to give you the best picture without distortion. It has built-in gaming tech so you can connect a controller directly to it and play streamed games on a huge screen. It can throw up to a 100-inch image onto the wall, so it provides a bigger picture than most TVs for less money.The post Samsung just dropped the prices on its most popular TVs before the big football game were not allowed to name appeared first on Popular Science.

Future versions of this thermogalvanic refrigerator prototype could find their way into wearables devices and data centers. Credit: Yilin ZengShareThe recent explosion in energy-intensive artificial intelligence projects presents (many) problems, including how to keep them cool. The data centers needed to run them produce massive amounts of heat, and require substantial A/C systems to maintain them at functional temperatures. Vapor compression refrigerationthe method still most often found in cars, buildings, and factoriesis commonly used to meet these cooling demands. But vapor compression still frequently relies on environmentally harmful chemical refrigerants.While there are a number of promising, recent advancements in refrigeration, thermogalvanic cells have not really been seriously considered. If anything, the methods underlying principles are much better suited for heating than cooling. In thermogalvanic cells, heat produced by reversible electrochemical reactions is employed to generate electrical power by leveraging the entropy transport from a high temperature source to a lower temperature sink. While reverse thermogalvanic systems are feasible, experts long believed the option was simply too cost-ineffective and weak to justify its use.But thanks to some recent chemical alterations, researchers believe thermogalvanic refrigeration isnt just possibleit could find its way into everything from small, wearable cooling gadgets, to household A/C, to those massive AI data centers. The advances are detailed in a study published on January 30th in the journal, Joule, from a team at Chinas Huazhong University of Science and Technology.While previous studies mostly focus on original system design and numerical simulation, we report a rational and universal design strategy of thermogalvanic electrolytes, enabling a record-high cooling performance that is potentially available for practical application, Jiangjian Duan, the studys senior author, said in a statement on Thursday.Existing thermogalvanic cells rely on what are known as electrochemical redox reactions using dissolved iron ions. In the first step, iron ions lose an electron and absorb heat in the process. From there, they later gain another electron to subsequently release heat. As the first reactions power cools its surrounding electrolyte solution, a heat sink removes the accompanying warmth. Get the Popular Science newsletter Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. By signing up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.Duans team, however, opted for an electrochemical solution that uses hydrated iron salt containing perchlorate. Doing so allows the iron ions to better dissolve and dissociatewhen dissolved in a nitrile-infused solvent instead of simply water, the teams cell cooling power improved by around 70 percent. Past studies have achieved a thermogalvanic cooling factor of around 0.1 K (32.18 F), but Duans iteration allowed for a cooling factor of about 1.42 K (34.55 F). A couple degrees Fahrenheit might not seem like a lot in the grander scheme of things, but given the cost efficiency and scalability, the improvement represents a promising leap in thermogalvanic cooling potential.Though our advanced electrolyte is commercially viable, further efforts in the system-level design, scalability, and stability are required to promote the practical application of this technology, Duan said.Moving forward, the team intends to introduce new physical designs and advanced materials to improve overall cooling potential. They are also planning to begin work on functional refrigerator prototypes for actual use in manufacturing centerspotentially even those problematic AI data centers.

Image: LEGOShareWe may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn more Roses are red, violets are blue, your flowers will die, so LEGO bouquets are a great buy. Dont write that in a Valentines Day card, but do consider swapping your usual floral arrangement for the LEGO Icons Flower Bouquet Building Set, now 20 percent off on Amazon. Sure, some people might argue that LEGO flowers are less romantic than a dozen fresh-cut roses, but those people forget that wilted, crusty week-old flowers are a bummer. Flowers made of tiny plastic bricks maintain their vibrant color and require zero water changes.LEGO Icons Flower Bouquet Building SetA bouquet of LEGO flowers works when its not Valentines Day too. I stayed at an apartment in Paris last summer that was filled with LEGO bouquetsthey were colorful, playful, and brought beaucoup joy to the flat. This set contains 756 pieces and stands over 14 inches tall when assembled. Order some takeout, put on a romantic movie, and put together some Legos. Sounds like a perfect date to me. More LEGO flowers deals: LEGO Botanicals Artificial Wildflower Bouquet $48 (was $60)LEGO Botanicals Bouquet of Roses Artificial Flowers $48 (was $60)LEGO Icons Plum Blossom Building Sets $24 (was $30)LEGO Botanicals Orchid $30 (was $40)LEGO Botanicals Tiny Plants $40 (was $50)

Stack CommerceShareWe may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn more Who needs a window to the wild when you can have a front-row seat to birdwatching right from your phone? With this high-tech smart birdfeeder, you can enjoy crystal-clear 2.5K footage of your feathered visitors without ever stepping outside, and its 36% off this week.The future of backyard birdwatchingEquipped with a 3MP camera, this smart bird feeder delivers stunning high-definition video that lets you get up-close and personal with your avian guests, whether day or nightthanks to built-in night vision. The AI-powered bird recognition feature acts as your personal bird guide, identifying species effortlesslyno more awkward Google image searches. And if a squirrel dares to invade, the built-in siren sends them running, keeping your bird seed safe from their tiny hands.A dream of springAs spring approaches and your favorite feathered friends return from migration, this smart feeder will be ready to capture all the action. Solar-powered and eco-friendly, it can be mounted on a pole, hoop, or wall to fit your outdoor space. And if youve had a series of cloudy days and the solar power isnt enough, you can always charge it directlyno excuses to miss out on birdwatching! Store your videos either on an SD card (16GB-128GB) or opt for cloud storage to keep your birdwatching moments accessible.Pro tipDont overfill the feeder. While its tempting to load it up with seed, too much can spill out and create a mess, especially since the small mounting hole at the back cant handle an overflow. Plus, stale seeds can harm your birds and spread diseases, so its best to keep things fresh and controlled.Dont miss outget the solar-powered smart bird feeder now for $94.99 (Reg. $149) before the swallows return to Capistrano.StackSocial prices subject to change.BirdHi Mag Metal Solar Powered Smart Bird Feeder with Camera $94.99See Deal

In the year 2024, nobody in New York City died of cholera. But from the 1830s to 1850s, New York Citys mortality rate doubled amid a string of local cholera epidemics.Cholera can cause diarrhea so severe and dehydrating that it proves fatal within hours. An infected person might lose a quart of fluid and critical minerals from their body every 60 minutes, until the resulting electrolyte imbalance leads to shock, kidney failure, coma, and death. In the 19th century, back-to-back-to-back cholera pandemics wracked the globe. People became ill en masse, especially in cities, dying miserable deaths by the thousands.Yet in the present, there hasnt been an outbreak of the bacterial disease in the United States since 1911. Other diseases like typhus have also all but disappeared.Targeted infrastructure projects and policies explain why. Both cholera and typhus spread through water and food, which can be contaminated by feces particles from infected people and animals. By tackling the sanitation crisis that contributed to the disease, New York dramatically cut case numbers. The city constructed and then repeatedly expanded a reservoir and aqueduct system to store and transport fresh drinking water from upstate. Seventy miles of sewers were laid in New York between 1850 and 1855, keeping untreated waste out of the street. Lawmakers restricted livestock in tenements and ordered manure to be cleaned up from yards and vacant lots. In the years 1880 to 1920, we literally transformed the health environment, says David Rosner, a professor of history and public health at Columbia University, and author of the book, Building the Worlds That Kill Us. By the 1920s, we already began to notice that the infectious diseases of the 19th century were waningthat infections were suddenly fading away, he says, in a shining example of the value of public health interventions. We take it for granted today, he adds.Public health encompasses any and all actions at the societal and governmental level to ensure community health and safety. It is focused on preventing sickness and harm before it happens. Everything from seat belts, drivers licenses, laws against drunk driving, vehicle design, and urban planning to municipal water testing and treatment, hand washing, flush toilets, and food recalls fall under public healths vast umbrella, says Georges Benjamin, a physician, career public health official, and executive director of the American Public Health Association.But theres a difficulty inherent in public health: when its operating well, its invisible. What public health does is very silent. Were behind the scenes. When we do our best work, nothing happens, Benjamin tells Popular Science. Most interventions go unnoticed and unappreciated.In lieu of awareness, doubt and insidious propaganda can seep in. Opposition to public health interventions isnt new. For every policy and technologytheres always been a hypervocal contingent against the advance. But in recent yearsand especially in the aftermath of Covid-19 lockdowns and restrictionsmany long-standing efforts have come under strengthened political attack in the U.S.. Vaccination, dairy pasteurization, and water fluoridation are all facing renewed scrutiny, largely as the result of mis- and disinformation. Trust in science and health officials has declined. So have childhood vaccination ratesfalling from 95% among kindergarten children pre-pandemic, to 93% between 2023 and 2024, according to data from the CDC.Popular Science spoke with three public health experts to better understand why. They explained how they think about the work of public health, and debunked some of the most commonly held misconceptions they encounter about their field. As the start of the new presidential administration brings chaos and uncertainty to public programs and health institutions, heres what the experts want you to know.Public health doesnt eliminate risk. It reduces it.The flu vaccine does not guarantee that you wont get sick with the flu. Water treatment infrastructure does not eliminate all water borne illness. A buckled seat belt and airbags dont prevent all traffic collision deaths. Public health interventions cannot and do not eliminate all risk, says Rupali Limaye, an associate professor of global and community health at George Mason University.The goal of public health for most of these interventions is to reduce risk and severity, says Limaye. Ideally, people should not expect absolute protection, and should not interpret breakthrough infections or accidents as evidence of failure, but rather know that public health works to minimize the chances of the worst outcomes.The flu vaccine and most other vaccines lower your individual risk of infection, severe disease, hospitalization, and death. It also helps reduce risk for your close contacts and loved ones who may be vulnerable to disease complications. The more people get vaccinated, the more risk falls for the population as a whole, because diseases encounter more dead ends and infections spread less readily.Often, there is a small risk associated with an intervention itself. Seatbelts, for instance, can increase the risk of a clavicle fracture in the event of a collision. But at the same time, they prevent more serious injuries and save thousands of lives each year. The risk vs. reward is assessed through careful tests with crash test dummies, and long-term data collection and analysis.The same is true of vaccines, which carry the potential for side effects. Vaccines, as with all pharmaceuticals, go through years of safety and efficacy testing. This includes multiple animal and human research trials, each overseen by an independent Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DMSB) made up of scientists and health experts who arent affiliated with the trial or the company conducting it. Then, the Food and Drug Administration conducts a separate regulatory review before any vaccine can be approved. In all of this, the benefits have to far outweigh any risks before a vaccine moves on to the next step, says Limaye. Were usually talking decades of work, she adds.In extreme instances, vaccine approval can move more quickly, as in 2021 when the first Covid-19 vaccines received approval under emergency authorization. But still, Limaye says years and years of work had gone into studying mRNA vaccines preceding the pandemic, there were still independent review boards, and there was continual data evaluation throughout to track outcomes and update guidelines about who should be vaccinated. Public health is a balancing act between risk and benefit, Limaye says. An intervention isnt generally put into effect unless for the overwhelming majority of people, the benefits outweigh the risks.Science isnt static. Guidelines change with new knowledge.If a public health intervention shifts through time or a guideline changes, its not because the experts in charge are untrustworthy or trying to trick you. Facts are facts, but science is an evolving process of evaluating and re-evaluating what we know, says Benjamin.You probably remember that, during the Covid-19 pandemic, the guidelines around masks changed. Initially, masks werent recommended for most people and the CDC actually urged the public to forgo masks to conserve supplies for healthcare workers. In part, this was based on past knowledge of related viruses, says Benjamin. Covid-19 is caused by SARS-CoV-2, a virus in the SARS family. In prior SARS virus outbreaks, most people were not infectious until they were symptomatic. With SARS-CoV-2, that changed. As a growing body of research supported that asymptomatic people could spread Covid-19, and that the virus was airborne, the CDC began recommending masks. Get the Popular Science newsletter Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. By signing up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.It turns out we were wrong, and that does happen. Benjamin says. We were trying to be judicious [and avoid pushback] in our initial recommendations, but I dont think we explained the change adequately.If a public health agency changes a guidance, it can be easy to assume ineptitudebut it would be more accurate to assume that updated advice means updated information. It almost certainly means someone has worked to understand the problem better.When things go right, they dont go viral.If youre on social media, chances are youve come across someone sharing a negative experience about a vaccine, medication, healthcare provider, or health agency. Dramaticstories of supposed vaccine injury or corrupt systems frequently go viral. But just because you see or hear about it doesnt mean its true and or representative. Sixty-five percent of anti-vaccine misinformation circulating online in 2021 could be traced back to just a dozen social media influencers, according to an analysis from the Center for Countering Digital Hate. Part of what makes their content so shareable is that its shocking and sensational.What you hear about far less often is the status quo. Its hard to sell a story where nothing happened, says Limaye. Its hard to say, I got a vaccine and because of that I didnt deal with an infectious disease, she explains. Yet thats the overwhelming majority of peoples experiences. Im not going to go viral for saying, I got the shot and Im fine, Limaye notes.Public health decisions are based on population-level data. Yet anecdotes and narrative can hold outsized sway over public opinion, particularly on emotionally charged issues. To stay in the game, Limaye believes public health experts will have to get creative, and embrace storytelling. We have a lot to learn. In the meantime, consider thinking about your health and safety the way an epidemiologist or city planner might. A story about an unexpected disease cure or an especially dangerous intersection could be a reason to investigate and collect data but its not a basis for ignoring current advice.Public health is not a power grab or a money maker.The vast majority of pharmaceutical companies are for-profit entities but, compared with other products, vaccines are not the money-making venture they might seem, says Limaye. Vaccines account for a relatively small share of pharma company profits, at less than 10 percent of all sales. Drugs that people have to take on a daily basis, like cholesterol medication, are much bigger sources of profit. The three doses of the vaccine for hepatitis B, which are recommended for children, cost under $100. In comparison, the lifelong treatment for Hepatitis B is thousands of dollars each year. Pharma companies can make a lot more money off of you if youre not vaccinated.Your doctors office might even be losing money through vaccines. A provider has to purchase the vaccine stock, properly store the doses, plus staff an office. The reimbursement insurers offer for administering a vaccine is usually not enough to offset those costs. Nearly a quarter of family medicine doctors reported no longer purchasing vaccines because of financial concerns, according to a 2017 study in the journal Academic Pediatrics.As a rule, public health measures are far cheaper for you than the alternative of getting sick or injured and having to pay for treatment after the fact. If we still routinely became sick from our water supply, wed be collectively spending much more on healthcare. If we didnt have traffic lights or drunk driving restrictions, you can bet that emergency services would be a far bigger business.In contrast, people who build careers out of railing against public health measures often do have a financial incentive. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., for instance, is poised to make money off of vaccine injury lawsuits that hes maintaining a financial stake ineven as he faces confirmation to lead Health and Human Services and regulate the makers of those vaccines.Aside from money, some can get caught up believing that public health is about control and power. And its true that abiding by public health guidelines and policies can involve sacrificing a degree of personal freedom for community safety and benefit. You can face criminal charges for driving while intoxicated or penalties for driving without a license, for instance. Theres a trade-off there, says Benjamin. But those laws are established through a legal process, underpinned by elected legislators. Its a democratic process, he says. Were not evil authoritarians, says Benjamin. Plus most of what we do is by recommendation. Often, people can opt out.Public health workers go into the field, not because theyre going to get rich or get political power, theyre invisible. says Rosner. They went into it because they wanted to help. They want to make a better world.Threats dont disappear. Interventions shouldnt either.Once a public health measure is in place, it can be tempting to assume thatat some pointthe work will be done and the effort can end. But most public health endeavors require continual investment and upkeep.There is no point at which we can stop maintaining our waste water infrastructure and still expect it to protect us from getting sick. A motorcycle helmet can only prevent injury if you keep putting it on your head.Smallpox is the only human disease thats been globally eradicated through a vaccination campaign. It no longer occurs naturally. But every other illness that we have vaccines for is capable of making a resurgence in the U.S.. Just a 5% dip in vaccine uptick could lead to a major measles outbreak. Weve already seen that dynamic play out in pockets across the U.S. in recent years. As vaccine hesitancy has risen, so too have measles cases. A 2019-2020 measles outbreak in Samoa, following the suspension of vaccines, resulted in 83 deaths, mostly of young children. In 2022, the U.S. saw its first evidence of circulating polio in thirty years.If politicians continue to sow doubts about vaccination, or even take steps to restrict vaccine access, then the trend of re-emerging disease will continue. I think were going to see a lot more infectious disease thats going to affect everything from school attendance to sporting events, says Limaye.Ultimately, the outcome of increased disease is increased death. More than 40% of children died before their fifth birthday in the U.S. in 1800. We dont need any sort of natural experiment to demonstrate what happens when public health measures dissolve. Instead, we have centuries of human history to inform what life was like. It involved a lot more deadly diarrhea.

Stack CommerceShareWe may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn more That Duolingo bird is relentless. It was funny at first, but then it started feeling like I was back in school making excuses for my late homework. But its not the birds fault! I just learn more from listening and speaking than from memorization. Thats actually why Ive been looking at Babbel. Babbels lessons are pretty short (10-15 minutes), and you can choose from listening, speaking, writing, or vocabulary exercises. Plus, the price for a lifetime subscription just dropped. Instead of paying $599, now its $129.99.What does Babbel have that Duolingo doesnt?Babbel just dropped its own dedicated AI that can talk to you in the language youre learning. So, instead of just memorizing terms, now you can actually have a conversation. You can practice your pronunciation and listen to the AIs response. Its like talking to a native speaker without the performance anxiety.What language do you want to learn first? Babbel has over 10,000 hours of material to study and 14 different languages to practice. Heres a samplingFrenchSpanishGermanItalianPortugueseSwedishLessons are all geared toward practical topics like asking directions, dining, shopping, making friends, conducting business, and just having normal conversations. That also means you can quickly learn a few useful phrases before you travel, or you can take the long road and work toward fluency. With a lifetime subscription, theres certainly time.You can access Babbel on as many devices as you want. It works on desktop and mobile, and your progress syncs across all your devices.This sale isnt going to last much longer.Use code LEARN40 by February 2 at 11:59 p.m. PT to get a lifetime subscription to Babbel for $129.99.StackSocial prices subject to change.Babbel Language Learning: Lifetime Subscription (All Languages) $129.99See Deal

Most of us will never escape the environmental factors at play.Credit: Westend61 via Getty Images ShareAging is one of the few things every living thing has in common. Humans, in particular, are living longer today than they did in the past. Much of this is due to societal advances such as vaccines, antibiotics, public health infrastructure, sanitation, hygiene, earlier diagnoses, and increased public awareness about health and longevity.Most people wont live to be 100 years old despite these leaps in public health, according to Briana Mezuk, the co-director of the University of Michigans Center for Social Epidemiology and Population Health.Five years after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the average life expectancies in the U.S. have decreased. For Indigenous Americans and Alaska Natives, life expectancy decreased by 6.6 years to 65.2, according to a 2023 analysis of provisional data from the National Center for Health Statistics. Life expectancy decreased by about four years for Black and Hispanic Americans to 70.8 and 77.7 years, respectively. Asian and white Americans saw a drop of roughly 2 years to 83.5 and 76.4 years.Everything has to have a limit. Theres no creature on planet Earth that we know of that doesnt die at some point, said Mezuk. But theres obviously substantial variation in life expectancy and healthy life expectancy, which is in some ways more important than the first question. How long can we live and be able to have the type of psychological, functional, and social life that makes life worth living? What is that life expectancy?Research maintains that the natural limit for human lifespan is about 122 years, based on the fact that the longest-living person died at 122 in 1997, and no one has been known to live longer.Truthfully, no one knows. But it will likely be shorter than the biological maximum that a human could live.And theres a difference between life expectancy and the rate of aging, explained William Mair, the director of the Harvard Chan School Aging Initiative. Many factors influence life expectancy in the United States. As people age, their susceptibility to chronic diseases like heart disease, various cancers, and diabetes increases. For younger folks, accidents, violence, and drug overdoses contribute heavily to early mortality. The life expectancy of all demographics is affected by income, education, access to healthcare, and other socioeconomic and systemic factors. When it comes to race, for example, systemic inequality routinely leads to adverse health outcomes. Even though advances in medicine and technology continue to extend lifespans, these factors, plus broader public health crises, such as the opioid epidemic and COVID-19, have underscored our ability to live longer.The rate at which the body ages, however, refers to the biological speed at which our bodies deteriorate over time due to cellular damage, genetic factors, and environmental influences.People get exposed to things that accumulate in the body, and the accumulation of those things makes it so, at some point, the bodys just not resilient enough to function, said Mezuk. Even if you imagine the person where they just live in a room and theyre locked there, and they never get any environmental exposures, theyll die just through biological processes. But for the rest of us who likely wont spend our lives in a literal bubble, well be exposed to things that alter how well our bodies agelike radiation from the sun or air pollutionsimply because were out and about living life.Some people try to lessen the impact of environmental factors on their lives through life extension fads and biohacking. This includes injecting themselves with NAD+ (an enzyme that promises anti-aging benefits), extreme dietary restrictions, plasma injections, hundreds of supplementsthe list goes on. The most extreme example is venture capitalist Bryan Johnson, who has become infamous for pursuing youth and immortality. The Netflix documentary, Dont Die, explains his journey in depth and, perhaps most interestingly, highlights a compulsive need to govern how long he can live.His means may be extreme, but the motive is understandable. That said, control is an illusion when it comes to this type of thing. While Johnson has millions of dollars at his disposal to experiment with a multitude of therapiesBloomberg estimates that he spends $2 million annually on doctors and treatmentsmost people dont. And a lot of what ages people are the circumstances they were born into and, due to socioeconomic and systemic factors, like poverty and racism, are increasingly difficult to escape. Get the Popular Science newsletter Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. By signing up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.Someones location, for example, can define their outcomes and risk for chronic conditions. In the U.S., two people living just several miles apart could have dramatically different health outcomes and their bodies can age at dramatically different rates due to stress, access to healthcare, or nutrition. On the other hand, speaking of her time living in Italy, Mezuk noted that people who live in the Mediterranean exist within a society structured on longevity due to broader access to higher-quality foods, shops closing so people could cook their kids a healthy lunch at home, smaller portion sizes, and a better work-life culture. It is just built fundamentally differently on a different value system than we have in the United States, she added.When you think about life expectancy, what has really happened in the last 100 years, certainly in developed countries like the U.S. and increasingly across the world, is weve added a phenomenal amount of time to human life expectancy, said Mair. But those additional years have absolutely really nothing to do with making our bodies intrinsically age slower.Instead, the problem of aging has been shifted down the road. Alzheimers disease has increased, as have other age-related chronic conditions, due to people living longer. Now, many of us are living to our seventies; were experiencing this built-in obsolescence of humans that manifests itself in age-related chronic conditions, said Mair.Even still, the best balms against aging poorly are the things our mothers and grandmothers told us to do: exercise regularly, avoid smoking, avoid drinking too much alcohol, and stay away from highly processed foods to focus on a balanced diet of healthy whole foods.This story is part of Popular SciencesAsk Us Anything series, where we answer your most outlandish, mind-burning questions, from the ordinary to the off-the-wall. Have something youve always wanted to know?Ask us.

Pulmonary tuberculosis,spreading through the lungs. BSIP/Universal Images Group via Getty ImagesShareEven with life-saving vaccines and antibiotics, tuberculosis (TB) remains one of the worlds most deadly infectious diseases. Now, an international clinical trial has found three sew safe and effective drug regimens to treat antibiotic-resistant strains of TB. The results are detailed in a study published January 30 in the New England Journal of Medicine.Why is tuberculosis still dangerous?TB is a bacterial infection that primarily affects the lungs. It spreads through air droplets released when talking or coughing. It is very infectious and can remain in the air for several hours, depending on the environment. However, TB only spreads when a person is symptomatic.It can take on two forms once the bacterium infects a person. Active TB is when a patient has a long-standing cough, in addition to other symptoms including bloody phlegm, fever, and night sweats. In latent TB, the bacterium hibernates a persons lungs or somewhere else in the body. Latent TB is not contagious and doesnt cause symptoms. Get the Popular Science newsletter Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. By signing up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.According to the Cleveland Clinic, roughly 10 million people became ill with TB and about 1.5 million people died from the disease globally in 2020. There were roughly 7,860 tuberculosis cases reported in the United States in 2021.Currently, an outbreak centered in the Kansas City, Kansas area has killed two people since it began last January. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported that 67 people are being treated for active TB and 79 have latent TB.We would expect to see a handful of cases every year, Dr. Dana Hawkinson, an infectious disease doctor at the University of Kansas Health System, told the Associated Press. However, Hawkinson said that the high case counts in this current outbreak were a stark warning.In October, the World Health Organizations (WHO) Global Tuberculosis Report 2024 found that reported cases increased from 7.5 million in 2022 to 8.2 million last year. Disruptions to vaccination schedules due to the COVID-19 pandemic and drug-resistant strains were cited as potential reasons for the increases.Since it is a bacterial illness and not a virus like influenza, antibiotic resistance is a growing concern. Some TB strains are already resistant to rifampin, the most effective of the first-line antibiotics used to treat the disease. Rifampin and some other approved treatment regimens must be administered for years, require daily injections, and use some highly toxic medications that can come with severe side-effects.The endTB trialsThis new research is part of the endTB trial, a collaboration among Harvard Medical School, Partners In Health, Mdecins Sans Frontires, and Interactive Research and Development.The endTB trial is one of four recent randomized controlled trials testing new, shorter, and less toxic treatment regimens for drug-resistant TB. The trials are using two fairly new drugsbedaquiline and delamanid. The medicines were first brought to the market in 2012 and 2013 and were the first new medications for TB in almost 50 years.The trial launched in 2017 with 754 patients from India, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Lesotho, Pakistan, Peru, and South Africa. The goal was to improve treatment for patients with tuberculosis resistant to rifampin which sickens about 410,000 people each year. Only 40 percent are diagnosed and treated, 65 percent of them successfully, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).[ Related: How infectious diseases killed Victorian children at alarming rates. ]In the trial, endTB tested five new, all-oral regimens using bedaquiline and delamanid in combination with other drugs. The regimens were taken over nine months. A third drugpretomanidreceived emergency authorization from the FDA in 2019. However, it is not included in these trials.Three out of the five new regimens were considered successful for between 85 and 90 percent of patients with this treatment-resistent strain of TB. The control group was treated with longer treatments and was successful in 81 percent of cases.According to the team, the trial regimens were considered effective if they performed at least as well as the control group. The control group still received a well-performing standard of care in accordance with WHO recommendations.A step towards more accessible careTwo of the three new endTB regimens and another WHO-recommended regimen cost under $500, to meet a target set over 10 years ago. All of these innovations together could mean that shorter, all-oral regimens are available to more people than ever.This Harvard-led partnership among NGOs, ministries of health, and other academic partners identified three new regimens that will make lifesaving care dramatically more accessible, Carole Mitnick, trial co-principal investigator and Harvard Medical School epidemiologist, said in a statement. We also resolved a critical question left open by pharmaceutical industry trials that brought bedaquiline and delamanid to market: How can these new drugs be used to shorten and simplify treatment while retaining efficacy?According to Mitnick, poor treatment options and low-quality evidence previously have made it difficult to prevent some tuberculosis deaths. These new regimens take advantage of already approved drugs to expand and shorten treatment, minimize side effects, and treat patients using pills instead of daily injections. The endTB trials have since concluded. More deals, reviews, and buying guidesThe PopSci team has tested hundreds of products and spent thousands of hours trying to find the best gear and gadgets you can buy.SEE MORE GEAR

Polar bears need all the help they can get to survive their frosty Arctic environment. One of their biggest survival secrets appears to be greasy hair. The sebumor hair greaseon their fur makes it very difficult for ice to stick. The findings are detailed in a study published January 29 in the journal Science Advances, and could help chemists and engineers develop new anti-ice coatings for more durable fabrics, skis, snowboards, and more.Polar animals as inspirationPolar bears have a thick layer of fat below two layers of fur that help trap their internal body heat. According to Polar Bears International, these layers keep them so warm that adult males can quickly overheat when they run. Ice also does not accumulate on it, despite the bears spending nearly all of their time in and around freezing cold water.Animals living in polar habitats have emerged as a source of inspiration for the development of new anti-icing materials, Richard Hobbs, a study co-author and chemist at Trinity College in Dublin, said in a statement.To learn more about how, the team collected hair from six polar bears in the wild. They measured the adhesion strength of ice to get a sense of how well it can stick to fur. Next, they looked at hydrophobicitythe process that dictates whether water can shed before it freezes. Finally, they analyzed the freezing delay time, or how long it takes for a single drop of water to freeze at certain temperatures on a particular surface. They then compared the performance of polar bear hair with human hair and two human-made ski skins.A polar bears insulating fur shown under infrared heat imaging taken with a FLIR E75 24o (FLIR Systems O, Estonia) Svalbard Archipelago, Norway. CREDIT: Jon Aars, Norsk Polarinstitutt. The sebum quickly jumped out as being the key component giving this anti-icing effect as we discovered the adhesion strength was greatly impacted when the hair was washed, Julian Carolan, a study co-author and doctoral student at Trinity College, said in a statement.Unwashed, greasy hair made it much harder for ice to stick. In contrast, when the polar bear hair was washed and the grease largely removed it performed similarly to human hair, to which ice sticks easily whether it is washed or greasy.A cool concoctionAfter pinpointing the hair grease as the key component for keeping ice off of polar bear fur, they performed a detailed chemical analysis of the sebum. They first identified the key componentscholesterol, diacylglycerols, and fatty acids. This mixture is what makes it difficult for the ice to attach to the fur.However, the team was surprised to see that a fatty metabolite called squalene was missing. Squalene is present in human hair and in aquatic mammals, including sea otterswho dont live in icy conditions, but still need fur that keeps them warm. It is suggested that the absence of the squalene in the polar bear hair was critical from an anti-icing perspective.It also offers insight into some of the ways other animals living in polar environments have adapted to keep ice off of their fur and feathers. For example, the structure of Gentoo penguin feathers repels ice, all without the fatty grease that polar bears use.[ Related: Polar bears adapted to the Arctic just 70,000 years ago. ]Grease as a hunting toolThis grease also helps explain more about the hunting strategies of polar bears and Indigenous Inuit populations. Polar bears deploy still hunting, where they lay motionless next to a breathing hole in the ice. There, they wait for seals to surface.Still hunting frequently develops into an aquatic stalk with the polar bear using its hind paws to slide into the water to pursue its prey, and the lower the ice adhesion, the less noise generated and the faster and quieter the slide, Bodil Holst, a study co-author and experimental physicistat the University of Bergen in Norway, said in a statement.Inuit peoples will also take subtle steps to mimic the polar bears still hunting. Their traditional fur preparation methods also protect the sebum.Inuit hunting stools are sometimes shod with polar bear fur on the feet to avoid noise when moving on the ice, while people also sometimes wear polar bear trousers, ensuring the entire contact area with the ice is covered in low ice-adhesion polar bear fur for optimal noise reduction, said Holst.In addition to learning more about these masters of adaptation, it can help us develop new and safer materials that deflect ice.We expect that these natural lipid coatings produced by the bear will help us to develop new more sustainable anti-icing coatings that may replace problematic forever chemicals like PFAS that have been used as anti-icing coatings, said Hobbs.The post How do polar bears keep ice off their fur? Grease. appeared first on Popular Science.

Researchers say taking steps to prevent battery fires may be more effective than relying on possibly dangerous flame retardants. Credit: Swen Pfrtner/picture alliance via Getty ImagesShareAs wildfires devastated communities in southern California over the past three weeks, an unknown number of highly combustible lithium-ion batteries found in everything from Apple AirPods to Tesla Cybertrucks were engulfed in flames and released dangerous chemical pollutants into the air. Many batteries, particularly in E-Bikes and other products with plastic recharge battery enclosures, have flame retardants added to their outer coatings in an effort to limit their flammability. But researchers writing this week in the journal Environmental Science & Technology say those flame retardants dont seem to be doing much to quell a fires spread and may actually be releasing more health-endangering toxins into the air.Historically, flame retardant use to meet flammability standards has resulted in documented health risks without demonstrated fire-safety benefits for products such as childrens products, furniture, and electronics, scientists from the Green Science Policy Institute wrote in the article.We question requirements that lead to the addition of flame retardants in plastic battery enclosures, they added.Why lithium-ion battery fires are so dangerousBatteries present unique challenges due to the strength and duration at which they burn. When damaged or exposed to high temperatures, like during a fire, a chain reaction called thermal runaway occurs causing the battery to heat up uncontrollably until it finally combusts. These fires are notoriously difficult to quell because they burn at extremely high temperatures and have the ability to reignite. Thats especially true in large electric vehicle batteries which contain far more stored energy than ones found in smaller consumer electronic devices. A single Tesla Model S electric vehicle, for context, reportedly has as much lithium to make as roughly ten thousand iPhones. Battery fires are also dangerously unpredictable. Damage caused to a battery might not lead to a fireball for days or even months later. That means clean-up crews tasked with removing these batteries from areas following fires have to assume they are dealing with invisible, ticking time bombs.In response to those threats, some lithium-ion battery manufacturers have begun using a plastic coating that includes fire retardants in order to meet state flammability standards. Green Science Policy Institute Senior Scientist Lydia Jahl says this practice might be doing more harm than good. As of now, Jahl and her colleagues say there is a lack of clear research proving these chemicals actually do much of anything to slow down battery fires. Jahl says it is unclear what percentage of lithium-ion batteries on the market today are using these chemicals, but they tested several E-bike brands which showed multiple markers of flame retardants in their plastic enclosures.The concern, she noted, is that companies trying to abide by state flame ratings and safety standards may opt to turn to cheap plastics that are coated with flame retardants. Jahl noted these same retardant chemicals have also been added into the electrolyte solution of EV batteries. Once a battery gets damaged or exposed to high temperatures and the chemical reaction begins, the ensuing fire is simply too powerful for these retardants to efficiently mitigate.Trying to stop thermal runaway fires by adding flame retardants to plastic is like adding a screen door to a submarine, Ignition Handbook author and fire scientist Vyto Babrauskas said in a statement. Its a futile effort against an overwhelming force.If thermal runaway does occur, flame retardants might help for a couple of seconds, but they wont be able to contain the fire on their own. Eventually, the fire retardants themselves burn and release additional toxic chemicals into the air. The retardants mentioned by the researchers primarily use the chemicals organohalogens and organophosphates. Past studies have shown these may be linked to increased risks for potential neurological, reproductive, and immune harm when burned and inhaled. They are also linked to increased risks for multiple cancers.When you have a wildfire that goes over an urban area, theres just a whole wide mixture of things that are burning, Jahl said. The battery enclosures and all the plastic in peoples homes, all of that can get mixed into that terrible plume of wildfire smoke.Ubiquitous batteries are making natural disasters even tougher to fightThe sheer amount and growing size of lithium-ion batteries used everyday by consumers are making already deadly natural disaster events more complex. Though these types of batteries date back to the 1970s, their production has rapidly ramped up over the past decade, thanks in no small part to the accelerated adoption of electric vehicles around the world. Nowhere in the US are EVs more plentiful than in the greater Los Angeles area. The California Energy Commission notes residents in LA Country have reportedly registered at least 581,00- plug-in hybrids and EVs over the past 15 years. Nearly 1 in 5 of those vehicles were sold just last year. Even without fire retardant coatings, damaged EV batteries can release several toxic gases including phosphoryl fluoride, hydrogen cyanide, and hydrogen chloride.Local officials say the batteries in those vehicles are already posing challenges to firefighters and clean-up crews sifting through the wreckage. The Californian Office of Emergency Services has reportedly already sent hazmat teams to homes to look for note signs of damaged batteries. These removal teams need to wear fire-resistant clothing and disposable suits as well as special face masks that filter out possible chemicals leaking from the batteries. Extra water is brought onsite to quickly put out new flames that might spark. They have their work cut out for them. The Environmental Protection Agency says it removed over 30 tons of lithium-ion batteries from 94 electric and hybrid vehicles during its clean-up of the Maui fires back in 2023. Battery cleanup for the LA fires will likely make those numbers look small by comparison. Get the Popular Science newsletter Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. By signing up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.This will be from our estimation, probably the largest lithium-ion battery pickup, cleanup, thats ever happened in the history of the world, Environmental Protection Agency incident commander for the Palisades and Eaton fire cleanups Steve Calanog told NBC News earlier this week.Researchers say the best solution to this growing problem might be to focus on making efforts to prevent batteries from combusting in the first place. Jahl and her colleagues at the Green Science Policy Institute say companies and local regulators could enact stricter quality assurances and quality controls to prevent manufacturing defects that might short-circuit and lead to fires. Several US lawmakers have previously called out cheaply made and less regulated Chinese E-bike batteries as being particularly prone to dangerous malfunctions. Jahl says consumer electronic manufacturers can also explore putting in place battery management systems that can continuously monitor the batterys health and temporarily shut the system down if detect the conditions for thermal runaway may be brewing. In some cases, products that have plastic enclosures coated with flame retardants may be able to achieve similar fire ratings by replacing the plastic with less flammable metal.Ultimately, if we can prevent the fires from starting in the first place we dont have to try to solve the problem backward by adding flame retardant, Jahl said.Still, even those efforts may only go so far. In extreme situations like the recent LA wildfires, theres not much that can stop batteries from burning along with everything else in the fires paths. Removing excess fire retardants wont stop that, the researchers say, but at least they wont make an already dangerous situation worse.This doesnt mean we should stop using batteries, Jahl added. In many cases, they directly replace a gasoline engine or huge tanks of natural gas that people use for their homes. Theyre definitely a good thing that is helping us transition to clean energy. We just want to be careful not to add more harmful chemicals than are necessary.

We have been nerding out about audio gear around here lately, and this is one of the best audio deals I have seen in months. Right now, Bose has its refurbished Solo Soundbar 2 for just $99half its retail price and at least $50 cheaper than the lowest price I can find on other sites. Bose has one of the best certified refurbished programs in the space, thanks to its rigorous attention to detail and robust support offering. Products dont always stay in stock, however (especially at these prices), so dont hesitate.Bose Solo Soundbar 2 Refurbished $99 (was $199)BoseSee ItThis compact soundbar works in just about any space with any TV. It stands just three inches tall but puts out a surprisingly powerful sound and can greatly improve dialogue/soundtrack clarity. It connects to a TV with just one cable, and theres a wall mount in the box, so its easy to install in any spot. Built-in Bluetooth makes it a great standalone speaker, too. This is a great budget soundbar that doesnt sacrifice quality for distorted power.More Bose flash dealsBose Smart Ultra Soundbar Refurbished $599 (was $899)Bose Smart Soundbar 900 Refurbished $549 (was $899)Bose QuietComfort Headphones Refurbished $299 (was $349)Bose S1 Pro+ portable Bluetooth speaker system Refurbished $579 (was $699)Bose Portable Smart Speaker Refurbished $289 (was $399)The post Go grab a Bose soundbar for just $99 before they sell out appeared first on Popular Science.

A top-down view of the OSIRIS-REx Touch-and-Go-Sample-Acquisition-Mechanism (TAGSAM) head with the lid removed, revealing the remainder of the asteroid sample inside. The picture was taken using manual high-resolution precision photography and a semi-automated focus stacking procedure. The result is an image that can be zoomed in on to show extreme detail of the sample. The remaining sample material includes dust and rocks up to about 0.4 inch in size.Credit: NASA/Erika Blumenfeld & Joseph Aebersold ShareIt took a while for scientists to gain access to the samples that NASAs OSIRIS-REx mission took from the asteroid Bennu, but the wait is proving to be worth it. A new study published January 29 in Nature describes an unexpected discovery in the material delivered by OSIRIS-REx: residues of compounds left over by the evaporation of liquid water.Tim McCoy, the papers lead author, tells Popular Science that the presence of these compounds was completely unexpected. [Finding them] was a complete surprise, he says. Collectively, the team that wrote this paper has hundreds of years of experience examining meteorites and none of usin fact, nobodyhad ever seen some of these minerals.OREX-800044-101, the sample that was analysed by the Japanese members of the OSIRIS-REx sample analysis team. Credit: Yasuhiro Oba One of the reasons that the discovery is so significant is that the compounds must have precipitated from the evaporation of brine solutionssolutions of liquid water with high concentrations of dissolved salts. We know this, McCoy explains, both because some of these minerals actually have water in their crystal structure, and because we know the most abundant fluid [in the universe] is water. There could have been a small component of other ices, like carbon dioxide, but it was mostly water.The presence of these compounds therefore implies the presence of liquid water at some point in Bennus historyor, more accurately, in the history of the ancient asteroid from which Bennu originated. That parent asteroid was a larger object that broke up into smaller pieces at some point during the last 65 million years. McCoy explains that the parent asteroid was formed partly of ice, and over the millennia, this ice was melted by heat from the decay of radioactive elements in the asteroids regolith.McCoy says that this water likely existed not on the surface, but as a vein or pocket under the surface of the asteroid. This prolonged its existence in a liquid state, most likely, as McCoy says, at about room temperature. The dissolved minerals may also have allowed the solution to remain liquid for longer: brine solutions generally have lower freezing points than pure water. (This is why roads are salted during snowy weather.)In any case, when the water did eventually evaporate, it left behind the concentrated precipitates that proved such a surprise to McCoy and his teamand when the parent asteroid broke up, those compounds were passed onto its successors, including Bennu. The first compound the team discovered in the Bennu sample was sodium carbonate, which had never been observed before in any other asteroid or meteorite. As it incorporates water into its crystal structure, its presence prompted McCoy and other teams around the world to search samples of other water-soluble compounds. They found 11 such compounds in total, all of which had been concentrated in a brine solution and then precipitated as the water evaporated. Get the Popular Science newsletter Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. By signing up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.This evidence for the presence of liquid water on the ancient body from which Bennu formed provides a tantalizing possibility: the possibility that Bennus progenitor may have seen the first stirrings of life. Brines of the sort that apparently formed in the pockets of liquid water on Bennus ancestor provide a favorable environment for the development of complex organic compounds. In a statement accompanying the release of the paper, McCoy said, We now know from Bennu that the raw ingredients of life were combining in really interesting and complex ways on Bennus parent body. The paper also speculates that similar brines may exist today in the interior of Saturns moon Enceladus and Marss moon Ceres.A mosaic image of asteroid Bennu, composed of 12 PolyCam images collected by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft from a range of 24 kilometers. Credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona Either way, McCoy says the apparent presence of liquid water in Bennus parent asteroid also tells us something important about that asteroid: The fact Bennus parent asteroid incorporated ice means it had to form beyond the Solar Systems snow line. This line marks the distance from a star at which the temperature falls below waters freezing point. (In 2016, NASA captured an image of this phenomenon in a young solar system.)The snow line is particularly important in the early days of a solar system, as the cloud of dust and gas that surrounds a nascent star begins to coalesce into the protoplanetary disk from which the systems planets and other orbiting bodies will eventually form. Beyond the snow line, water is solid and aggregates readily into nascent planets and asteroids, whereas within the line, water remains gaseous and is harder to capture.[ Related: 10 chaotic space-related mishaps of 2024 ]This means that objects formed beyond the snow line are relatively rich in water, and one leading theory about the origin of the water on Earth is that it was acquired by the capture of such water-rich objects. And if those objects contained brine solutions rich in organic compounds, its at least theoretically possible that life may have already been evolving in those environments before their arrival on Earth.Such theoretical possibilities aside, McCoy says the discovery of brine compounds shows the value of OSIRIS-REx having been able to take direct physical samples from Bennu. These are incredibly rare minerals, so they cant be detected from Earth. In addition, he says, Many of these minerals are unstable in the Earths atmosphere. Without the controlled return by a spacecraft mission and very careful curation in nitrogen to isolate them from the atmosphere, we would have never found [them] in the first place.

ShareWe may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn more Ask any audiophile, and theyll tell you the same thing: premium sound quality still comes from wired headphonesand if you want to get the most out of your investment while out and about, you should look into DAPs, a.k.a. digital audio players. With the headphone jacks death on smartphones, getting an optimized on-the-go listening experience isnt as easy as it used to be. It doesnt matter if you have access to lossless audio if youre just going to degrade it using Bluetooth. If youre looking for that old-school iPod Touch experience given fresh life with the latest high-resolution technology, theres only one way to go: tap into a DAP like our best overall, the FiiO M23.Whether youre looking for the most versatile portable player, a desktop music streamer that can be the centerpiece of a home setup, or the best budget device, these are the best DAPs for every type of user.Best overall: FiiO M23Best desktop: FiiO R9Best under $500: HiBy R5 Gen 2Best budget: Hidizs AP80 Pro-XHow we chose the best DAPsOver my years working in tech journalism, Ive developed a passion for great sound. As an apartment dweller until 2019, I was limited to in-ear monitors and headphones, so I skipped right over loudspeakers and dove deep into personal audio equipment. Ive been lucky enough to test dozens of different headphones, earphones, and devices that drive them. Ive learned and experienced far more than I ever expected to, but the depths of my audio geekery allowed me to develop a discerning eye to sort the stupendous from the snake oil.For this article, I researched the major digital audio players released over the last several years. I began with an eye toward features and components: the on-paper specs that made certain options stand out from others. I then compared those early choices with real user impressions on audio enthusiast sites like Head-Fi and r/headphones, smaller communities like Facebooks ChiFi Audio Reviews, and retailers like Amazon. This refined the list because what looks good on paper doesnt necessarily translate into a great product. Finally, I relied on my own first-hand experience, as well as the pedigree of the brands producing each DAP.The best DAPs: Reviews & RecommendationsThese standalone devices have a sole purpose: playing music. Some portable music players do this with audio files you need to load yourself. Others come with operating systems (most often Android-based) and support streaming services like Spotify or TIDAL. They can also range widely in cost, some focusing on accessible budget pricing and others taking the form of genuine luxury items. However, they all strive to deliver the highest sound quality, exceeding what you could hope for from a smartphone and headphone adapter.If youre on the hunt for an aural upgrade, were here to help and have collected top-tier options. Even with those considerations in mind, settling on one of the best portable players can be confusing without doing lots of researchwhich is exactly what were here for. Weve done the digging, so you dont have to. Here are the best digital audio players available today that offer far more features than the MP3 players they call ancestors.Best overall: FiiO M23ProsGreat balance of features and priceSnappy performanceSupports balanced and single-ended headphonesHigh power outputConsSlightly less battery than the last generationRather bulkyWhy it made the cut: The FiiO M23 is the successor to the M11Plus (our previous best overall pick) and offers major improvements without any increase in price. Its a killer value.SpecsPrice: $699.99Screen size: 5.5-inch HD (1440720) IPS panelConnectivity: Balanced (2.5mm/4.4mm), single-ended (3.5mm), Bluetooth 5.0 (SBC/AAC/aptX HD/LDAC)Music streaming: YesOutput power: 1000mw per channelDAC: AKM AK419EQ + AKM AK4499EX DACBattery life: 10.5 hoursThe FiiO M23 is the successor to the M11Plus, released in 2021. That model was our pick for the best overall DAP, and the M23 one-ups it in more ways than one. Its more powerful, more stylish, has a better DAC, global EQ, and more, all without raising the price.If youre looking for the best balance of price and features, the M23 is easily the best pick right now under $1,000. In fact, you could easily spend more and get less. This digital audio player massively increases the power from the last generation. Its total output is an impressive 1000mW, enough to drive even the most demanding headphones. Because it has multiple gain modes, it works just as well with sensitive in-ear monitors.This model also comes with enhanced components for better audio than ever before. FiiO is again working with AKM, one of the worlds premier manufacturers of digital-to-analog converters, following an unfortunate fire that limited its production. The M23 uses the same combination of dual DACs found in FiiOs high-end K9 desktop DAC/amp and Q15 portable DAC: the AK4191EQ and AK4499EX. These DACs can reproduce audio up to 32-bit, 384kHz, and DSD up to DSD256. It also comes with AKMs new DWA Routing Technology to decrease any potential background noise for improved dynamic range.Its amplifier circuitry is also improved. While the M11Plus utilized a THX AAA 78 amplifier, the M23 features the upgraded THX AAA 78+, opening the door to its higher power output. THXs AAA amplifier series is renowned for its incredible cleanness. Zero hiss, zero background noise, and utter neutrality describe its sound profile. This DAP will not color your listening experience unless you take advantage of its system-wide EQ.And since it runs Android, youll also have access to all of your favorite streaming apps, including Spotify, TIDAL, Qobuz, and more. Its Snapdragon 660 processor is unchanged from the last generation and is admittedly getting long in the tooth. However, music listening and web browsing are still responsive enough to deliver a satisfying experience. You can get more power and features if you pay more, but in most cases, its well into the realm of diminishing returns beyond the M23. Just like the M11Plus, its a fantastic value that balances sound quality, features, responsiveness, and, most importantly, price with ease.Suppose you dont need more power and the latest chipsets. In that case, there are still people selling the FiiO M11 Plus (shown above), as well as the Chinese personal audio specialists even more budget M11S for those looking to really stretch that performance-to-price ratio. On the other end of the spectrum, FiiO offers a fancier flagship worth exploring if you only own hard-to-drive summit-fi headphonesthe $1,799 flagship M17, a handheld that packs the power of a desktop amp into a transportable form.Best desktop: FiiO R9Tony Ware ProsFantastic connectivityWorks great for headphones or full speakersConvenient touch interfaceMassive power outputConsLarge footprintNot portableWhy it made the cut: This flagship media streamer transcends traditional players by becoming a desktop device, complete with a powerful amp, great DAC, and tons of connectivity.SpecsPrice: $1,499.99Screen size: 6-inch IPS FHD (2160 x 1080) portrait panelConnectivity: Balanced (4.4mm/XLR), single-ended (6.35mm), Bluetooth 5.1 (AAC/SBC/aptX/aptX HD/LDAC/LHDC), RCA, Optical, Coaxial, HDMI in, HDMI out (ARC), USB-A, USB-C, 100M Ethernet,Music streaming: YesOutput power: 7300mWDAC: Dual ES9038Pro DACsBattery life: N/AThe FiiO R9 is one of the more unique digital audio players you can buy. Its a hybrid, an aluminum monolith with colorful LED accents that blurs the lines between a traditional audio player and an exceptionally powerful, high-resolution DAC/amp. This network player features a six-inch touchscreen (shown above with its protective shipping panels still intact) and an Android 10 operating system that can connect to the internet for streaming services and apps, like most portable players, but its not designed to be portable. The media streamer is made to live on your desktop near your computer or wherever you plan to listen to music, and it will connect to and drive just about anythingincluding your soundbar (via ARC), a preamp/AV receiver, or an existing powered speaker setup. Andwith a trio of headphone outputs (two of them balanced) delivering punchy lows, textured mids, and quick, controlled transientsit ensures that any cans can.While it might seem counterintuitive to put an Android player on your desktop, the magic of the R9 lies in how well-designed it is. Just like portable players, having a separate device dedicated purely to music is naturally appealing for its dedication to pristine sound quality. Being able to tap and swipe instead of changing windows (and destroying your workflow) winds up feeling more convenient and intuitive. And if you prefer to set it up away from physical sources or use it when the Wi-Fi router is down, you can simply stream to it from your smartphone using your choice of high-res codecs. We already enjoy using an ASUS Zenfone 10 when testing Bluetooth devices (because what is an inexpensive, easily pocketed Android smartphone if not a DAP itself), and the R9 experience is equally intuitive and efficient, but with added levels of All-to-DSD and Parametric EQ music-first processing. Conversely, you can use the R9 to connect to AirPlay devices (like an iPhone) as a source, as well as Bluetooth devices as a destination.FiiO took the kitchen sink approach to the R9, and its a better product because of itoffering both a polished look and sound. If theres a feature you can think of, it probably has it. Between its tremendous power and connectivity, as well as its dual top-tier ES9038Pro DACs and eight-channel THX-788+ amplifier (featuring five levels of gain), its designed with circuit boards full of discrete components that allow it to be the centerpiece of your home listening experience. You can connect a Blu-ray player for advanced resolution audio via HDMI, play hi-rez downloads and rips off a MicroSD card, use the device as an endpoint to access a Roon music server, or opt for (semi-)analog with a turntable that offers USB output. And thats just some of the I/O. Really the only thing the R9 cant do is power passive speakers. If the R9 sounds appealing but its out of your budget, the FiiO R7 is a great alternative. Coming in at around half the price, its screen is small, it drops power output to a still respectable 3.6 watts, and it loses the HDMI ports but maintains all of the same appeal otherwise. Both the R7 and R9 are destined to impress with linear performance in versatile packaging.Still consider a handheld DAP the best splurge for you and open to splashing out a few thousand to lug around some luxury? If its refined industrial angles you crave, the Astell&Kern A&ultima remains one of the most distinctive DAP lines with the best design, and the SP3000 continues the companys tradition of high-resolution listening and the best high-end builds.Best under $500: HiBy R5 Gen 2ProsUnique sound tuning thats very accessibleGood power outputGood connectivityCompact and convenient sizeConsSlower processorAging specsWhy it made the cut: The HiBy R5 Gen II is a killer value, combining good power output, connectivity, and features for well under $500.SpecsPrice: $349.99Screen size: 4.7-inch (1280720) IPS panelConnectivity: Balanced (2.5mm/4.4mm), single-ended (3.5mm), Bluetooth 4.2 (SBC/AAC/aptX/aptX HD/UAT/LDAC),Music streaming: YesOutput power: Up to 475mWDAC: Dual ES9219C DACsBattery life: 35 hours (10 hours in Class A mode)If youre looking for a quality DAP that wont break the bank, the HiBy R5 Gen II is well worth considering. At only $349 and sometimes less (weve seen it as low as $279 after a $70 instant coupon), this player offers audiophile-grade sound quality and some truly fantastic features. It combines support for up to 32-bit/768kHz files with an impressively low 130dB signal-to-noise ratio for complete clarity across its 2.5mm, 3.5mm, and 4.4mm connections. If youd rather stream your music, it also supports MQA so you can enjoy TIDAL to its fullest or simply download Spotify and other streaming apps through the Google Play Store.The R5 Gen II is compact, with a size thats pocketable but still easy to use. Despite its stature, it offers a surprising amount of power with up 320mW in its default mode or 475mW in Class A mode. The first setting nets you the best battery life at 28 to 35 hours, while Class A mode instantly enhances the sound with added fullness and headroom.Whats especially nice about the R5 is HiBys unique approach to equalization. Rather than rely on confusing frequency band sliders like most EQs, the R5 uses sound characteristics to describe what youre adjusting. Want your sound brighter and more detailed or bassy and dark? Theres a slider for that. Want more texture and detail in the bass or vocals to be more forward or back in the mix? There are sliders for those too and more besides. Its a much more accessible and fun approach to customizing your sound. The R5 isnt without its downsides. The technology driving it and its OS version are getting old, so you shouldnt plan on much more than listening to music or checking the occasional email with this device. But as a DAP, its responsive enough, fun, and sounds greatmaking it our best value pick.Best budget: Hidizs AP80 Pro-XProsSupremely pocketableGood output power at this priceVery user-friendly EQ8x MQA decodingBuilt-in step counter and ebook reader, if you want to leave your smartwatch and Kindle at homeConsPlays local files only in normal modeComparatively low battery lifeNo onboard storageWhy it made the cut: The Hidizs AP80 Pro-X cant stream music, but it offers a highly customizable sound with lots of versatility.SpecsPrice: $189.99Screen size: 2.5-inchConnectivity: Balanced (2.5mm), single-ended (3.5mm), Bluetooth 4.1 (including AAC, aptX, LDAC, UAT codecs)Music streaming: NoOutput power: 190mW (balanced), 70mW (single-ended)Battery life: 9 hours (balanced), 13 hours (single-ended)The Hidizs AP80 Pro-X is unlike any other DAP on this list and is excellent value for its budget price. Coming in at $189, it is the only portable music player we feature that is unable to connect natively to major streaming services. But dont let that fool you, as the AP80 Pro-X has a lot going for it that makes it well worth considering for music lovers on a budget.Much of the magic of the AP80 Pro-X comes from its simplicity. It runs the HiBy OS, which does not have access to the Google Play Store but is fast and responsive, avoiding the pitfall of sluggishness plaguing so many digital audio players. It can accept MicroSD cards up to 512GB, holding up to a couple of thousand albums (including files up to 32-bit/384kHz PCM and DSD256). And it delivers those files with plenty of power across its 3.5mm single-ended (70mW) and 2.5mm balanced (190mW) connections.If you want to listen to streaming services, youll need a smartphone or computer. When connected to an internet-enabled source, the AP80 Pro-X can act as a DAC, receiving that audio and sending it through (complete with 8x MQA decoding) to your headphones. It functions similarly to a dongle DAC or a wireless Bluetooth receiver (supporting AAC, aptX, LDAC, UAT codecs) but with all the features and enhanced sound quality of this much more sophisticated player. It also offers expansive sound customization with sliders dedicated to specific descriptors, like bass extension and note thickness. Its a unique, user-friendly touch other DAP manufacturers could learn from.At $189, the AP80 Pro-X offers quite a lot, but its not without its sacrifices. It doesnt come with onboard storage to begin uploading your files immediately. The battery life is also only so-so. But with a one-hour complete recharge time, downtime shouldnt be much of an issue, and the AP80 Pro-X (shown above with the equally approachably priced MP145 planar-magnetic IEMs) offers far, far more than the cheap digital music players of old and lets you relish all the details.Things to consider before buying one of the best DAPsLike most things within the audio hobby, choosing the right DAP isnt as simple as finding whats popular and assuming it will work for you. Prices scale into thousands of dollars; unsurprisingly, those expensive products tend to get rave recommendations. Based on positive feedback alone, you might assume you must spend $1,000 for a great experience. Instead, the much wiser choice is to work backward from the features you need and find the best digital audio player that fits your budget. Heres what to look for before committing to a purchase:ConnectivityThe first thing to consider with any DAP is its connectivity options. Some DAPs are limited solely to single-ended (standard 3.5mm) connections. Others offer 4.4mm or 2.5mm balanced connectionsports that split the signal into left and right channels for reduced distortion, improved clarity, and increased power delivery. Even if your current headphones use a standard 3.5mm jack, its worth considering whether a balanced earphone may be in your future. Since balanced outputs tend to offer more power, it is a useful option if youre listening to harder-to-drive headphones.One important thing to remember is that, due to their size, the best hi-res players typically lack support for the large 6.35mm jacks common to over-hear headphones. Using a DAP with cans like these is still possible, but youll need an adapter to make the connection. This flexible option from Sennheiser is an excellent choice and comes in at just under $20.Connectivity doesnt stop at the wire, however. Some DAPs also support Bluetooth to send and/or receive audio, as well as Wi-Fi for higher-resolution/bandwidth audio. If you want your device also to drive true wireless earbuds or the best portable speakers, youll need to be sure it supports Bluetooth as a feature. Its important to acknowledge that, while convenient, Bluetooth isnt the highest-fidelity option. However, pairing earbuds and a DAP that support the LDAC codec is a solid listening experience, and aptX Lossless, while on very few components currently, has potential.Output powerRight up there with connectivity options is how much power the portable DAP can produce. This isnt usually an issue for small, easy-to-drive in-ear monitors, but it is a major consideration if youre considering over-ear headphones. Audiophile-grade cans often require the extra power of a dedicated headphone amplifier to sound their best, and a DAP that doesnt produce enough power to drive them is bound to disappoint.This information is usually found on the specification list for most players and is rated in milliwatts (mW) or volts RMS (VRMS). It is typically rated against a certain resistance measured in ohms: 70mw@32, for example. The amount of output power can also vary between the balanced and single-ended (3.5mm) outputs. So, its important to consider which port youll be using and not just assume the highest possible output power is what youll be getting.Since headphones have an incredibly wide range of power demands, offering specific advice without knowing which will be used is impossible. Generally, 50mW of output power is sufficient for most earphones. Headphones can be more demanding. To be safe, run your headphones through a headphone power calculator to find out exactly how much power output you should be targeting.If you plan to listen to a mix of in-ear and over-ear headphones, consider looking for a DAP with high- and low-gain modes for less hiss and more fine-tuned volume adjustment. A very high-output player may work great for a demanding pair of audiophile headphones but could make listening to sensitive multidriver earbuds difficult with very touchy volume controls. Being able to swap between low- and high-gain modes can be game-changing to the versatility of a DAP.Support for streaming services and file typesDigital audio players come in two varieties: simple music-file players and smart devices supporting online streaming. If youre a die-hard fan of lossless audio with a deep catalog of hi-res audio files, youll probably be happy with a standard dumb DAP that has the sole job of making your music sound great.If youre a fan of TIDAL or Spotify, youll need a DAP that can connect to the internet and has a display capable of navigating these apps. That means running some version of Android and, usually, a more complicated and expensive device. Smart audio players often feel like smartphones designed around playing music, which can be both good and bad (if youre looking for that kind of convergence device, check out something with an upgraded integrated DAC/amp, like the ASUS ROG Phone 8 Pro). On the plus side, DAPs that support streaming services give you access to huge music libraries and the ability to pick up where you left off across different devices. The downside is that, since the focus is on audio quality, the actual computer side of the device is often several generations old, including the operating system. Many smart DAPs feel sluggish compared to similarly priced smartphones.The other thing to consider is what file formats the device can play back. To stream the highest quality tracks from TIDAL, your DAP must support decoding those files. TIDALs top streaming tier features MQA, or Master Quality Authenticated, tracks that use a proprietary compression algorithm that only some players can fully decode, usually at an additional cost. Likewise, if youre playing local files, youll want to be sure the device supports the format of your library (FLAC, ALAC, DSD, WAV, etc.).Battery lifeFinally, the last thing to consider when purchasing a DAP is how long you can expect it to play between recharges. Somewhat counterintuitively, the fancier DACs often offer worse battery life due to their large screens, Android operating systems, and more powerful digital signal processing options/amplifier output. Any DAP worth investing in will last at least through a workday of listening. If you dont mind plugging in overnight, this will likely be sufficient.Along with this, look closely at how long the player takes to recharge. The Hidiz AP80 Pro-X comes in on the low end for battery life but takes only an hour to fully recharge, which means a quick plug-in throughout the day will likely close the gap in usability for extended listening sessions. If you anticipate having to plug in, also check if the device can still be used while charging.FAQsQ: What is a DAP? The acronym DAP stands for Digital Audio Player. These standalone devices aim to play your music back at the highest quality. While many audiophile products pair with a smartphone via USB, DAPs remove your phone from the equation entirely. Instead, theyre entirely built around sound quality, including components and designs engineered to maximize the listening experience. The best-known DAP is probably the original Apple iPod. Since those small MP3 players, many listeners have become content with the ease of listening wirelessly through their smartphones. This isnt a great solution for audio enthusiasts and music fans with favorite wired headphones. A DAP can be the perfect answer for them, creating a portable hi-fi system that allows them to carry a top-tier listening experience everywhere they go. Q: Are DAPs worth it? If you love music, it makes sense to have a device dedicated to it. While its certainly possible to listen through your smartphone, its an incredibly complex device trying to do multiple things simultaneously. Audio performance is important to smartphone engineers, but its hardly the top concern when compared to everything else a modern smartphone is responsible for: operating system performance, multiple radios, adaptive refresh rates, complex camera systems, running apps at once, notifications, and, of course, call quality. This is also reflected in the components and, well, the lack of a headphone jack. A DAP, on the other hand, is designed entirely around sound quality. They often feature high-quality DACs (digital-to-analog converters) and higher output power. These improved components make an audible difference in sound quality, improving clarity and dynamic range and allowing it to drive a wide range of headphones. Like a desktop computer, removing the audio processing from the electrically noisy circuit board of a smart device can also remove a potential source of interference.Ultimately, one of the key reasons many buy a DAP is to invest in a portable foundation for their listening experience. Investing in a dedicated portable audio player is rarely necessary in this day and age, the same way its not necessary to buy the $899 Bluesound SOUNDBAR+ when you can buy one of the best soundbars under $500 and get many of the same featuresunless youre specifically slowly working up to a full music-centric wireless surround sound system. Rather than purchase a tethered DAC that will let your phone do the heavy lifting, a DAP becomes a touchstone to the audio hobby thats personal to each listener. Q: How much do DAPs cost? Digital audio players span the gamut in price. Basic Bluetooth MP3 players can be found on Amazon for less than $50. Others, like the premium Astellu0026Kern Au0026ultima SP3000, can cost several thousand dollars. Its not usually necessary to spend an exorbitant amount of money on a digital audio player. Still, they can become quite expensive, easily reaching $3,000-$5,000 with more advanced features and luxuries like copper enclosures. As a rule, DAPs that support Android will be more expensive than those that do not. Likewise, DAPs that support more connectivity options, like balanced versus just single-ended headphones, will also be more expensive. Within this framework, there can be a wide range of prices, so its important to look at what features you need and desire most and choose the option that works for you.Its important to remember that hi-fi can be an expensive hobby. The cost ceiling stretches far higher than most listeners would ever consider spending. Just because a DAP is twice as expensive does not mean its twice as good. Final thoughts on the best DAPsBest overall: FiiO M23Best desktop: FiiO R9Best under $500: HiBy R5 Gen 2Best budget: Hidizs AP80 Pro-XDeciding on a DAP can be intimidating. With prices extending into hundreds of dollars and beyond, the pressure to make the right decision is high. But, with a focus on features, its possible to find the right fit that will let you enjoy your music to the fullest on the go. The best DAPs provide room to grow and explore the hobby even further. With care, they even tend to retain resale value, giving you a one-up on that next inevitable upgrade.

Stack CommerceShareWe may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn more Lifes too short to let bad weather ruin your day, so why not take control with Weather Hi-Def Radar Storm Watch Plus? Whether youre planning a hike, a road trip, or just trying to avoid getting soaked on your lunch break, this app has you covered. Its like having a pocket-sized meteorologist for lifeon sale for $39.99 for a limited time.Youll have access to real-time radar images, future forecasts, and interactive map layers that give you the full weather story. Keep tabs on everything from hurricanes and tornadoes to wildfire activity and snowfall reports. Want to stay safe? Enable lightning and precipitation alerts so you know when to seek cover or grab a raincoat.Save multiple locations to track weather conditions anywhere, from your hometown to that dream vacation spot. Plus, advanced map overlays let you dive into air quality, water surface temperatures, wind speeds, and more.With widgets for hourly forecasts, snow depth updates, and storm tracks, youll never be out of the loop. Even if Mother Nature throws a curveball, Weather Hi-Def Radar Storm Watch Plus keeps you one step ahead.Its time to stop guessing and start planning!Get ready to own the forecast with lifetime access to Weather Hi-Def Radar Storm Watch Plus for $39.99 (reg. $199).StackSocial prices subject to change.Weather Hi-Def Radar Storm Watch Plus: Lifetime Subscription $39.99See Deal

A Great Tit pauses with an insect in its beak to feed its young. Credit: Christopher Furlong/Getty ImagesShareAfter a forest is logged, that land is often re-planted with new saplings. Within a few decades, those trees will have grown pretty big, and the forest will look much like a forest once again, with birds singing among the shade of the boughs.But a new study finds that, despite this apparent rebirth, younger forests may not offer those birds the same quality of habitat as an old-growth forestwith differences between the two forest types stretching all the way down to a cellular level.Researchers in Latvia compared wild forests more than 100 years old with managed pine forests just 40-50 years old. They studied how many insects were living in each forest type by measuring the amount of frass (insect poop and other droppings) that fell from trees. They also took blood samples from 15 day-old great titsa common European songbirdto measure the birds stress levels.In addition, the team measured the length of the birds telomeres, the DNA that sits on the ends of chromosomes and protects those chromosomes from damage. While scientists are still trying to understand exactly what different telomere lengths might mean for health and fitness, some previous studies in birds have found evidence that shortened telomeres were associated with lower survival.The researchers on this new paper found that younger forests had less frass, indicating fewer insects, than the older forests. The great tit nestlings in the younger forests tended to have higher stress levels than nestlings in the older growth forestsand nestlings from those younger forests had, on average, shorter telomeres than nestlings from the old-growth forests.These results, collectively, may tell a story. Since insect larvae are the preferred food for great tit nestlings, the shortage of food may divert energy resources away from growth, which can show up as physiological stress, the researchers write. And stress, they note, has previously been associated with telomere shortening.Its a very complete paper, Simon Verhulst, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, who was not involved in the new research, told Popular Science. Get the Popular Science newsletter Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. By signing up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.Telomere shortening is a natural part of cell biology. Telomeres shrink a little bit every time a cell divides, until those telomeres get too short, and the cell dies. And in many species, telomeres generally get shorter with agebut scientists are still trying to understand how, exactly, shortened telomeres might impact an organisms overall health. In humans, for example, while researchers have linked shortened telomeres with a variety of diseases, theyve also found evidence of health risks in people with extra-long telomeres. And while some scientists have previously suggested telomere length could be used as a sort of biological clock, others have suggested that this outlook doesnt really capture what happens to our bodies as we age.Previous research has also found some nuances in the relationship between telomeres and longevity in birds. A study on Seychelles warblers, for instance, found that survival was linked to both shorter telomeres and faster telomere shortening rates. But a study on jackdaws (co-authored by Verhulst), on the other hand, found that while more telomere loss was associated with lower survival, shorter telomeres themselves did not seem to be related to survival. Its also possible that some of the negative health and fitness effects linked to shorter telomeres arent directly caused by those shorter telomeres, but caused by some other factor that also impacts telomere length.The researchers on this new study in Latvia did not find any survival differences between the nestlings from each habitat, although increased mortality could always show up later in life. They also note that other factors could have led to higher stress levels among the nestlings in the younger forests, such as an increased risk of predation on adult birds that somehow impacts the nestlings. In addition, variations in telomere length can be passed from one generation to another, so its possible the great tit parents living in each forest type had different telomere lengths initially and simply passed those differences onto the chicks. One way to test for that would be a cross-foster experimentswitching eggs from one forest type to another.An important extra step would be to do a cross-foster experiment to show that its really something that happens after hatching, Verhulst said.Another possible complication in this new study was the researchers method of measuring insect abundance. Larger trees may simply have more insects to drop frass, which could impact the results if tree sizes werent standardized between forest types. But that doesnt necessarily mean that the studys conclusions are incorrect. I am fully convinced that there is a difference in food availability between these old and young forestsI dont think, actually, their measurements show that, Verhulst said. (The researchers of the new paper could not be reached for comment.)But this isnt the first study to show that habitat modification can impact telomeres in great titsa 2016 paper (with cross-fostering) found that tits from urban environments had shorter telomeres than those from rural areas. And overall, the differences between the birds in this new study indicates that something seems to be different among the great tits in young and old forests, despite the fact that the species is found in both forest types. This study, through their telomere measurements, are showing that there can be sort of cryptic effects on viability of individuals and thereby, possibly, populations, Verhulst said.Thats notable, as old-growth forests are rare in Europe. According to a 2021 report by the European Commission, primary and old-growth represent just three percent of all forests in the EU. If these venerable trees truly offer better habitat to wildlife like great tits, protecting that three percent could be crucial.