Last June two NASA astronauts flew to the International Space Station on the first crewed test flight of Boeing’s Starliner. But they aren’t stranded there, and they weren’t abandoned, the astronauts reminded CNN this week in a rare space-to-earth interview:
“That’s been the rhetoric. That’s been the narrative from day one: stranded, abandoned, stuck — and I get it. We both get it,” [NASA astronaut Butch] Wilmore said. “But that is, again, not what our human spaceflight program is about. We don’t feel abandoned, we don’t feel stuck, we don’t feel stranded.” Wilmore added a request: “If you’ll help us change the rhetoric, help us change the narrative. Let’s change it to ‘prepared and committed.’
“That’s what we prefer,” he said…
[NASA astronaut Suni] Williams also reiterated a sentiment she has expressed on several occasions, including in interviews conducted before she left Earth. “Butch and I knew this was a test flight,” she told CNN’s Cooper, acknowledging the pair has been prepared for contingencies and understood that the stay in space might be extended. “We knew that we would probably find some things (wrong with Starliner) and we found some stuff, and so that was not a surprise,” she said.
When Cooper opened the interview by asking the astronauts how they’re doing, Williams answers “We’re doing pretty darn good, actually,” pointing out they had plenty of food and great crew members. And Wilmore added that crews come to the space station on a careful cycle, and “to alter that cycle sends ripple effects all the way down the chain. We would never expect to come back just special for us or anyone unless it was a medical issue or something really out of the circumstances along those lines. So we need to come back and keep the normal cycle going…”
CNN’s article notes a new announcement from NASA Tuesday that the astronauts might return a couple weeks early “after opting to change the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule it will use.” That mission’s targeted launch date is now March 12.
In the meantime, Williams says in the interview, “We do have some internet connection up here, so we can get some internet live. We’ve gotten football. It’s been this crew’s go-to this past fall. Also YouTube or something like that. It’s not continuous — it has chunks of time that we get it. And we use that same system also to make phone calls home, so we can talk to our families, and do videoconferences even on the weekends as well. This place is a pretty nice place to live, for the most part.”
And they’re also “working on with folks on the ground” to test the NASA’s cube-shaped, free-flying robotic Astrobees.
New releases we picked up this week that belong on your reading list.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/what-to-read-ali-smith-gliff-dystopian-fiction-horror-comics-creepshow-160016239.html?src=rss
Remember Jeep’s new in-dash pop-up ads which reportedly appeared every time you stopped?
“Since I’m a journalist, or at least close enough, I decided that I should at least get Stellantis/Jeep’s side of things,” writes car-culture site The Autopian:
Would Stellantis do something so woefully misguided and annoying? I reached out to our Stellantis/Jeep contact to ask and was initially told that they were “investigating” on their end, which to me felt like a stalling tactic while the proper ass-covering plans were conceived. I eventually got this response from a Stellantis spokesperson:
“This was an in-vehicle message designed to inform Jeep customers about Mopar extended vehicle care options. A temporary software glitch affected the ability to instantly opt out in a few isolated cases, though instant opt-out is the standard for all our in-vehicle messages. Our team had already identified and corrected the error, and we are following up directly with the customer to ensure the matter is fully resolved…”
I suppose a glitch is possible, though I’ve not seen any examples of this ad popping up with the instant opt-out option available, but I guess it must exist, since not all Jeep owners seem to have had to deal with these ads. I suspect if this was happening to more people than these “few isolated cases” we’d still be cleaning up from the aftermath of the riots and uprisings.
Because, as they write, “Really, I can’t think of a quicker way to incur the wrath of nearly every human…”
Presidents’ Day typically brings discounts on mattresses and appliances more so than consumer tech. But every year, there are a few standouts in the areas Engadget knows best like smartphones, tablets, earbuds and more. This year is no different; notably, Presidents’ Day deals include $50 off an annual subscription to Peacock Premium, and get the best price on the AirPods Pro 2 that we’ve seen since the holidays last year. If you want to get a jump-start on spring cleaning, iRobot and Dyson deals can help with that, and there are a number of discounts on Blink security cameras at the moment. These are the best Presidents’ Day deals we found on tech for 2025.
Spotlight President’s Day deal
The best President’s Day tech deals
Nathan Ingraham for Engadget
Apple iPad mini for $499 at Amazon ($100 off): Apple’s smallest tablet was updated in October and got a new A17 Pro chip, which Engadget’s Nathan Ingraham found to be plenty fast for anything you’d want to do with the mini — casual browsing, couch binging, game playing and email checking. He gave it an overall score of 83 in our official review and particularly enjoyed it as a Balatro machine. It’s also our favorite (partly because it’s the only) small iPad on our list of the best iPads.
Apple AirPods 4 for $100 at Amazon ($29 off): Apple’s newest wireless earbuds came out in September and last week, they hit their lowest price yet. That price is still going strong, so you can still pick them up at a discount. Engadget’s Billy Steele gave them a review score of 88, saying they sounded clearer and more balanced than most open-back earbuds. Plus you get all the Apple-perks like fast pairing and device switching with other Apple gadgets, hands-free Siri and Find My tracking. Also at Target and Best Buy. There’s also a noise-canceling version on sale for $149.
Devindra Hardawar for Engadget
Apple 2024 MacBook Pro M4 for $1400 at Amazon ($199 off with coupon): Apple’s latest Pro-model laptop is down to $1,400 at Amazon with a discount and an on-page coupon. The 14-inch MacBook Pro has 16GB of memory and 512GB SSD storage and both the Space Black and Silver colorways are on sale. Engadget’s Devindra Hardawar gave the computer a 92 in his review and it’s currently Engadget’s pick for the best MacBook for creatives. It has a fast M4 chip, long battery life, bright display and Sharp 12MP Center Stage webcam.
Apple Pencil (USB-C) for $69 at Walmart ($10 off): Apple sells too many versions of the Apple Pencil. So we made a guide. The USB-C model works with all current-generation iPads, including the M2 iPad Air, the M4 iPad Pro, the new iPad mini and the 10th generation iPad. It’ll also work with a few older tablets too. Just note that this one attahced magnetically but doesn’t recharge that way, like the other Apple Pencils. And it doesn’t have pressure sensitivity. Also at Amazon and Target.
Peacock
Peacock Premium (one-year) at Peacock for $30 ($50 off): Here’s one from our new streaming deals guide: A year of Peacock’s streaming service is $30 if you use the code WINTERSAVINGS at checkout. The code is valid through February 18 and saves you 60 percent off the usual $80 annual fee. Though it’s called “Premium” it’s actually the ad-supported tier (Premium Plus is the ad-free plan but it’s not discounted and goes for $140 yearly). Peacock is one of our picks for the best streaming services and has some great original content, including Poker Face, a Twisted Metal adaptationand Mrs. Davis.
Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (16 GB) for $135 at Amazon ($25 off): Our choice for best premium ereader. is the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition that goes for $200 and isn’t discounted. The standard Paperwhite, on sale here, is basically the same machine, minus a few (inessential) perks like auto-adjusting front lights, extra storage and wireless charging. This is the lowest price we’ve tracked this year (it went about $5 lower for Black Friday) on a very lovely e-reader with remarkably fast page turns, a super crisp display and a great battery life.
Photo by Valentina Palladino / Engadget
Amazon Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition (32 GB) for $230 at Amazon ($50 off): Engadget’s Valentina Palladino found a lot to like about the Kindle Colorsoft in her review including quick page turns, the fairly accurate (if a bit cold) color technology and the pinch to zoom feature, which was especially nice for reading comics. If you’re just looking to read black and white text, you can save yourself a bit of money and go with the Paperwhite — text on the Colorsoft is not as crisp.
iRobot Roomba Combo 10 Max for $789 at Wellbots ($610 off with code): Wellbots has a few iRobot vacuums on sale for President’s Day, including the new Roomba Combo 10 Max and its Autowash Dock, which can empty and cleans the vac. Right now it’s on sale for $789 if you use the code ENGAD410 at checkout. That’ll take a full $610 off the hefty $1,399 MSRP. That’s even cheaper than the last time it was on sale. Not only does the robot itself mop and vacuum, the dock can hold 60 days worth of dust and seven days worth of dirty mop water. For a slightly cheaper combo robo vac, Wellbots is also discounting the Roomba Combo j5 for $239 instead of the full $529 with the code ENGAD210.
Dyson V12 vaccuum for $499 at Dyson ($150 off): Now through President’s Day, the Dyson V12 Detect Slim stick vacuum is $150 off. This is the lighter sibling to the V15 model we picked as the best cordless vac in our guide. This one includes the Fluffy Optic cleaner head that won us over in our testing. It’s a hard-floor brush head with a laser “blade” that clearly shows you the tiniest bits of dust so you can be sure to suck them up. The Gen5 Outsize Absolute is also on sale for $150 off. It’s down to $899. That model is the largest cordless vac and has up to 140 minutes of run time.
Photo by Billy Steele/Engadget
Samsung LS60D Music Frame for $150 at Woot ($250 off): You might be familiar with Samsung’s Frame TV — the sets that mimic works of art when you’re not watching television. The Music Frame furthers that home-theater-as-decor aesthetic by hiding Dolby Atmos audio equipment behind what looks like a regular picture frame. This one doesn’t have a screen, instead you’ll insert your own photo or art behind the glass. Inside are two woofers, two tweeters and two mid-range drivers. The speaker array is capable of Dolby Atmos audio and it leverages Samsung’s SpaceFit tech to calibrate the sound to the room. We checked it out at CES 2024 and were impressed with how robust the music sounded.
Fitbit Charge 6 Fitness Tracker for $116 at Amazon ($44 off): Our current top pick for a fitness tracker is back on sale. It went as low as $100 for Black Friday, but this is the lowest price we’ve seen this year. Our favorite fitness tracker is the successor to our previous top pick, the Charge 5. This new generation has a more accurate heart rate monitor and the ability to pair with exercise machines via Bluetooth. Plus there’s now a physical side button for navigation in addition to the touchscreen.
Mill food recycler for $874 at Mill ($125 off): A President’s Day sale from Mill, the kitchen food recycling company, will run until Monday, February 17 and will give you $125 off a new food recycling bin. If you’ve explored the different options for composting food and have decided to give a machine a try, Mill could be a good one to check out. The machine dries and grinds food scraps, reducing odors and bulk while creating grounds that you can add to your garden.
Blink Mini 2 (2-pack) for $38 at Amazon ($32 off): The Blink Mini 2 security camera sell for $40 each at full price, so this deal gets you two for less than the MSRP for one. The small security cameras have two way talk and listen, capture live video in 1080p and have infrared sensors for black and white images at night. You’ll need a Blink Subscription Plan if you want to save clips to the cloud, but if you also buy a Sync Module 2, you can save clips from your Blink Mini cameras to a flash drive.
Blink Video Doorbell and Sync Module 2 for $35 ($35 off): Here’s a bundle that combines the Video Doorbell with a Sync Module 2, the device that allows you to store footage from your Blink cameras and doorbells locally. The doorbell offers 1080p daytime footage and infrared night video plus two-way audio. You can use it wired or on batteries that should last two years before needing to be replaced. The Blink subscription plan is required if you want person detection and the ability to store clips in the cloud.
Ring Battery Video Doorbell for $60 at Amazon ($40 off): Another Amazon security device company, Ring, is also having a sale right now. The discount matches the record-low price for the Ring Video Doorbell. This battery-powered model doesn’t need to be wired into your home, so you can put it near any door. The removable battery is rechargeable via USB-C and will likely need a refill every couple months. You’ll need a Ring subscription to access all the features, like person and package alerts and extended event history.
Apple
Apple Music (6 months) for $3 at Apple ($60 off): Normally an Apple Music subscription is $11 per month after a 30-day free trial. And when you buy a new Apple device, you usually get a three-month trial. But if you somehow haven’t yet signed up for the service, this promotion applies to you. The deal will run through February 27 and is open only to people who are entirely new Apple Music — current and previous customers are not eligible, nor are those who qualify for the free trial that comes with a new device. You’ll need to redeem the offer through an iPhone, iPad or Mac. Apple Music made our guide to the best music streaming services for its lossless streaming quality, ease of use with Apple devices and emphasis on using DJ curation over AI and algorithm playlists. Note that the subscription will automatically renew unless you cancel.
NordPass Premium (27 months) for $35 at Nord ($46 off): One of our favorite password managers for cross-platform availability is having a sale. NordPass Premium is currently available for $35 for 27 months. At full price, two years would cost you $81, and this deal throws in three months for free. NordPass also offers a free tier, but the Premium plan keeps you logged in when you switch devices while also helping you analyze your passwords to improve their strength.
LG B4 OLED TV (48″) for $600 at Best Buy ($200 off): This ties the lowest price we’ve seen for the 48-inch LG B4, which is the entry-level model in LG’s 2024 OLED lineup. While it’s not as bright or color-rich as some higher-end alternatives, it still offers the essential perks of any good OLED TV: superb contrast with deep black tones, clear motion, wide viewing angles and the like. It’s also a nice value for gaming, as it has four HDMI 2.1 ports that support refresh rates up to 120Hz. It’s just better off in a darker room, and this particular model is relatively small.
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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-best-presidents-day-tech-deals-on-apple-samsung-dyson-blink-and-more-173252189.html?src=rss
The company behind more than a dozen dating apps, Match Group, has known for years about the abusive users on its platforms, but chooses to leave millions of people in the dark
If it feels like every piece of home tech is now “smart,” you’re not far off. The smart home space has grown exponentially in the past few years to include speakers, cameras, locks, lights and even kitchen appliances. There are also different voice assistants and IoT standards to consider, all of which can make it confusing (to say the least) to build your smart home ecosystem from the ground up.
Allow us at Engadget to help with that. We’ve tested dozens of smart home gadgets over the years and continue to test the latest offerings to see which work well and are worth your money. We recommend, before you even dive in, to resist the urge to outfit your whole home in one go. Not only can this be quite expensive, but also we think it’s generally best to buy just one or two items first to see if you like them. You should also pick a preferred voice assistant and stick with it. If you’re at the point where you’re ready to invest in a few new IoT gadgets, below are the best smart home gadgets you can get right now, plus some advice on how to choose the right voice assistant for your needs.
Best smart home gadgets: Smart speakers
Best smart home gadgets: Smart displays
Best smart home gadgets: Smart lights
Best smart home gadgets: Security cameras
Best smart home gadgets: IoT gear
How to pick the right voice assistant before you buy
While plenty of the best smart home devices are platform agnostic, there are some — smart speakers and smart displays in particular — that require you to choose your voice assistant. Currently, that means deciding if you’ll use the Google Assistant or Amazon’s Alexa on a regular basis (I’ll address Siri in a moment.)
They’re both compatible with various smart home products from light bulbs to robot vacuums, but there are certain devices that work best with either Google or Amazon. Nest products, for example, are more compatible and have more functionality with Google-powered speakers and displays. They can still work with Amazon devices, but certain features might be disabled. The same holds true with Amazon products: They work better if they’re in the same ecosystem.
Amazon Alexa
So how do you choose between Alexa and Google Assistant? It really depends on your personal preferences. Do you listen to Audible, watch Prime Video and tend to do a lot of shopping on Amazon? Then you might lean toward an Alexa-powered smart home device.
Google Assistant
If you want a voice assistant that’s great at answering questions, Google Assistant tends to be better than Alexa. Amazon’s helper, on the other hand, currently supports more smart home products. The company’s smart speakers and displays also support the Zigbee smart home protocol, and some devices even have built-in smart home hubs. Both Google and Amazon devices can sync with your calendar, though Google’s tend to work better with Google services. Plus, if you already have an Android phone, you might be more comfortable with Google Assistant anyway.
Siri
But what about Siri? Apple’s assistant supports voice commands as well, but it doesn’t have as many compatible devices as Google or Amazon. The HomePod mini and the full-sized HomePod are the only Siri-compatible speakers on the market at the moment, too. That said, it’s not too hard to find Apple HomeKit-compatible gear as more third-party companies add support for it, but you currently have a smaller pool of devices to choose from.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/smart-home/best-smart-home-devices-154557162.html?src=rss
Uber is suing DoorDash, accusing the biggest food delivery provider in the US of putting pressure on restaurants to exclusively use its services. According to The Wall Street Journal and The Financial Times, Uber filed the lawsuit in California on February 14. Uber said it filed the lawsuit after hearing from “restaurants across the country” that were left with no choice but to “cave to [DoorDash’s] demands or pay the price.”
Both DoorDash and Uber Eats offer their delivery services to restaurants, even for customers who buy from an establishment’s own website or app. At the same time, they also offer advertising within their apps for those that want to promote their businesses. DoorDash has a significantly larger share of the market than Uber Eats and had previously said that 90 percent of major restaurants in the US is available on its platform.
DoorDash allegedly threatened to charge higher commission rates for handling orders made through its marketplace if the restaurant is also on Uber Eats. In its complaint, Uber said that that in one instance, the company threatened to raise a restaurant’s commission rate by 30 percent per order placed. The lawsuit stated another instance wherein DoorDash allegedly told a restaurant that it would cost them millions of dollars in additional fees if it also teamed up with Uber. In 2024, a large restaurant group scrapped long-running plans to launch on Uber after threats from DoorDash to increase its commission rates, Uber said. In addition, DoorDash allegedly threatened to demote restaurants also available on Uber within its app.
Uber is now asking the court to compel DoorDash to change its business practices. Meanwhile, DoorDash denied all accusations. “Uber’s case has no merit,” the company said in a statement. “Their claims are unfounded and based on their inability to offer merchants, consumers, or couriers a quality alternative.”
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/uber-accuses-doordash-of-anti-competitive-practices-in-a-lawsuit-130032964.html?src=rss
According to The Intercept, the IRS is set to purchase an Nvidia SuperPod AI supercomputer to enhance its machine learning capabilities for tasks like fraud detection and taxpayer behavior analysis. From the report: With Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency installing itself at the IRS amid a broader push to replace federal bureaucracy with machine-learning software, the tax agency’s computing center in Martinsburg, West Virginia, will soon be home to a state-of-the-art Nvidia SuperPod AI computing cluster. According to the previously unreported February 5 acquisition document, the setup will combine 31 separate Nvidia servers, each containing eight of the company’s flagship Blackwell processors designed to train and operate artificial intelligence models that power tools like ChatGPT. The hardware has not yet been purchased and installed, nor is a price listed, but SuperPod systems reportedly start at $7 million. The setup described in the contract materials notes that it will include a substantial memory upgrade from Nvidia.
Though small compared to the massive AI-training data centers deployed by companies like OpenAI and Meta, the SuperPod is still a powerful and expensive setup using the most advanced technology offered by Nvidia, whose chips have facilitated the global machine-learning spree. While the hardware can be used in many ways, it’s marketed as a turnkey means of creating and querying an AI model. Last year, the MITRE Corporation, a federally funded military R&D lab, acquired a $20 million SuperPod setup to train bespoke AI models for use by government agencies, touting the purchase as a “massive increase in computing power” for the United States.
How exactly the IRS will use its SuperPod is unclear. An agency spokesperson said the IRS had no information to share on the supercomputer purchase, including which presidential administration ordered it. A 2024 report by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration identified 68 different AI-related projects underway at the IRS; the Nvidia cluster is not named among them, though many were redacted. But some clues can be gleaned from the purchase materials. “The IRS requires a robust and scalable infrastructure that can handle complex machine learning (ML) workloads,” the document explains. “The Nvidia Super Pod is a critical component of this infrastructure, providing the necessary compute power, storage, and networking capabilities to support the development and deployment of large-scale ML models.”
The document notes that the SuperPod will be run by the IRS Research, Applied Analytics, and Statistics division, or RAAS, which leads a variety of data-centric initiatives at the agency. While no specific uses are cited, it states that this division’s Compliance Data Warehouse project, which is behind this SuperPod purchase, has previously used machine learning for automated fraud detection, identity theft prevention, and generally gaining a “deeper understanding of the mechanisms that drive taxpayer behavior.”
This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, non-partisan news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. Sign up for their newsletter here.
For now, Priester’s will have to stick to its famous pecans in Fort Payne, Alabama. But maybe not for long.
Priester’s Pecans, an Alabama staple, is one of more than half a dozen sites across the state slated to receive millions of dollars in federal funding to expand access to chargers for electric vehicles.
For years, Maciej “Groobo” Maselewski stood as the undisputed champion of Diablo speedrunning. His 3-minute, 12-second Sorceror run looked all but unbeatable thanks to a combination of powerful (and allowable) glitch exploits along with what seemed like some unbelievable luck in the game’s randomly generated dungeon.
But when a team of other speedrunners started trying and failing to replicate that luck using outside software and analysis tools, the story behind Groobo’s run began to fall apart. As the inconsistencies in the run started to mount, that team would conduct an automated search through billions of legitimate Diablo dungeons to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that Groobo’s game couldn’t have taken place in any of them.
“We just had a lot of curiosity and resentment that drove us to dig even deeper,” team member Staphen told Ars Technica of their investigation. “Betrayal might be another way to describe it,” team member AJenbo added. “To find out that this had been done illegitimately… and the person had both gotten and taken a lot of praise for their achievement.”
TikTok is once again available in Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store in the United States. The app disappeared from both Apple and Google’s stores January 19, 2025, as a nationwide ban took effect. Briefly.
What will ultimately happen to TikTok remains unclear. President Trump wants to strike a “deal” that will allow the company to remain operational in the US, including arrangements that would give the US government a stake in the company.
You know who’s probably furious? Every other social media company.
On February 19, maybe a new iPhone SE and a 2nd-gen AirTag.
Apple
In a tweet on Thursday, CEO Tim Cook told Apple aficionados to “get ready to meet the newest member of the family. ”What that product is remains a slight mystery, though we won’t have to wait too long to find out. The reveal will take place on Wednesday, February 19.
While we’ve focused on a next-gen iPhone SE, Cook’s tweet also featured an animated image of a shimmering Apple logo on what appears to be the outline of an AirTag. There have been rumors for a while that Apple would introduce a second-gen tracker sometime this year.
Also: AirTags have changed my life. Or at least stopped me getting locked out of my apartment multiple times in the last few years. It’ll be intriguing to see what else a tracker can offer. Please don’t make it AI.
The tech love story of 2025 is over. Honda and Nissan have ended merger plans. If they’d gone through with it and also brought Nissan-controlled Mitsubishi on board, the new entity would’ve had a net worth of around $50 billion.
The Financial Times reported in early February that Honda presented a new company structure that would make Nissan its subsidiary as a “take it or leave it” offer. Nissan decided to leave it.
Ask Engadget: Where is the best place to buy a cheap iPad?
Ask Mat Anything.
Thanks to all the early question-askers (hit me up on askmat(at)engadget.com), including a timely question in the face of new Apple hardware. From Matt Ali: What’s the cheapest way to get an iPad? And which one should I get in early 2025?
Instead of doing my own research or asking unhinged AI chatbots, I tapped our iPad expert (and reviewer), Nathan Ingraham, for an answer:
Engadget
“Apple hardware is known for being expensive, but the company has a store packed with high-quality refurbished products that can save you some serious cash. I’ve bought many devices there over the years and have never had a problem — everything is in like-new condition and has the same warranty as a brand-new product.”
At the time of writing, there are a few good options in Apple’s refurbished store if you want an iPad nearly as capable as the newest models but want to save some cash. If you want the largest screen possible, you can grab a sixth-generation, 12.9-inch iPad Pro with an M2 chip and 256GB of storage for $979. Considering the latest 13-inch iPad Pro starts at $1299, this merits consideration — especially if you’re an artist who wants a large canvas.
If you don’t need that large screen, consider the fifth-generation iPad Air. For $529, you’ll get an 11-inch display, M1 chip and 256GB of storage. That’s $170 less than the current M2 iPad Air with the same amount of storage. Apple’s standard iPad is also available refurbished, but you can often find a brand-new version of it on sale on Amazon. Between that and the rumors of a new basic iPad coming this spring, I’d avoid this one, for now.
If you want to upgrade the storage or get a model with cellular connectivity, that should also be doable for extra cash. For me, 256GB or 512GB is the sweet spot for storage — given the ubiquity of the cloud, having a ton of local storage doesn’t feel particularly necessary.
Similarly, cellular connectivity is probably not worth the extra cash unless you plan to travel with your iPad. Most of the time, you can easily tether an iPad to your phone if you need to get online quickly. But, those refurb options are available if you want them.”
Thanks Nate! Other tech dilemmas? Modern texting etiquette? The best way to make your wearable nag you into your new year fitness goals? Hit. Me. Up!
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-after-engadget-newsletter-121508200.html?src=rss
One of our favorite grill accessories, the ThermoWorks Thermapen One, is on sale for $79 right now. This Engadget exclusive sale shaves $30 off this speedy thermometer. While it’s not the record low price, $79 is pretty close.
The Thermopen One is calibrated to record temperatures accurately, with an error margin of 0.5 degrees Fahrenheit (0.3 degrees Celsius). It also does this within a second. To help users check the temperature conveniently, the display rotates 360 degrees and has a smart backlight display that brightens when it’s covered or in a low-light environment.
The company claims that a single AAA battery in the thermometer will last for 2,000 hours, and it’s partly due to how it automatically turns on or off when you pick it up or put it down. An IP67 rating makes it safe to use in wet and dusty locations for a while. (You should still try to keep it clean and dry, though.) If that’s not reassuring enough, each Thermapen One comes with a five-year warranty.
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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-thermoworks-thermapen-one-is-on-sale-for-79-right-now-100052804.html?src=rss
A new study suggests that frequent consumption of food from plastic takeout containers significantly increases the risk of congestive heart failure due to gut biome changes that trigger inflammation and circulatory damage. The Guardian reports: The authors used a two-part approach, first looking into the frequency with which over 3,000 people in China ate from plastic takeout containers, and whether they had heart disease. They then exposed rats to plastic chemicals in water that was boiled and poured in carryout containers to extract chemicals. “The data revealed that high-frequency exposure to plastics is significantly associated with an increased risk of congestive heart failure,” the authors wrote. […] They put boiling water in the containers for one, five or 15 minutes because plastic chemicals leach at much higher rates when hot contents are placed in containers — the study cited previous research that found as many as 4.2m microplastic particles per sq cm can leach from plastic containers that are microwaved.
The authors then gave rats the water contaminated with leachate to drink for several months, then analyzed the gut biome and metabolites in the feces. It found notable changes. “It indicated that ingestion of these leachates altered the intestinal microenvironment, affected gut microbiota composition, and modified gut microbiota metabolites, particularly those linked to inflammation and oxidative stress,” the authors wrote. They then checked the rats’ heart muscle tissue and found it had been damaged. The study did not find a statistical difference in the changes and damage among rats that were exposed to water that had been in contact with plastic for one minute versus five or fifteen. The study has been published in the journal Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety.
Leveraging AI tools like RFDiffusion and PLACER, researchers were able to design a novel enzyme capable of breaking down plastic by targeting ester bonds, a key component in polyester. Ars Technica reports: The researchers started out by using the standard tools they developed to handle protein design, including an AI tool named RFDiffusion, which uses a random seed to generate a variety of protein backgrounds. In this case, the researchers asked RFDiffusion to match the average positions of the amino acids in a family of ester-breaking enzymes. The results were fed to another neural network, which chose the amino acids such that they’d form a pocket that would hold an ester that breaks down into a fluorescent molecule so they could follow the enzyme’s activity using its glow.
Of the 129 proteins designed by this software, only two of them resulted in any fluorescence. So the team decided they needed yet another AI. Called PLACER, the software was trained by taking all the known structures of proteins latched on to small molecules and randomizing some of their structure, forcing the AI to learn how to shift things back into a functional state (making it a generative AI). The hope was that PLACER would be trained to capture some of the structural details that allow enzymes to adopt more than one specific configuration over the course of the reaction they were catalyzing. And it worked. Repeating the same process with an added PLACER screening step boosted the number of enzymes with catalytic activity by over three-fold.
Unfortunately, all of these enzymes stalled after a single reaction. It turns out they were much better at cleaving the ester, but they left one part of it chemically bonded to the enzyme. In other words, the enzymes acted like part of the reaction, not a catalyst. So the researchers started using PLACER to screen for structures that could adopt a key intermediate state of the reaction. This produced a much higher rate of reactive enzymes (18 percent of them cleaved the ester bond), and two — named “super” and “win” — could actually cycle through multiple rounds of reactions. The team had finally made an enzyme.
By adding additional rounds alternating between structure suggestions using RFDiffusion and screening using PLACER, the team saw the frequency of functional enzymes increase and eventually designed one that had an activity similar to some produced by actual living things. They also showed they could use the same process to design an esterase capable of digesting the bonds in PET, a common plastic. The research has been published in the journal Science.
Bruce66423 shares a report from The Guardian: Microscopic particles emitted from brake pads can be more toxic than those emitted in diesel vehicle exhaust, a study has found. This research shows that even with a move to electric vehicles, pollution from cars may not be able to be eradicated. The researchers found that a higher concentration of copper in some commonly used brake pads was associated with increased harmful effects on sensitive cells from people’s lungs, as a result of particles being breathed in.
Exposure to pollution generated by cars, vans and lorries has been previously been linked to an increased risk of lung and heart disease. While past attention has mainly concentrated on exhaust emissions, particles are also released into the air from tyre, road and brake pad wear. These emissions are largely unregulated by legislation and the study found that these âoenon-exhaustâ pollution sources are now responsible for the majority of vehicle particulate matter emissions in the UK and parts of Europe, with brake dust the main contributor among them.
[…] The scientists examined the effects on lung health of particulate matter from four different types of brake pad with differing chemical compositions; low metallic, semi-metallic, non-asbestos organic and hybrid-ceramic. Results showed that of the four types of brake pads, non-asbestos organic pads were the most potent at inducing inflammation and other markers of toxicity, and were found to be more toxic to human lung cells than diesel exhaust particles. Ceramic pads were the second most toxic. Dr. Ian Mudway, senior lecturer at the school of public health at Imperial College London, cautioned that while the research on brake pad emissions appears sound, it is premature to conclude they are worse than diesel exhaust due to “uncontrolled variables” like brake disc types and particle composition.
Slashdot reader Bruce66423 also notes it “doesn’t discuss the significance of regenerative breaking, which is a feature of at least some electric cars [that reduces brake pad wear by using the electric motor to slow down the vehicle and recover energy].”
The research has been published in the journal Particle and Fibre Technology.
