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Fact: Yes, you can absorb your twin—your whole twin—in the womb By Eleanor Cummins One of the things at which PopSci truly excels, at least in my opinion, is investigating old wives’ tales. I mean, we literally just published a piece on whether or not it’s bad to crack your knuckles. (Spoiler: it’s not.) Though it’s not on this Wikipedia-sanctioned list of legit old wives’ tales, I think it’s fair to say that telling people they ate their twin in the womb is one of the popular medical-ish superstitions we have today....

Fact: Dozens of feet have washed up in the Pacific Northwest—and no one knows why By Eleanor Cummins Forget Bigfoot. These regular, human-sized feet are the scariest thing in the Pacific Northwest. On the far left coast of the United States, in the waters between northern Washington state and southern British Columbia, Canada, 21 severed feet and counting have surfaced on local beaches. Some are left, some are right; some belong to women, some to men....

According to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, the Hawaiian islands have so far experienced only minor flooding from the event. While there are no catastrophic waves anticipated in the continental US, coastal residents should still take precautions. Powerful and dangerous currents are possible, according to the NWS National Tsunami Warning Center, as well as perilous waves. At the very least, people close to the coast are advised to “move out of the water, off the beach, and away from harbors, marinas, breakwaters, bays and inlets....

The increasing pressure coming from the US Congress is just one example of how governments all over the world are starting to fight back against the power of Facebook. The company is facing fines, regulation and even calls for it to be broken up. But regulators and politicians still face a significant challenge in reining in Facebook’s financial, political and social might. In summer 2019, Facebook was hit by a $5 billion fine from the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), as well as a $100m fine from the Securities and Exchanges Commission over its involvement in the Cambridge Analytica data scandal....

A10bMLz is far from run-of-the-mill space junk. Astronomer Daniel Bamberger from London’s Northolt Branch Observatories, which made follow-up observations and ran more analyses on the object after its initial discovery on January 25 by the ATLAS asteroid survey in Hawaii, says he and his team initially had no clue whether the object was natural or artificial. As they tracked its movements, they realized it was defying predictions and moving around almost randomly....

The annual contest aims to save wildlife through humor, and sometimes, a little too much exposure. This year’s winners included the usual suspects: penguins, squirrels, and mammals that infringe on others’ personal space. But there’s also a boatload of surprises, including the most out chilled-out chimpanzee and a barely-there denizen of the forest. With birds, megafauna, and plants all covered (Team Fish, where you at?), the winners share a wide—and wild—sample of animal behaviors that might even make David Attenborough raise an eyebrow....

As concerns over water scarcity grow, research from 2018 documents how freshwater availability has changed over the years, helping water specialists and managers pinpoint how this essential resource’s flows have been changing. Xander Huggins, a PhD candidate at the University of Victoria and Global Institute for Water Security at the University of Saskatchewan, and his fellow researchers decided to explore what exactly these changes would mean for life here on Earth....

The biohackers’ goal is fairly straightforward: To make and refine synthetic insulin from E. coli bacteria and document their process. The result, they hope, will be that a generic pharmaceutical company will use that protocol to make insulin that’s affordable for diabetes patients all over the world. There are several types of insulin that have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration—some are long-lasting, others are fast-acting—but they are all protected by patents, so there are no generic versions....

For a limited time, these deals are available to make that preparation easier and more affordable than ever. AIR-C + HEAT: Full Leg Massage + Heat Treatment Gain relief through a leg massager that provides natural pain remedy and rapid muscle recovery. Achieve relaxation and recovery, and enjoy the benefits of increased blood flow. Normally $189, it’s now $169.99. Cozy Palm Rechargeable Hand Warmer Swift and double-sided heating supplies instant warmth to cold hands, no matter where you are....

The fossil trove, known as McGraths Flat, covers only about half the area of a football field, yet boasts one of the most impressive records of prehistoric rainforest life. Since the flat was discovered, paleontologists have catalogued more than 2,000 fossils from the Miocene, an epoch that stretches from 23 to 5 million years ago. Published in the journal Science Advances last Friday, paleontologists at the Australian Museum Research Institute reveal a cornucopia of new fossil finds that peeks into the region’s past....

Popular Science has spent the last few weeks working hard to keep our readers informed about COVID-19, the novel strain of coronavirus that’s infected close to 100,000 people worldwide since December. Here, we answer a few questions from students at Vineland High School in New Jersey. Still have questions of your own? Let us know in the comments and we’ll do our best to find answers. What are the best methods to prevent getting the virus?...

Chemical company Yara International announced its intention to create the vessel in 2017, one year after Norway opened up the world’s first designated testing area for autonomous ships. President and CEO Svein Tore Holsether explained that the company saw this technology as an opportunity to cut down the more than 100 daily diesel truck trips it commissions between its plant and shipping ports. “With this new autonomous battery-driven container vessel we move transport from road to sea and thereby reduce noise and dust emissions, improve the safety of local roads, and reduce NOx and CO2 emissions,” Holsether said in a 2018 press release....

It’s accidents like these that a new sensor system from bike company Specialized is designed to detect. The gadget is roughly 1 by 1.5 inches in size, weighs less than an ounce, and attaches to the back of the helmet. If the onboard accelerometer and gyroscope detect a fall—maybe the whiplash of that car door impact, or the linear and rotational forces of a head strike on the ground—it uses its Bluetooth connection to your smartphone to initiate an alarm....

The intensity of the sun’s light blinds most camera systems, whether they’re squishy eyes or rigid iPhones. But the newest solar satellite’s peepers aren’t most camera systems. Slated for launch in early February, the European Space Agency’s Solar Orbiter will tag team with NASA’s Parker Solar Probe to study the enigmatic solar winds and magnetic field of our nearest star. While it won’t get as scorchingly close as its partner in exploration, the Solar Orbiter will use its unique set of instruments to take unprecedented measurements of the star, including a much anticipated first glimpse of the sun’s poles—a perspective current solar observatories lack....

Recording on the go is not dead — as is apparent by the podcaster boom. However, a fantastic idea or random to-do list can spark up at any time, so why not be prepared? Boasting a thickness of 5mm, a width of 23mm, and a height of 43mm, this pocket-sized voice-activated recorder is the perfect accessory for those constantly on the go. Named the world’s thinnest voice-activated recorder, the device easily fits into any laptop bag, purse, or wallet and captures 145 hours of high-quality content with its PCM triple noise reduction and 360° panoramic recording....

It’s always better to be safe than sorry, so as a responsible traveler, you ought to have all your bases covered. Scout Hidden Camera Detector, as the name suggests, is a device specifically created to scan for hidden cameras in any given room. For a limited time, you can grab it on sale for 22-percent off. Scout is equipped with high-powered LEDs that reflect off camera lenses. It doesn’t matter whether the hidden camera is an iPhone, a spy camera, or a CCTV....

Scholars have long debated the likelihood of this origin story about the population of feral ponies that have made the islands famous. A new genetic analysis of a 16th-century horse tooth from the Caribbean doesn’t settle this question, but does offer some indirect support for the shipwreck tale’s plausibility. Researchers found that the tooth fragment, which was discovered in present-day Haiti, belonged to a horse of southern European origin. Additionally, the specimen is most closely related to the Chincoteague pony breed, the team reported today in the journal PLoS ONE....

“The two discoveries have provided humankind with powerful new means to combat these debilitating diseases that affect hundreds of millions of people annually,” the committee announced at a press conference. “The consequences in terms of improved human health and reduced suffering are immeasurable.” Campbell, who is Irish-born and currently a professor at Drew University in New Jersey, and Omura, a professor at Kitasato University in Tokyo, received the prize for their discovery of Streptomyces avermitilis, the soil-based bacteria that led to the drug Avermectin....

Keyboards have come a long way since the days of harpsichords and fortepianos, following popular music and expanding in functionality to control computers, include drum machines and pads, act as samplers, and much more. Check out some of these truly unique upgraded and evolved keyboards and see how they can take your creativity to new heights. This kit from Roli combines one of their sleek blocks and control blocks into one super-instrument that for beat making....

Biofilms are the bane of hospitals’ existence, because they consist of large colonies of bacteria living in slimy layers that can be very difficult to eradicate. Mucus protein can help. It makes a lot of sense when you think about it: Mucus is a defensive mechanism, protecting our noses, mouths, eyes and other membranes from would-be invaders. The thing is that no one has been sure just how this infection barrier works, according to MIT News....