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In May, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed into law a bill banning abortion after around six weeks of pregnancy—as soon as a fetal heartbeat can be detected. That’s just one of several state laws on the books or in the works that undermine Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that deemed “unduly restrictive state regulation of abortion” unconstitutional. As politicians and higher courts debate the legality of such legislation, much of the discourse around these bills—and, in some cases, their actual wording—reveal multiple misconceptions about, well, conception....

The ship that will carry humans to another planet is the Orion capsule, of which NASA is already testing prototypes. And at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Popular Science got to take a look inside an Orion mock-up. Click through the pictures in the gallery above. Disclosure: This trip was paid for by Twentieth Century Fox, the company that made The Martian, which comes out on DVD/Blu-Ray on January 12....

While Google’s search engine has been online for over two decades, the technology that powers it has been constantly evolving. Recently, the company announced a new artificial-intelligence system called MUM, which stands for Multitask Unified Model. MUM is designed to pick up the subtleties and nuances of human language at a global scale, which could help users find information they search for more easily or allow them to ask more abstract questions....

In a paper published this week in Science researchers found that by building out huge wind and solar farms across the desert, they could not only provide a stunning amount of power to Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, but they could simultaneously change the climate—increasing heat, but also increasing precipitation and vegetation in areas that could sorely use the added greenery. They estimate that such a venture could double the rainfall in the region, and increase vegetation cover by about 20 percent....

Thanks to a team of researchers at Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania, a four-legged, doglike robot featuring an arm attachment recently managed to master complex maneuvers and multiple tasks overseen via a combination of human trainers and AI systems. Using reinforcement learning methods in both real-world and simulated environments, the developers first trained an AI to control the robot’s four legs independently from its arm extension, the synced the two systems into one walking, grabbing machine....

The Prime Early Access deals change often, so we’ll keep this list updated as new models go on sale and popular TVs sell out. The best deals tend to go quickly, so if you see something you want, be sure to jump on it immediately. You’ll be glad you did when you spend Black Friday sleeping off that stuffing hangover instead of battling it out for that discounted LG OLED TV at the local big box store....

The company states that “it plans to use the radar’s capability of capturing motion in a three-dimensional space to enable contactless sleep tracing functionalities.” If this sounds familiar, Google deployed a similar sleep-tracking radar system called Soli through its Nest Hub device earlier this year. Radar represents an interesting method for tracking sleep: it’s different from how a camera works (which naturally raises privacy concerns if it’s in your bedroom) and it means the sleeper doesn’t have to actually wear anything to track their slumber....

The case, which was recently detailed in the New England Journal of Medicine this month, was the first reported teen injury caused by a vaping explosion. The 17-year-old required two surgeries to repair his face and jaw. “I had never heard this was possible,” says Katie Russell, a pediatric trauma surgeon who helped treat the teen in March of 2018. A minor injured by one of these explosions is a sobering reality check....

When we talk about this, many fellow parents ask how we did it. Most of them say it’s a challenge to take their kid to the mall or the restaurant down the street, let alone travel with them to the other side of the world. The funny thing is that it’s always hard—putting your child’s needs first and keeping them healthy, happy, and entertained will always be difficult no matter how far from home you are....

At the same time, this is also the first generation of iPad to include Apple’s new M1 chip. While the M1 seems like a fairly natural evolution from the A12Z Bionic that came before it, the iPad Pro (2021) is now working with the same hardware found in the new MacBooks, Mac Mini, and iMacs. Combined with a few other smart upgrades, the new iPad Pro’s feature set makes it decidedly more useful for creating content and a lot more enjoyable when consuming it....

Apple Watch SE 2 vs. Series 8 vs. Ultra For the most part, we think it’s prudent to focus on Apple’s current set of Watches. They have the latest and greatest tech inside—perfect to pair with that new iPhone 14 Pro Max. All three 2022 watches—even the relatively affordable SE—feature the same processor and motion sensors that enable car crash detection. The 2022 models will also get more watchOS software updates down the road, which means you can hold onto one (or more) longer before your Watch needs replacing....

“The signal switches on and off apparently at random,” said Ziteng Wang, the University of Sydney PhD student who identified the radio source, in a press release. “We’ve never seen anything like it.” Going where the action is The signal popped up during a pilot survey using the Australian Square Kilometer Array Pathfinder (ASKAP), organized by Tara Murphy of the University of Sydney and David Kaplan of the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee....

Right now, the federal government estimates that there are 271 active cases, and reports 58 hospitalizations. The scale of the outbreak is smaller than those in the United States, but Australia has also controlled the pandemic successfully for most of the past year and a half, lifting initial lockdowns last summer. However, it’s kept tight restrictions on foreign travel—most people can’t fly anywhere besides New Zealand, and incoming travellers are required to quarantine....

But not many have the luxury of storing thousands upon thousands of files and media on their devices given the limitations. Some have to frantically delete data when they have to make space for something else, which isn’t ideal when trying to hold on to memories. The solution? The cloud, of course. You don’t have to pay hefty monthly fees for a reliable cloud storage solution, though. Prism Drive is currently offering various storage options to choose from to fit your needs....

You can easily knock out any turkey-related tension, or limber up for some competitive shopping, thanks to six hours of battery life—and do so quietly, thanks to noise reduction technology that makes it as quiet as a library. Five-speed levels ranging from 1200-3200 RPM and six replaceable massage heads allow you to tailor your massage experience. Plus, you can take it with you when you visit extended family thanks to an included carrying case and light design....

Two basic chemical reactions are responsible for beer being “beer-colored” rather than clear like water. One reaction couples amino acids to sugars; the other spurs sugars to decompose. In addition to adding color to beer, the products of these reactions also add significant flavor to the resultant brew. A century ago in October, the Maillard reaction made its debut in the scientific literature thanks to the work of French chemist Louis-Camille Maillard....

The agency announced on May 5 that the pandemic claimed approximately 14.9 million lives in its first two years—more than twice the number of confirmed deaths reported by countries around the world. The WHO estimate includes people who died of COVID-19 as well as deaths that the novel coronavirus caused indirectly. Data on COVID-19 fatalities is tricky to make sense of, both in the US and globally. However, accounting for these deaths is important to gauge the full impact of the pandemic, experts say....

Think of all the benefits you’ll reap with a 2-in-1 that functions as both a laptop and a tablet. All it takes is a snap or a rotation for it to go from one to the other. When you travel, you’ll only have to make luggage space for one device instead of two, and the best 2-in-1 laptops are also super-portable when you’re just running around town. If you’re heading out to do errands and want to take your work with you, just disconnect the tablet from the keyboard or flip the device and go....

How We Selected the Best Antivirus Software It’s impossible for even an experienced critic to effectively test antivirus suites as we would other products. Luckily, there are independent firms devoted to providing trustworthy data that we can use to rate security apps. For this rundown, we looked to AV-Test, AV-Comparatives, MRG Effitas, and SE Labs. Like other credentials or certifications for consumer products, some of these services charge security software firms for inclusion in testing....

Best outdoor dog house: Petsfit Wooden Dog HouseBest extra-large dog house: Confidence Pet XL Waterproof Plastic Dog KennelBest double dog house: PawHut Wood Cabin-Style Elevated Pet ShelterBest indoor dog crate: Casual Home Wooden Large Pet CrateBest budget dog house: Pet Republic Dog House A few things to consider when shopping for the best dog houses Proper sizing is one of the most significant and most misunderstood factors that come into play when shopping for the best dog houses for family pets....