The mantis shrimp is one of evolution’s greatest hits—literally. This pugnacious crustacean (not technically a shrimp) cocks back its hammer-limbs and smashes prey with such ferocity, a shockwave blows the claws clean off crabs and crumples clamshells like they were papier-mâché. Really, there isn’t much on the tropical seafloor that the mantis shrimp can’t destroy… Continue reading When a Mantis Shrimp Fights a Disco Clam, It Meets Its Match
Author: Wired Magazine
10 Best Android Phones You Can Buy (New, Unlocked, Cheap)
Trying to find the best Android phone for your needs is hard work. It’s easy to get swayed by a pretty handset design or a convincing salesperson at a retail store. Carriers might tempt you with an affordable 24-month payment plan. But before you make an ill-informed impulse buy, read up. From the bottomless pit… Continue reading 10 Best Android Phones You Can Buy (New, Unlocked, Cheap)
Utility Executives Kept Flint’s Tainted Water a Secret
Veolia said it nonetheless warned city officials about the possibility of lead contamination and that the city resisted discussions of changing its water supply. Veolia said it warned the then mayor, Dayne Walling, about how the corrosive water could cause lead to leach from the pipes and raised corrosion in a final public report to… Continue reading Utility Executives Kept Flint’s Tainted Water a Secret
Why Ring Doorbells Perfectly Exemplify the IoT Security Crisis
There’s been a lot of creepy and concerning news about how Amazon’s Ring smart doorbells are bringing surveillance to suburbia and sparking data-sharing relationships between Amazon and law enforcement. News reports this week are raising a different issue: hackers are breaking into users’ Ring accounts, which can also be connected to indoor Ring cameras, to… Continue reading Why Ring Doorbells Perfectly Exemplify the IoT Security Crisis
Greta Thunberg Blasts ‘Creative PR’ in Her Climate Speech
This story originally appeared on HuffPost and is part of the Climate Desk collaboration. At a high-level event Wednesday at the United Nations climate summit, Swedish teen climate activist Greta Thunberg slammed world leaders for “misleading” the public with insufficient emission-reduction pledges and dove into the growing science that shows governments must act quickly to… Continue reading Greta Thunberg Blasts ‘Creative PR’ in Her Climate Speech
Jack Dorsey Wants to Help You Create Your Own Twitter
“Rather than relying on a few giant platforms to police speech online, there could be widespread competition, in which anyone could design their own interfaces, filters, and additional services, allowing whichever ones work best to succeed, without having to resort to outright censorship for certain voices,” Masnick wrote. “It would allow end users to determine… Continue reading Jack Dorsey Wants to Help You Create Your Own Twitter
Why Volcanologists Didn’t Predict New Zealand’s Deadly Eruption
On Monday, at 2:11 pm local time, New Zealand’s White Island volcano unexpectedly erupted, blasting a superheated plume of ash, sulfur gas, and steam 12,000 feet in the air and blanketing the crater’s floor in powdered rock and debris. At the time, dozens of people were visiting the popular tourist destination, also known by its… Continue reading Why Volcanologists Didn’t Predict New Zealand’s Deadly Eruption
A DNA Firm That Caters to Police Just Bought a Genealogy Site
Just two years ago, GEDmatch was still an obscure genealogy website, known only to a million or so hobbyist DNA sleuths looking to fill in their family trees. The site was free, public, and run by two guys with a knack for writing algorithms that helped relatives find each other. All in all, it was… Continue reading A DNA Firm That Caters to Police Just Bought a Genealogy Site
Disparity in Tech Jobs, Green Monday Deals, and More News
Disparity in tech jobs is still a thing, and holiday deals are in full swing, but first: a cartoon about how video conferences spiral out of control. Here’s the news you need to know, in two minutes or less. Want to receive this two-minute roundup as an email every weekday? Sign up here! Today’s News… Continue reading Disparity in Tech Jobs, Green Monday Deals, and More News
3D Printing Can Keep Aging Air Force Aircraft Flying
Glenn House and his colleagues spent more than four years making a new toilet for the B-1 Lancer. The challenge wasn’t fitting the john into the cockpit (it went behind the front left seat), but ensuring that every part could handle life aboard a plane that can pull 5 Gs, break the sound barrier, and… Continue reading 3D Printing Can Keep Aging Air Force Aircraft Flying