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In the debate over how to measure fuel economy, it comes down to this simple tenet: It’s easier to make comparisons between the fuel consumption of two vehicles when expressed as fuel consumed per unit of distance, not distance per unit of fuel consumed. Specifically, we should measure gallons of fuel consumed divided by 100 miles traveled, or g/100m. In much of the rest of the world, this is already how it’s done, although liters/100 kilometers are the units used....

No matter who you are and no matter how much you clean, here’s what you should know: you probably have 10,000 bugs in your house, if not more. This is probably a nightmare for Howard Hughes types, but it’s unavoidable. And mostly harmless.A survey of 50 homes in Raleigh, North Carolina turned up the bug census count, finding anywhere between 32 and 211 species in those homes, and collecting the massive number of specimens big and small from every nook and cranny....

Media Platforms Design TeamOn-Sale Date: December 2012Price: $29,105 Competitors: Acura ILX, Acura TSX, Lexus IS250, Volkswagen CC, Volkswagen Jetta GLIPowertrains: 2.0-liter turbocharged inline four-cylinder; 250 hp, 260 lb-ft; six-speed manual, six-speed auto, FWDEPA Fuel Economy (city/hwy): 20–21/30–31 What’s New: Introduced in 2011, the Buick Verano rolled onto the compact luxury scene like a good-looking welterweight boxer who’s got everything but a punch. That shortcoming ends in 2013 with a turbo model, adding $2350 to the price tag and 70 hp under the hood....

Should you be scared of a spiny slug growing in your stomach?Parasites were back on Fringe, after making a factually-challenged appearance in an earlier episode. In last night’s episode, “Bound,” Boston College professor Stewart Kinberg reaches the high point of a lecture about the microbial world, ruminating on how millions and millions of microorganisms like viruses and bacteria feed on us every day. Like many remarks in Fringe, the professor’s words turn out to be prophetic–he suddenly begins to struggle to speak, then breaks into a fit of choking and falls to the ground....

Japanese pufferfish are among the most prized and notorious delicacies in the sea. A single kilogram of the fish can go for as much as 30,000 yen ($264.80)—but it can be deadly if not properly prepared. Because of global warming, a scientist says, poisonings are going to become more common that ever. There are 50 species of pufferfish, also known as fugu. The Japanese government has declared only 22 of them to be edible, and even these come with restrictions—butchers and chefs working with pufferfish must be trained and licensed to remove the fish’s most toxic elements, the liver and reproductive organs....

The Curiosity rover’s harrowing landing in Gale Crater riveted the world last August. Now sediments found by Curiosity indicate that the rover’s landing site once hosted lakes that could have supported life. The findings were announced in a paper published today by the journal Science, one of several new studies based on Curiosity’s data.John Grotzinger, a geologist at Caltech and Curiosity science chief, led a team that found the evidence for an ancient lake in a 5-foot-thick layer of rock found in an area of Gale Crater named Yellowknife Bay....

Scientists have found using metal organic frameworks (MOF) could improve water desalination speed by at least one order of magnitude.The Carnegie Mellon team used 3D solid modeling to calculate water flux and ion rejection.Membranes of advanced nanomaterials are improving all kinds of water filtration.A mechanical engineer at Carnegie Mellon University has developed a new, micro-thin material to make membrane water desalination even better. Amir Barati Farimani, with fellow researchers Zhonglin Cao and Vincent Liu, has calculated how much better his metal organic framework (MOF) works than the traditional membrane method....

Media Platforms Design TeamFlying-car enthusiasts may have to wait a little longer to purchase a production vehicle capable of vertical takeoff and landing. Moller International, maker of the M400 Skycar and M200G saucer, this week reported that company debt rose to $40.6 million after a loss of more than $80,000 during the last quarter. A prototype of the M400 with a $3.5 million price tag was included in this year’s Neiman Marcus holiday catalogue, but production versions do not currently exist....

Google isn’t known for keeping a tight lid on its hardware secrets, and this year is no different—we already have a good idea what will becoming to Google’s Pixel event today, set to start at 10 a.m. ET.As its name would suggest, Google’s new phones—the Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL—will be the headliners. While for the most part these new Pixels are your typical smartphone update with better processors, cameras, etc....

When a nuclear researcher who worked on the hydrogen bomb wanted to write his memoir, the government had a big problem. The Department of Energy wanted him to cut out 10 percent of the book—details they considered too secretive for publication (even though many of them had already been leaked).Well, 88-year-old Kenneth W. Ford is publishing his book, Building the H Bomb: A Personal History, despite the government’s wishes. But his move opens the doors to a possible (though not probable) lawsuit from the feds and garnishing of profits from the book, The New York Times reports....

Media Platforms Design TeamDigital SLR cameras with interchangeable lenses are highly versatile, but they have a unique vulnerability: When the lens is removed, the door is open for dust to float into the camera’s body and cling to the electrically charged image sensor within. Once there, these tiny specs of dust can pollute your photos with annoying, image-ruining artifacts that usually pop up in the same place from photo to photo....

Multiplying large numbers is hard. In 1971, two German professors predicted an algorithm that would make it easier, but no one ever proved it. Until now.Mathematicians from Australia and France say their algorithm can make multiplication and other kinds of arithmetic much more efficient. From grade school onward, complex multiplication has been a headache. But an assistant professor from the University of New South Wales Sydney in Australia has developed a new method for multiplying giant numbers together that’s more efficient than the “long multiplication” so many are taught at an early age....

Clogged sinks and drains are a commonplace problem that everyone in the household should know how to solve. Follow these steps to clear any blockage and prevent future clogs.Remove DebrisThe easiest clogs to fix are those that have blockages due to food that has gathered in the bottom of a drain. Make sure your drain stop isn’t closed and try to fish out and remove all excess food. Reach into a garbage disposer (when it is turned off, of course), and pull out anything you can get your hands on....

The Hubble Space Telescope has discovered thousands of galaxies throughout its lifetime, but many of those galaxies are billions of light-years away, in the most distant parts of our visible universe. But the famed space telescope managed to find another galaxy recently. This one is a lot closer, and it was discovered completely by accident.The researchers were studying a cluster of stars in our own galaxy called NGC 6752. This cluster lies around 13,000 light-years away, and scientists were studying the stars with Hubble to find out how old they are, and in turn, the age of the entire cluster....

The Netherlands has a problem. There’s no space in the country to put a giant solar farm. Land is at a premium in the Low Countries, and so the cost of building large solar farms is much higher than practically anywhere else in the world. So far, this trouble has caused the Netherlands to lag behind other countries when it comes to transitioning to renewable energy.As a solution, the Netherlands is considering building its solar farms on the surface of the ocean....

Some Canadians awoke to a jarring false alarm on January 12 that alerted them to an incident at the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station outside Toronto. After more than a half hour of confusion, Ontario Power Generation, which runs the facility, tweeted that the alarm had been sent out in error. This isn’t the first time a false alarm has sparked panic. In 2018, a false ballistic missile alert was sent to residents and tourists in Hawaii....

From it’s launch in 2016, Google’s Pixel always felt a step behind. The inaugural Pixel was awkward from the start, a weird mash-up of hardware from phonemaker HTC with some Google smarts baked in. Things were refined next year with the Pixel 2 (and a great camera helped), but absent features left us wanting more. In 2018, Google delivered on all fronts with the Pixel 3 and the Pixel 3 XL....

Following two oh-so-close attempts to land a Falcon 9 rocket on a drone barge out in the ocean, SpaceX is ready to turn to solid ground for its next attempt to prove out a reusable rocket.While the barge was seen as a way to make the landing safer, since it happens out in the middle of the ocean, it also may lead to more instability in the landing. SpaceX COO Gwynne Shotwell tells Defense News:“Just purely the boat moving, even in a low sea state, it’s hard to imagine that vehicle is going to stay vertical....

Media Platforms Design TeamOn the tail of getting the go-ahead from the federal government to build the first new nuclear reactors in the U.S. in over 30 years, Westinghouse is aiming small. This year the company will start fuel tests for its Small Modular Reactor (SMR) in Columbia, S.C. With an output of 225 megawatts, the SMR is considerably smaller than traditional reactors and can be built in pieces and assembled on-site....

America’s fleet of B-52H Stratofortress nuclear bombers are on track to outlast their engines, and the planes need new ones to remain viable past 2030. The U.S. Air Force, which received its first B-52H during the Kennedy administration, wants to replace existing engines with cheaper, more power ones to keep the lumbering jets flying into all the way into the 2040s.The B-52H is the last of the family of B-52 Stratofortress bombers to remain in U....