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Russia conducted a new test of its anti-ballistic missile system. The test, conducted on the winter steppes of Kazakhstan, was uploaded to YouTube by the Russian Defense Ministry. The system is part of a missile defense network that protects Moscow from nuclear attack.Moscow’s state media, Sputnik News, quoted Colonel Andrei Prikhodko, deputy commander of the Aerospace Forces’ air and missile defense task force. According to Prikhodko the, “technical characteristics of the new interceptor missile by far exceed those of its present-day counterparts” and “the missile is capable of intercepting single and multiple strikes, including new generation ICBMs....

A report by a Washington D.C. think tank suggests North Korea’s Kim Jong Un is gradually expanding his country’s nuclear missile program at different locations across the country. The report goes against President Donald Trump’s assertion that the North Korean nuclear weapons crisis is “largely solved,” suggesting that Pyongyang’s nuclear program is bigger than ever before.The report, put out by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, claims it has identified 13 out of an estimated 20 undeclared North Korean missile bases....

The Pentagon today announced that a Navy warship has been tasked with shooting down a failing United States spy satellite that, if left alone, was expected to hit Earth within weeks.In a joint news conference, NASA administrator Michael Griffin and Gen. James Cartwright, the No. 2 officer at the Defense Department, announced that an SM-3 missile, designed to hit inbound ballistic missiles, will be fired from a Navy cruiser or destroyer during the next month to obliterate the inbound spacecraft....

A group of researchers has developed a way to detect several potent neurotoxins using a simple setup consisting of a smartphone and a box made of Legos. This invention could help first responders identify potential neurotoxins faster and make treatment quicker and more effective.Neurotoxins come in many different types. Anthrax, sarin gas, VX, and others can all be deadly but work in different ways. Crucially, the antidotes to these neurotoxins are different, which means first responders need to know exactly what chemical they’re dealing with as quickly as possible....

Ceres’ bright spots have intrigued space fans ever since Dawn first spotted them earlier this year. There were two likely candidates: water ice, and salt. Many people hoped for water ice. But sorry, it looks like mission scientists are leaning toward salt. This doesn’t diminish the chances that there’s a vast ocean underneath Ceres, which appears more like a proto-planet than its rocky asteroid neighbors. It also points to possible geologic activity, as something is bringing the salt to the surface....

Media Platforms Design TeamWhen it comes to hybrid cars, there’s been a lot of push-back lately. But I’m an early adopter with more than five years of hybrid driving behind me, and I think it’s been worth it­—even though my investment probably hasn’t paid for itself yet.Skepticism about hybrids and electric cars seems to rise and fall in reverse step with gasoline prices—gas is pretty inexpensive right now, and the sneering level is high....

This month Green Flag unfolded across Air Force and Army bases in Arkansas and Louisiana. The U.S. Air Force, joined by personnel and airplanes from Canada and Sweden, hosted Popular Mechanics during the exercise to see the art of contingency response up close.The Canadian aviator’s name is Jones and he has some grim news to deliver to a U.S. Air Force C-130J crew at Little Rock Air Force Base. The intelligence briefing’s Powerpoint is projected on the wall but the crew is eyeing papers with radio frequencies, duress code words, and flight plans that are each tattooed with “Unclassified/OpSec Sensitive....

Media Platforms Design TeamSome baseball fans are content simply to watch the game they love and argue its age-old debates. But then there are baseball fans who also happen to be scientists.Physicist Alan Nathan of the University of Illinois and mechanical engineer Lloyd Smith of Washington State University wanted to put some of the biggest baseball myths out there—corked bats hitting farther, juiced balls and the effect of humidity on baseballs—to the test....

The chances are increasing that a major quake — far larger than Loma Prieta — will hit California within the next 30 years, while the odds are decreasing that somewhat smaller but still dangerous jolts will strike in the same period, the state’s leading earthquake scientists warned Tuesday.The probability of a magnitude 8 or larger quake in California, the experts said, has increased from 4.7 percent estimated in 2008 to 7 percent now....

The future is here, everybody. We’ve got tiny supercomputers in our pockets, virtual reality headsets, and now we’ve got actual jetpacks.A company called JetPack Aviation has successfully built the world’s first true jetpack. A year ago, this same jetpack made waves when it flew around the Statue of Liberty, and now there’s some footage of it flying around in Monaco:View full post on YoutubeThere have been other types of jetpacks invented by other people and companies—like those water jetpack things—but JetPack Aviation calls its JB-9 the “world’s only true jetpack,” which it defines as “a jet turbine-powered backpack capable of vertical takeoff and landing....

Bootlegging gangsters of the 1920s and 30s firing a barrage of bullets at the G-men in pursuit—that’s the mental picture you might have of the Tommy gun. But while the Thompson submachine gun was designed for the trenches of World War I and gained notoriety as a gangster’s weapon, it was the battlefields of World War II that saw it win its place in history alongside the other best-known firearms of all time, with as many as two million made....

.Over 100 species of insects engage in same-sex mating (in some species, it’s even more common than heterosexual mating). Scientists have been speculating about why they might what leads to the puzzling behavior, which takes time and energy, exposes the insects to potential disease to injury, and offer no benefits as far as creating offspring. Are they mating as a form of social dominance, a practice behavior, or expressing a sexual preference?...

U.S car safety regulations are some of the most important the federal government has ever created. If you needed proof, just look at this video of two low-priced cars being sold as new: One the cheapest Nissan in Mexico, the other the cheapest Nissan in the United States.[youtube ]https://youtu.be/85OysZ_4lp0[/youtube]There’s an important caveat here that really hits home why the crash is so brutal for the Mexican car, the Tsuru. The Tsuru was actually made in 1991, but back then it was called the Sentra....

A juvenile female Arctic Fox walked from Norway to Canada by way of Greenland, which is not unheard of for the species who are built to endure sub-freezing temperatures.She covered an average of ~29-miles per day.Most impressive is the fact that the fox only took 4-months to travel 2,737 miles, crossing frozen seas during her journey.A young female Arctic Fox has traversed land and frozen sea to travel a total of 2,737 miles from Spitsbergen, the biggest island in Norway’s Svalbard Archipelago, to the Canadian island of Ellesmere....

A Marine Corps F/A-18 Hornet strike fighter crashed earlier today off the coast of Japan. The pilot reportedly ejected and a search and rescue effort is currently underway. The Hornet was conducting training at the time of the accident.The incident occurred at 6:40pm local time, 4:40 AM ET, about 120 miles southeast of Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan. The aircraft was part of the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing headquartered on the island of Okinawa but was stationed on mainland Japan....

Its one the biggest questions facing the solar power industry today. How do you get a solar panel to supply a reliable, steady supply of electricity—even after nightfall or during cloudy days?One way is to store excess solar power in batteries for later use. But scientist and engineers are increasingly courting another option: using solar power to create clean-burning hydrogen gas. Hydrogen is an fantastic fuel; it can be stored indefinitely, and has the highest energy density of any gas or liquid fuel....

View full post on VimeoMaybe you’ve memorized the recorded speech Princess Leia stored inside R2-D2, or the scene in which R2-D2 must turn off the trash compactor to save our heroes. But perhaps you’ve never given much thought to all the weirdly different ways in which the characters of the Star Wars universe interact with technology.This 10-minute supercut boils down the original Star Wars into nothing but its user interfaces. Many of them are R2-D2 plugging into strange computer terminals, but that’s far from the end of the story....

Now that the last new VCR is about to be made, it’s time to start appreciating the device and its medium—the humble VHS tape—from an historical and artistic perspective. Yes, that is possible. VHS movies covers offered a new landscape for art, roughly 11" x 8".The VHS cover became a mainstay artform of the 80’s and 90’s, be it simple cardboard or a more elaborate plastic clamshell. You had a front, a back, and a spine to cover....

.For more than a century, Popular Mechanics has provided life-saving advice for outlasting storms, surviving outdoors, and preparing for disaster. Find out how to survive anything right here.It’s cold. It’s snowing. And it’s a great time for a camping trip. The moon makes the snow-draped forest glow, and the retreat of the summertime campers means you have plenty of space to yourself. But a winter camping trip requires a little more thought and planning than your average summer outing....

Media Platforms Design TeamDo 3D TVs draw more power when they are showing 3D as opposed to 2D images?During a panel I moderated on the topic of 3D TVs at the CEA Line Shows in New York, I asked Dan Schinasi, Samsung’s senior marketing manager of HDTV product planning, this very question. Schinasi replied that while he could not say for sure, he did not anticipate there being much of a difference in power usage....