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Researchers recently discovered an incredibly well-preserved ancient puppy frozen in permafrost in Yakutsk, Russia.The scientists used carbon dating to determine how old this specimen is and its age at time of death, but remain perplexed as to whether it’s a wolf or dog.The scientists will conduct additional tests to find out more about the mysterious pup.Scientists have discovered a beautifully preserved specimen buried in permafrost in eastern Russia, near the capital city of Yakutsk....

Each spring, Sandia National Laboratories hosts a robot rodeo in the desert in New Mexico. Bomb squads around the country bring their own robots to compete and train in the event. The robot training scenarios mimic real world scenarios — almost real world, anyway: in one Men in Black inspired scenario, the robot had to drive into a plane fuselage to pick up vials of alien blood, and samples of something else....

Writing in the New York Times, Xeni Jardin wonders if gadgets are becoming tyrants. She writes: The 40th annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week was packed, as usual, with cool new technology. New devices included ultra-thin/ultrawide TV displays, networked entertainment systems and innumerable gadgets that bring music, movies and television to our hands and homes in new ways.But many of these new products limit our freedom to use and share the music, movies and other content they are intended for....

A group of researchers has made an unlikely discovery off the Atlantic coast: an enormous coral reef, around 85 miles long, that had remained hidden from humans until now. This reef could have existed for hundreds of thousands of years.The ocean floor is one of the last great unexplored regions of our planet. There’s so much about our ocean that we still don’t know, so it should come as no surprise that we’re still finding huge structures like this reef....

Yes, it sounds like yet another gross invasion of your privacy: The airport is tracking your phone. You might be willing to tolerate this form of tracking, though, because it promises to cut wait times at the airport and make the flying experience just a little less miserable.Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) is one of many to test this system. The technology searches via Wi-Fi and Bluetooth for signals and uses that as an approximation for the number of people in a given area....

If you’re looking for ways to gain a little extra storage space, consider installing wall-hung shelving. Unlike bookcases or other types of freestanding shelving units, wall-mounted shelves take up no floor space, so they’re perfect for even the smallest, most crowded rooms. And once installed, the shelves transform an otherwise blank wall into valuable, usable storage. Here are details on installing three different types of wall-hung shelving:Shadow Box ShelvesView full post on YoutubeThese contemporary-style shelves consist of rectangular boxes made of ¾-inch-thick hardwood-veneer plywood, such as birch or red oak plywood....

High-end rotomolded coolers have stretched the ice-melting barrier up to a week or more, but a portable refrigerator might be an even better option for some travelers. We’ll help you decide which product is best for you.Rotomolded Coolers We are continually amazed by the performance and durability of high-end rotomolded coolers, from companies like Yeti and Pelican. Their superior ice-retention ensures our food and drinks remain cold for long weekend trips—even when trekking through the desert....

In a world of touchscreens and squishy laptop keyboards, clicky mechanical keyboards are a niche toy for a certain kind of nerd. While the most iconic and unique clicker—IBM’s classic Model F—is making its own small comeback, the most common mechanical keyboards today use Cherry-inspired switches and trace their roots back to a different ancestor. This guy, a 1959 switch, was recently showcased in a demonstration from YouTuber LGR: View full post on YoutubeCherry’s first mechanical switch from 1959 is detailed in a patent that was filed that same year....

Lockheed Martin has announced a fighter jet it calls the F-21. The single-seat fighter is packed with missiles, modern sensors, and can engage in both air-to-air and air-to-ground combat. It’s not exactly “new” though—the rest of the world knows this plane as the F-16 Fighting Falcon.For years, Lockheed has been lobbying India for a fighter contract in excess of 100 jets. Why? Because it saw a window of opportunity. India traditionally bought its defense tech from the Soviet Union and Russia, but recently, the hugely populous nation has been on a roll buying American military technology, including the P-8 Poseidon and AH-64 Apache attack helicopter....

To hear more from the editors of Popular Mechanics, download this week’s episode of The Most Useful Podcast ever here, and be sure to subscribe and comment on iTunes!For years we’ve been hearing that completely wireless Bluetooth earbuds—basically just earplug-style headphones—are just around the corner. At least that’s what it feels like. I’m talking about designs on par with your typical, good quality $50 earbuds, just without any wires at all but with little charging carrier cases instead....

Scientists have applied a quantum machine learning idea back to the human brain to see if it explains human decision-making.The complexity of the brain suggests that a quantum model could fit data better than a classical model.Researchers found that quantum reward learning matched the best classical reward learning models.Could quantum theory and human psychology be the cereal-and-milk combo that explains our stupid decisions? Scientists in China are exploring a theory that the two disciplines are more related than we might think....

The Mendocino Complex Fire has collectively become the largest fire in California history, state officials now say. In eleven days, the fire has burned through approximately 290,692 acres. According to the National Wildfire Coordinating Group, it is 34 percent contained.The Mendocino Complex is actually two fires that are close to each other on either side of a small lake: the Ranch Fire to the north of Clear Lake, and the River Fire to the south....

Paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould once noted that ever since life began on Earth, it has remained in existence. There’s never been a point where, after life began, there were zero living things on the planet. But that doesn’t mean there haven’t been close calls. The End-Permian Extinction, which occurred around 250 million years ago, killed off 90 percent of life on the planet. A new study examines what gave this extinction, which was powered by volcanoes, its unique power....

Researchers recorded the coldest place on Earth via satellite on an ice sheet deep in Antarctica, and thanks to global warming, it might just be the coldest it will ever get on Earth. The cold spot is about minus 144°F: so cold that “it’s almost like another planet,” according to Ted Scambos, a researcher at the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado, Boulder. The previous recorded lowest temperature was 128....

Up there with tiger tooth extraction and female bonobo ejaculation sampling is giving a pregnant shark an ultrasound. Even if the shark isn’t interested in eating you, you first need to build a waterproof ultrasound machine, which is exactly what Kiyomi Murakuma did in 2016 at the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium. What she saw upended the idea that embryos of live-bearing vertebrates are mostly sedentary. The unborn tawny nurse shark she observed swam between its mother’s two uteri....

When ancient Britons went for a pig roast, they went big.In a paper published today in Science Advances, a team of Cardiff University researchers outlined the results of a study of pig bones left near Stonehenge and other similar formations that led them to an important discovery: It seems these late Stone Age pig roasts were big enough to draw people from across the British mainland. The proof was in the isotopes....

Tesla Motors has applied for a patent for a new additive-mixing battery technology.The application lists both automotive and energy grid ambitions for the new additive experiments.Tesla aims to build extremely long-lasting vehicles, and batteries are just one piece of that vision.Elektrek reports that Tesla is patenting a new chemical additive to improve lithium ion battery technology. The company’s solution—literally, it’s electrolytes with additives dissolved inside—works with nickel manganese cobalt compound (NMC) lithium ion batteries and other kinds....

We knew this day would come. Tesla Motors has now confirmed it will soon deliver its 200,000th electric vehicle in the United States. This is a huge deal: Crossing that threshold would trigger an automatic phase-out of the huge tax credit Americans have gotten for buying a Tesla. It could make a whole lot of people on the waiting list for the more affordable Model 3 rethink whether to follow through with buying the car....

Netflix Rocks Internet Movie StreamingA year ago, we would have guessed that Apple would become the dominant player in the nascent business of streaming Internet-delivered TV shows and movies to TV with its Apple TV. We would have been wrong. Over the past year, Netflix’s “Watch It Now” feature evolved from a little-used part of its Web site to a killer app that is causing some people to cancel their cable....

The U.S. Navy’s fleet of Hornet strike fighters is facing a growing problem with what the service calls “physiological episodes.” The fighters are experiencing a problem with loss of cabin pressure and hypoxia, which cuts off oxygen to the pilot, resulting in impaired physical and mental abilities—and even loss of consciousness.Bloomberg News obtained secret testimony on the issue from a House Armed Services Subcommittee. The testimony indicates all Hornet models, from the 1990s-era F/A-18A,C, and D models to the newer F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and EAG-18 Growler models, are affected....