science Archives

The secret science squad in your pocket

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Think your phone is just for calls, texts and scrolling? Think again. You’re carrying around a secret lab in your pocket.

The accelerometer that flips your screen when you turn it? That’s what your fitness app uses to count steps. The barometer that helps your weather app? It can tell if you’ve climbed a flight of stairs. And the gyroscope that powers AR games? Aim it at the sky, and it points out planets.

These little guys are working harder than dating apps a week before Valentine’s Day.

👏🏻 Meet the team inside your phone

The accelerometer detects movement, whether you’re walking, running or sprawled on the couch.
The gyroscope tracks rotation, so panoramic photos don’t look like a toddler took them.
The magnetometer? Your phone’s built-in compass. Perfect when you’re lost in the mall.
How about the barometer? It senses air pressure, so yes, it knows if you’re upstairs or downstairs.
The ambient light sensor adjusts brightness, so you’re not blinded in bed.
Who could forget the proximity sensor? It turns off the screen when you hold the phone to your ear. Magic.
And the classic microphones are sensitive enough to detect distant rumbles from earthquakes.

🧑🏻‍🔬 Experiments you’ll want to try

Turn your phone into an earthquake detector – Download Phyphox (iOS, Android) or Vibration Meter (iOS, Android), and place your phone on a table. Watch it register vibrations from passing trucks or even footsteps.

Be your own weather station – Use Barometer & Altimeter (iOS, Android) to predict a storm before your local weather TV reporter does. I bet you win.

North without looking – Open your compass app, spin around, close your eyes, and try to stop facing north. Or on your next flight, use it to check your altitude.

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Tools of the tasty trade

From meal-prepping to baking, these kitchen helpers work as hard as you do.

⚡ Electric lunchbox (17% off): Heat up leftovers in your car, truck or right at your desk. Your coworkers will be jealous.

Digital food scale (33% off): Baking is science. This even measures milk and water volume, so you get it right every time.

🔪 Japanese knife set (25% off, 14-piece): Dishwasher safe and comes with a built-in sharpener. Makes a cutting-edge gift.

Silicone baking mats (10% off, three-pack): Forget the parchment paper. Holiday cookies and treats slide right off.

🧤 BPA-free oven mitts (11% off, two-piece): Heat-resistant, grippy and 4.7 stars with 23,000+ sizzling reviews.

⏰ Countdown to savings: Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days kick off in just a couple days. Click here for early-bird bargains that are already live.

We may earn a commission from purchases, but our recommendations are always objective.

Upload your wildlife pics for science

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You don’t need a lab coat to help. Just snap a pic with your phone and power research around the world!

🛏️ Fake sleep science: Turns out sleep trackers are only 65% accurate at guessing your sleep stages. They’re basically playing a slightly smarter version of “Are You Asleep Yet?” based on your wrist twitches. Helpful? Maybe. Lab-grade reliable? Not even close. Still, 1 in 3 adults say they aren’t getting enough sleep, which explains why we keep buying the devices.

2 hours

That’s the school day for core subjects at Alpha, the AI-powered private school. Kids in this $40K-to-$65K-a-year program blast through math, reading and science on personalized software before lunch, then spend afternoons on bike rides, hobbies or “life skills.” Imagine that.

📱 I want you: I’m posting tech tips, behind-the-scenes moments and real talk about your digital life over on TikTok. Come hang out, scroll smarter and tap that follow button, no dancing required (unless it’s for science). 👉 tiktok.com/@kimkomando

🧃 Electric camel unlocked: Mercedes built a prototype EV that drove 749 miles across Europe without blinking, and it still had 85 miles in the tank. One battery. Zero charging. That’s the distance from New York to Chicago, and maybe circling the block for parking. Solid-state tech, real-life road, no science fair nonsense. It’s coming by 2030.

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Science needs your frog pics: A massive new study confirms iNaturalist, a site where anyone can upload wildlife pics tagged with time and location, is driving thousands of research papers worldwide. With millions of uploads, the platform’s helped map species ranges, spot invasives and even rediscover lost animals. It’s kind of like Pokémon Go for real animals.

Proof that rocket science is history: In D.C.’s Air and Space Museum, there are five new galleries, two of them straight out of a sci-fi fever dream. I’m talking about Elon’s rocket guts, cosplay-level spacesuits and a clone of R2-D2 built by MythBuster Adam Savage. One display feels like a TEDx event on Mars. Goes to prove that despite the name, the Air and Space Museum has a lot to see there. (lol)

31 years

How long the world’s oldest baby chilled in a freezer before being born. Frozen in 1994, he’s technically older than Friends, Google and probably your favorite jeans. Science: 1, Nature: confused.

🧬 Three-parent baby drop: UK scientists have pulled off a medical hat trick: eight babies born using DNA from three people — mom, dad and a donor — to dodge deadly mitochondrial diseases. The donor’s part is just 0.1% but makes all the difference. The science is wild, but the result is healthy kids.

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Did science fiction predict the future?

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From AI romances to DNA-based hiring, science fiction movies like Minority Report, Gattaca, and Her predicted today’s tech with surprising accuracy.

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The number of cat nap videos researchers scrutinized … for science. Cat’s out of the bag, 65% of cats snooze on their left side. Why? Experts say it activates the right brain for lightning-fast reflexes and spatial finesse. The purrfect slumber isn’t just cute. Think elite soldier … in sleep mode, dreaming of chaos.

📚 Turn “da-da” into data: Get your kiddo ready for the future (and AI) with these 30 free STEM resources. The list includes apps, games and classes to teach youngsters stuff like coding, aeronautics, mathematics and, yes, data science.

👨‍🏫 Artificial degree syndrome: Forget cramming Java syntax, universities are now teaching students how to think like machines (paywall link). AI is shaking computer science ed, and schools like Carnegie Mellon are pivoting hard. The new curriculum? Vibe coding.