For Daily Use

  1. Physics

    A computer model explains how to make perfectly smooth crepes

    Here’s how to prepare thin pancakes that are perfectly smooth, according to science.

    By Maria Temming
  2. Tech

    A sensor inspired by an African thumb piano could root out bogus medicines

    An inexpensive, user-friendly device that’s based on an mbira could help identify counterfeit and contaminated medications.

    By Maria Temming
  3. Health & Medicine

    What is it about hogweed — and lemons and limes — that can cause burns?

    Some plants have compounds that, after exposure to sunlight, produce streaky or spotty burns.

    By Aimee Cunningham
  4. Health & Medicine

    Even in the shade, a car’s interior can get lethally hot

    A car’s interior can get lethally hot on summer days, even when it’s parked in the shade.

    By Maria Temming
  5. Health & Medicine

    The CDC advises: Don’t swallow the water in a hotel swimming pool

    In a 15-year period, hotel swimming pools and water parks had the highest number of swimming-related disease outbreaks in the United States.

    By Kyle Plantz
  6. Tech

    Private web browsing doesn’t mean no one is watching

    Many people misunderstand what private web browsing actually is. Web browsers’ explanations don’t help.

    By Maria Temming
  7. Health & Medicine

    Step away from the cookie dough. E. coli outbreaks traced to raw flour

    Flour, though low in moisture, can sicken people with E. coli toxins if it is eaten raw.

    By Laurel Hamers
  8. Health & Medicine

    Six in seven contact lens wearers take unnecessary risks with their eyes

    A lot of contact wearers are not practicing healthy habits with their lenses, a national survey finds.

    By Aimee Cunningham
  9. Physics

    Here’s why your wheelie suitcase wobbles

    Physicists explain why roller suitcases rock back and forth as you dash through the terminal.

    By Maria Temming
  10. Health & Medicine

    Spray-on mosquito repellents are more effective than other devices

    To avoid mosquito bites, stick with spray-on repellents and skip the bracelets and citronella candles, a new study says.

    By Elizabeth Eaton
  11. Animals

    Tropical bedbugs outclimb common species

    A study of bedbug traps and feet names finds that tropical bedbugs are much better at scaling slippery walls than common bedbugs.

    By Helen Thompson
  12. Health & Medicine

    Weekend warriors put up a fight against death

    Weekend warriors shove all their weekly activity into just one or two days, and it’s still enough to reduce mortality risk.

    By Bethany Brookshire