Smartphones and other digital technologies are a constant potential source of distraction. According to a 2025 survey by Reviews.org, an online resource that reviews mobile services and Internet providers, on average, US adults check their phones 186 times per day, or roughly once every five minutes (see go.nature.com/4b4zgje). They also spend 5 hours each day
It’s so hot in Germany this summer that Cologne started a “Cooling Cologne” initiative: Chilled groundwater is dispersed through fine-mist sprays connected to fire hoses. Kadir Ilboga/Anadolu via Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Kadir Ilboga/Anadolu via Getty Images In a summer of extreme heat, we asked our NPR readers to share the ways they
A solar eclipse, the Perseids, bright Venus after sunset, and a deep partial lunar eclipse highlight August’s skywatching. Aug. 5: Last Quarter Moon Aug. 12: Total solar eclipse across northern Russia, Greenland, Iceland, northern Spain, and part of Portugal; partial eclipse in parts of the U.S.; New Moon Aug. 12-13: Perseid meteor shower peak under
Phone screens are Better than ever (bigger, sharper, brighter), but they don’t always offer the best screens for long reading sessions. If you have a lot of text to read, you might turn to a Kindle or even a good old physical book. However, there are ways to modify the screen settings of your iPhone
In early 2024, a striking illustration in a published article sparked a lively debate on social media. The image showed a rat with a penis and testicles larger than the rest of the animal’s body. The authors noted that the illustration was generated by an artificial intelligence model called Midjourney, but was obviously inaccurate, as
the best amazon Kindles are reliably good at their primary job: displaying e-books in a crisp, eye-pleasing format. But Kindle e-readers are actually more versatile than you might imagine. If you just upgraded to a new Kindle and are looking for something to do with your old one, or if you’re just interested in seeing