It’s a new year, which means it’s time to take stock of old habits. For many that means resolutions to get healthier and a month long break from booze, in observation of Dry January. 

Yet as 2025 begins, what hasn’t changed is the muddled messaging over the health effects of moderate drinking. Two recently released federal documents offer contrasting perspectives on alcohol and health–underscoring a long-standing, ongoing scientific debate that’s reverberated through some of the most prestigious scientific journals and institutions. 

A review published in December by the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine tows what some see as an outdated line: suggesting that up to a drink or two a day is associated with health benefits like reduced risks of heart disease and death. The National Academies’ analysis will likely inform revised national dietary guidelines set to come out later this year. (Current U.S. guidelines state that alcohol consumption should be limited to one standard drink a day for women and up to two drinks a day for men. This is also considered the upper limit on “moderate consumption” by many U.S. researchers and agencies.) 

Then, on January 3rd, the office of the U.S. Surgeon General released an official advisory unequivocally stating that drinking alcohol, at levels as low as one drink per day, can cause certain cancers. The advisory calls for updating the existing health warning labels on alcoholic beverages to include a warning about the cancer risks. 

So what gives? How can any substance be simultaneously associated with reduced risk of death and also increased cancer risk? How can big studies in well-regarded journals disagree on something as basic as harm or benefit? Why is the U.S. government seemingly arguing with itself? Is any amount of alcohol healthy?

Answers to all of the above are complicated. There’s statistical biases and confounding factors that muddy the data, the financial interests and outside influence, and a lack of consensus on how to define terms such as risk and moderate. Researchers sometimes disagree with each other about how to interpret the available evidence, and what guidance is best for boosting health. But there are some things we know for sure. Here’s what’s clear and what remains murky, when it comes to alcohol and health.

Consensus, straight up

Popular Science spoke with six expert sources for this article, including some who endorse the idea that moderate drinking may be associated with health benefits and those who say that drinking at every level carries only health risks. Every single source agreed that alcohol consumption exceeding one standard drink a day for women or two drinks a day for men can have negative health consequences, and that drinking beyond that level brings significantly increased risks of accidental injury and death, certain cancers, heart problems, liver disease, cognitive impairments, and more. 

Internationally, the definition of a standard drink varies. But in the U.S. and Canada  it’s defined as 0.6 fluid ounces or about 14 grams of pure alcohol, which is equivalent to 12 oz of a 5% beer, 5 oz of a 12% wine, or 1.5 oz of a 40% distilled spirit. 

All sources agree that binge drinking, heavy drinking, and alcohol use disorder are serious public health problems, and none directly endorse starting or increasing alcohol consumption for any health reason. 

“I wouldn’t want to recommend drinking, especially to someone who isn’t otherwise going to drink,” says Gregory Marcus, a cardiologist and professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. “Even if there are protective effects, which I acknowledge is possible, I don’t think that the level of evidence is high enough to recommend initiating it,” he adds. That’s despite his own, ongoing research trying to tease out potential heart health benefits of moderate drinking and his perspective that “light drinking may have salutary effects that are biologically plausible.” 

Further, it’s firmly established that alcohol is an addictive substance with systemic effects in the body that can lead to physiological dependence. Use at low levels carries the risk of increasing and excessive consumption. Upwards of 20% of Americans who drink will experience an alcohol use disorder in their lifetime, according to data from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. 

There is no debate when it comes to the harms of excessive alcohol consumption. Instead the ongoing scientific discussion is about how to research and classify the health effects of relatively low alcohol consumption and how to communicate to the public about those effects.

Increasingly, there’s also burgeoning scientific agreement that the risk-relationship for alcohol and certain cancers is straightforward: every additional volume of alcohol consumed is associated with increased risk of cancer. “Alcohol is a carcinogen. That link is very well established,” says Adam Sherk, a senior scientist at the Canadian Center on Substance Use and Addiction, an NGO founded and overseen by the Canadian government. 

Different analyses disagree about what level of alcohol consumption poses what level of risk for what cancers. But even the new National Academies report, which critics say is conservative in its assessment of health harms, found a 10% increase in breast cancer risk among moderate drinkers compared with those who reported never drinking alcohol. 

According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), there is robust evidence linking moderate drinking with increased risk of head and neck, esophageal, colorectal, and breast cancers. Light drinking (variably defined, but loosely: a few standard drinks a week, and less than a drink a day) is associated with measurable increased risk of esophageal and breast cancers, per NCI. 

Finally, sources generally agree that, when it comes to assessing the cumulative health effects of occasional or light drinking–whatever benefits or harms may exist are modest. It’s entirely possible that light or moderate alcohol consumption has no meaningful health impact for many people, according to Marcus. “These are not major, large effects,” he says. 

Tim Stockwell, a psychologist and professor at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, also views the effects of low level drinking as small. Stockwell studies the measurement and prevention of alcohol related harms, and stations himself squarely in the camp of researchers who believe no level of alcohol consumption is without risk. Despite his firm stance that evidence indicates drinking in any volume is “net bad” for health, averaged over a population, he explains each drink is likely equivalent to only a few minutes of lost life. “If you [consistently] have six drinks a week, it’s probably about two or three months of lost life expectancy,” he adds. At something like two drinks per week, “it’s a very small risk,” Stockwell says. 

Where things gets fuzzy

Yet a small risk is a very different thing from a small benefit, at the public health level, and that’s where the consensus breaks down. Despite the fact that individual effects of low and moderate drinking may be small, Stockwell notes that they can add up across the population. “We shouldn’t just focus on the high end of the spectrum,” he says. Unfortunately, the broader view remains confusing.

Beginning in the 1990’s reports about the purported health benefits of red wine began to lend moderate drinking a “health halo”–wherein the prevailing assumption among the drinking public became that a small amount of alcohol is good for you, especially for the heart. Subsequent studies of alcohol consumption and all-cause mortality found what’s known as a j-shaped curve: Those who drank some had a lower risk of dying than those who reported entirely abstaining. Meanwhile heavy drinkers’ mortality risk was far higher than both groups. This furthered the idea that a little bit of alcohol every day is healthy, despite the harms of overconsumption. 

But in ensuing decades, research into all-cause mortality and other health metrics has yielded inconsistent results. For instance, a 2017 study found that even moderate drinking is associated with brain volume loss. Some reviews, like a meta-analysis co-authored by Stockwell in 2023, conclude that low-level drinking offers no protective effect. In 2022 the World Health Organization surveyed the available research and concluded, “No level of alcohol consumption is safe for our health.” 

Whereas other assessments, like the recent National Academies meta-analysis, continues to report measurable benefits associated with alcohol consumption at low and moderate levels. In one particularly complicating instance, The Lancet–among the highest impact and most esteemed medical journals–published a 2018 analysis on alcohol’s global burden of disease reporting no j-shaped curve and no health benefit of drinking. Two years later, the same research group published a revision, stating that the data does, in fact, support a reduction in cardiovascular risk and all-cause death associated with “small amounts of alcohol consumption” among certain age groups. 

Again, it’s worth noting that all of these review studies combine research that defines “moderate” and “low levels” of drinking in different ways. In the National Academies study, a few of the studies used to inform the all-cause mortality finding set the upper threshold for moderate drinking at 0.7 U.S. standard drinks per day. Only one set an upper limit on moderate drinking as high as how it’s defined by existing U.S. dietary guidelines. That means that the reported findings on all-cause mortality related to moderate drinking don’t necessarily apply evenly to all amounts of alcohol consumption between 0 and 2 drinks a day. 

Regardless, the basic idea is that, even if alcohol increases cancer or other health risks, at low or moderate levels (somewhere between 0 and 1-2 drinks per day) it may simultaneously reduce cardiovascular risk. And, in the U.S. where heart disease is the biggest killer, that could seem a worthwhile trade-off.

Proposed mechanisms for alcohol’s cardiovascular health boost include that it might increase the amount of the body’s “good” HDL-cholesterol, inhibit clotting, or help moderate blood sugar levels–though it’s hard to disentangle the effects of alcohol itself from the other compounds present in beverages like red wine. Some also suggest that the social aspect of alcohol may mean those who engage in moderate drinking have richer social lives and are less lonely. “Social interaction is a positive thing,” says Ned Calonge, a physician, professor of epidemiology, and an associate dean in the school of public health at Colorado University. Calonge chaired the consensus committee that wrote the National Academies report. Perhaps, he suggests, “there are things associated with moderate drinking that have nothing to do with alcohol,” which could account for some of the observed heart and lifespan benefits. 

The key thing to know here is that nearly all studies of alcohol in humans are observational, meaning they look for correlations among large research cohorts who self-report habits. These aren’t randomized control studies, which serve as the gold standard for understanding the effects of pharmaceuticals. Instead, observational studies can only really demonstrate associations, not causal relationships. Drinking habits are complex and heavily influenced by non-random factors. Observational research can easily be inadvertently biased. 

One of the primary difficulties is “abstainer bias,” wherein studies may lump together never drinkers with those who previously drank and then quit. People who stop drinking often do so, in part, because of health problems–and so they may constitute an inherently less healthy group compared with those who keep drinking moderately. Calonge notes that the National Academies report sought to eliminate this problem by only including studies that separate never drinkers from quitters. 

Yet that, along with other stringent selection criteria, left Calonge and his co-authors with only a small handful of studies to assess. Their primary all-cause mortality finding was based on just eight research papers and some of their all-cause and cancer findings on as few as two. For many of the questions they asked, they concluded “insufficient evidence”. 

“They looked at probably about 1% of  the studies that have been published and said there’s not enough evidence,” says Stockwell. “I thought that was very misleading.” 

Further, abstainer bias can cut both ways: by eliminating those who quit drinking for health reasons from a study, you may artificially be inflating the health profile of drinkers, Stockwell explains. Plus, self-reporting is an unreliable metric of actual drinking habits, different studies (even those equated in meta-analyses) define moderate drinking at different levels, and people who are true never drinkers may be an inherently less healthy group because lifelong health conditions prevent them from drinking. Confounding demographic factors like age and socioeconomic status also play a role. Some research, including Stockwell’s own, has shown that heart and health risk factors among non-drinkers and moderate drinkers vary for reasons completely unrelated to alcohol. 

In the U.S., about 5% of deaths are attributed to alcohol annually. Yet somehow, the National Academies report found a 16% lower risk of all-cause mortality for moderate drinkers. “I think that’s logically impossible… alcohol would have to have an immense benefit,” says Sherk, and other evidence doesn’t support that. “I just feel like it has to be an artifact, because otherwise every single study would send immensely clear messages that low volume use is hugely protective.”

All-cause mortality as a metric has come into question and fallen out of favor for many scientists because it’s so difficult to control for data artifacts, bias, and confounders, says Jürgen Rehm a senior scientist and professor at the Center for Addiction and Mental Health at the University of Toronto who contributed to the 2022 WHO guidance. “All cause mortality studies use middle class samples who die of completely different causes of death than the rest of the population [and] they’re very specific per country,” he explains. One major flaw in the National Academies review is that they include some observational studies of non-U.S. cohorts to make a judgement about Americans’ risk, Rehm says. “It’s nonsense…South Korea has a completely different profile of causes of death and you cannot do that if you want to create guidelines for the U.S.”

Some research has begun to embrace alternate methods beyond observational cohort studies. There are, for instance, studies that attempt to randomize participants based on genetics, which Rehm says have more potential to illuminate causal relationships. (Though Marcus thinks this type of research is often over-interpreted.) And there are a handful of randomized control studies looking at the effects of alcohol dosage on health. To clear the ethical hurdles inherent in assigning people to drink alcohol, most of these studies instead take a group of moderate drinkers and prescribe some portion to drink less. So far, some of this research has found low to moderate levels of alcohol consumption has no significant effect on factors like blood pressure or mild negative effects on abnormal heart rhythms.  

For now, the state of the research leaves even experts unconvinced one way or the other on the potential benefits of alcohol. “There is no consensus of scientists on the cardiovascular effects,” says Rehm.

“I’m quite agnostic… I’m willing to let well-designed studies decide,” says Sherk. And again, those studies might not yet exist. 

What’s at stake?

Money is often a talking point for those on both sides of the moderate drinking debate. The alcohol industry and its lobbying arm have funded, advised, and promoted research endorsing health benefits associated with drinking. In 2018, an National Institutes of Health study was shut down because of an investigation revealing financial conflicts of interest. Similar issues have cropped up since. 

On the flipside, drink-defenders note that this accounts for a small portion of the total research, according to one 2020 analysis. And, at the same time, temperance and religious organizations have a vested interest in promoting research demonstrating alcohol’s harms. Stockwell admits that, at different points in his career, he’s accepted small amounts of conference and travel reimbursement from both an alcohol industry group and, more recently, Movendi International, a Swedish temperance group. 

It’s clear that official guidance, online trends, and shifting research tides do change peoples’ drinking and buying behavior, so any group with a moral position or financial stake has good reason to try to involve itself with scientists. Following a “60 Minutes” broadcast promoting the idea of red wine’s health benefits in 1991, sales of red wine spiked. Amid the current health and wellness wave, which tends to endorse drinking less, wineries are experiencing a downturn. But ideally, our health decisions would be well-informed and free from the influence of profit or proselytizers. 

Public health organizations and researchers try to help, by parsing the evidence simplifying what’s known and unknown for the public. “Our role is really to raise awareness and to put the evidence out there and support people in understanding what the risks are,” says Carina Ferreira-Borges, a regional program manager for WHO Europe who focuses on alcohol. Then, she says, groups like WHO advocate for harm reduction policies accordingly. Labels, regulations, and consumption guidelines can all be tools for doing so. 

Yet even official guidelines can’t capture the nuance and individual factors that might shift the outcomes of drinking for any one person at any one time. If, perhaps, you know you’re at high risk of developing cancer, then cutting out alcohol entirely might make sense. If, on the other hand, you’re more worried about a heart attack, then maybe that’s not a reason to become a teetotaler, says Marcus. 

“If you believe in both the [positive and negative] effects, you should try to look at the reasonable risks you’re willing to take,” says Rehm. Whether or not to drink is a personal choice, and sometimes science has limits.

The post Is drinking alcohol ever good for you? Here’s what the science says. appeared first on Popular Science.

Finding a working Atari—or any old-school console—is next to impossible. Scouring eBay, crossing your fingers for a decent price, and hoping it even works when it arrives is a total headache. Good news: we found a retro-inspired gaming console that brings on the same nostalgic effect.

Bonus: it comes with thousands of pre-loaded games. Yes, thousands. So you don’t have to pay anything extra to relive Space Invaders or Rocket League. Play retro games all you want for $99.99 with free shipping (reg. $159.99)—yeah, that’s the cheapest console out there. But there are less than 50 left in stock.

It arrives ready to play

Ready to invite your siblings or childhood friends over to “game” down memory lane? Setup takes only minutes with an HDMI and power cord. Then, pass around the two wireless gaming controllers that’ll remind you of the Sony PlayStation. 

Now comes the tricky part: deciding which game to play first. Scroll through the 70,000+ options and decide on anything from Pac-Man to The Last of Us to Sonic the Hedgehog. 

You can also download free 3D games if you want to try something new. The console even comes with memory cards to load games you already own, if you have something specific in mind that happens not to be available.

Stream when you aren’t playing

It’s 2025—we aren’t going to tell you to buy a console that only does one thing. This gadget doubles as a streaming console with Android OS, allowing you to download your favorite streaming apps like Disney+, Netflix, Prime Video, and more.

And don’t worry about trying to navigate the interface with the gaming controllers—the system comes with a regular TV remote for movie nights.

Order this gaming and streaming console for $99.99 with free shipping before they’re sold out (reg. $159.99).

StackSocial prices subject to change.

 

Kinhank Super Console X2 Pro Retro Gaming Emulator & Streaming Console – $99.99

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The post We found out how to play retro games without an Atari appeared first on Popular Science.

Every January, the biggest technology brands in the world descend upon Las Vegas for the Consumer Electronics Show. It’s our first chance to see a ton of new products that will debut this year (and some concepts that won’t). They include everything from TVs and audio gear to full-fledged robots. The sheer volume of products can be overwhelming, but we’ve chased down all the cool new stuff at this year’s show and highlighted inventions here for you to scroll (with more coverage to come in the next week). Our main takeaway: 2025 is going to be a great year for gadgets.

Samsung Frame Pro TV

Samsung’s Frame TV has long been a favorite of interior designers and people who don’t want a giant black void in their room whenever the TV isn’t in use. You’ll find two big upgrades in Samsung’s new versions. First, it now uses a MiniLED panel with a 144Hz refresh rate and Quantum Dot technology, which should make it much brighter and more colorful when you’re actually watching content. Secondly, it now relies on Samsung’s Wireless One Connect box, which contains all of the TV’s ports (like HDMI from your PlayStation 5 or Apple TV) and uses a dedicated Wi-Fi 7 channel to beam content to the panel. No more precarious plugging in dangling cables.

LG evo AI OLED G5 TV

While CES often exalts huge technological leaps, we also appreciate when a company makes a great product even better. That’s the case with LG’s new OLED TVs. Available in six sizes, this series has perennially found itself at the top of best TV lists, and now it features a brightness boost thanks to a unique four-stack structure and AIpha 11 Gen. 2 4K processor. Brightness can be a sticking point for OLEDs, so levels that respond to and compensate for ambient light are a big promise from a company that leads the OLED TV space by a wide margin. In addition, there is a 165Hz refresh rate with support for Nvidia G-Sync and AMD FreeSync Premium VRR, plus multiple profiles that can recognize users’ voices and change to their preferred settings automatically.

Halliday smart glasses

Smart glasses have been slowly progressing at CES over recent years, but Halliday’s upcoming pair looks very promising. The glasses connect wirelessly to a smartphone and a motion-sensing ring. A tiny 3.6mm display above the right eye projects a green light “screen” to your eye that allows the wearer to see and navigate notifications and other crucial information in a way that looks relatively natural. Plus, there are tiny speakers in the arms. Not only are they inconspicuous, but they’re also lightweight at 35 grams. (And AR smart glasses like this could become even more svelte if all-silicon full-range speakers like the xMEMS Sycamore we saw bring micro-fidelity to them.)

Urtopia Titanium Zero

Riding a good e-bike can make you feel superhuman. But lifting an e-bike can make you feel physically subpar. That’s because many e-bikes are an awkward 50-60 pounds. So we’re excited by the prospect of the Titanium Zero. Currently just a concept by Hong Kong’s carbon fiber-focused Urtopia, but hopefully in production sooner than later, this 3D-printed titanium road bike weighs just 23 pounds—including carbon fiber components, a 300Wh/kg -state battery, SRAM 12-speed groupset, and the custom torque-dense Quark DM1.2 mid-drive motor. It’s a puck tucked inside the bottom bracket that outputs 65Nm—powerful enough to help you ride out while lite enough that you don’t need help loading up.

Swippett

It may look like the classiest toaster you’ve ever seen, but this is actually a power station for smartphones. A special phone case holds a built-in battery that doubles a phone’s typical life. When power is running down, simply put the phone into the slot, and the device automatically swaps the battery for a full one. The station holds up to five batteries, so multiples are always charged. Is it practical? Maybe, if you have a family or small office where everyone uses the same phones. Is it cool? Definitely.

Kirin Electric Salt Spoon

Are you salty because of a low-sodium diet? This powered $125 utensil lets you forego actual salt while delivering that missing intensity, and the way it maintains umami will shock you. Literally. A mild electric current from the detachable, rechargeable handle goes through the spoon to collect and direct ions that create the illusion of saltiness. Four levels of experience are selectable, and the difference is noticeable. It does require positioning food on the spoon’s sensor for activation. But when used correctly, it could keep the blood pressure low and flavor high. Currently, it is only in Japan, but it’s coming to the States at some point in 2025. 

UGREEN Nexode 500W charger

This is the world’s first 500-watt charger. It spreads all that power over six USB-C ports. This may not be exciting for you, but it’s a big deal for people who charge a lot of high-draw devices at once. For reference, the iPhone charging brick is a 20-watt charger. The most powerful MacBook Pros come with a 140-watt brick. The UGREEN is an absolute beast. It will be out later this year.

MSI 27-inch QD-OLED gaming monitors

Once a neon playground, Las Vegas has become the kingdom of statement LED displays—from the Sphere to Spiegelworld’s DiscoShow to almost anywhere you look. A screen that caught our eye this year, however, is not one we would file in the more is more category (though there was plenty of that, such as bendable 5K displays, etc.). In a way, the MSI MPG 272URX monitor is less is more: It’s “only” 27 inches and 240Hz … but it’s 4K and DisplayPort 2.1a—all world’s first in the form factor. The 5-layer tandem OLED panel offers 166 PPI for text clarity and reduced color fringing. It’s also G-SYNC compatible for all those new Nvidia GeForce video cards (see below), with reduced lag and tear-free gaming. All those lesses mean more enjoyable play and productivity. (Or, if you’d prefer, you can opt for the MPG 272QR QD-OLED X50, which is QHD but 500Hz.)

Nvidia RTX 5000 series graphics cards

Nvidia refreshes its RTX series graphics cards every year, and 2025 is no exception. The new 5000-series cards are based on the new Blackwell architecture, and we won’t know what that means for performance until the cards hit the street and people start benchmarking them. It’s safe to assume, however, that they will be faster and more powerful than their predecessors, and they have already been adopted in many flagship gaming rigs previewed at CES (such as the MSI Titan HX AI laptop we reported on). The low- and mid-level cards will actually be slightly cheaper than the previous models, while the top-end 5090 will be more expensive than the previous flagship. If none of this makes any sense to you, ask your nephew who carries around that Fortnite backpack. He’ll explain. 

Roborock Saros Z70 robot vacuum

Every house has one (or two): the habitual sock dropper, poor crumpled-up paper tosser, bad sandals slinger. That’s why Roborock built an arm into its latest robot vacuum. Extending from a retractable roof panel, this foldable five-axis “OmniGrip” claw can pick up small obstacles under 10.5 oz. and take them to a trash bin, laundry basket, etc. Sensors, a camera, and LED lights help identify up to 50 stray objects that have specific homes, and then it cleans the area with 22,000Pa of suction without fear of tangling up the roller brush. Plus, there are pet and child safeguards built in. A lot of other robot vacuums showcased at CES 2025 had tricks (Dreame also had a step-climbing chunky-armed prototype, and Eureka had spill detection, for example). But the Roborock is close to production and might do enough chores to earn an allowance. 

Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Rollable

Lenovo loves a weird laptop, and so do we. This machine looks like a typical 14-inch laptop when you take it out of the box. But a single button press sets the screen in motion. The OLED display literally unrolls into a 16.7-inch screen with a taller aspect ratio. We’ve seen rolling OLED screens before, but they typically exist on the fringe of vaporware territory. This laptop, however, will actually go on sale this summer. Sure, it’ll cost you $3,599, but no one said being an early-adopting gadget nerd is cheap.

The Wonder Petal bug cam with solar “leaf”

We’re big fans of the Bird Buddy smart feeder, as are many Audubon enthusiasts. But maybe it’s been buggin’ you that there’s not something similar for butterflies and other insects. Well, now there is: The Wonder Petal garden camera. The Bird Buddy creators have developed an adorable 4K 12MP connected camera on a bendable stem you can clip or coil around the yard to watch pollinators and plants alike. You can even add a solar panel “leaf” to power this biomorphic beauty. Livestream or take pictures, and there’s even an AI that can dig up the dirt on what’s happening in the soil if you’re away and the dandelions and daisies are buzzing with activity. 

Belkin Stage PowerGrip

Apple added a Camera Control button to the iPhone 16 Pro lineup, but it’s still no substitute for an actual grip. Belkin’s upcoming Stage Power Grip integrates an external 10,000 mAh battery into an ergonomic grip with a camera shutter button, 7.5W magnetic wireless charging, USB-C output ports, a retractable USB-C charging cable, and LED screen to show battery percentage. As a result, you can hold a phone just like you would a typical camera. I’ve tried grips like this before with some success, but this one has a built-in battery, which makes it doubly useful for creators who shoot a lot of content on their phones. Capturing those TikToks really taxes an iPhone battery.

Plantaform Smart Indoor Garden

Somewhere between a xenomorph egg and a pod-shaped 3-D printer, the $500 Plantaform is compact as smart gardens go. Like a Keurig, the 26-inch-tall enclosure uses pods (lettuces, tomatoes, and cocktail herbs) plus nutrient-enriched water to produce its end product, with no soil required. However, the water is dispersed in the form of fog, and that humidifying vapor is easier for plants to absorb and requires less resources than standard hydroponics systems. Plus, it gives an extra sci-fi vibe.

Backup by BioLite

Professional installation can add huge costs to a home generator, but BioLite’s plug-and-play solution takes that out of the equation. Thin panels full of 1.5 kWh LiFePO4 batteries hide in your home behind appliances, under counters, or in other out-of-the-way areas. They draw power from a typical outlet and kick into action when the power goes out. The system is expandable up to 9kWh and can keep critical devices running for hours. It’s a clever system that we’re looking forward to testing this year.

Kanto Audio UKI, Klipsch Miami party speaker + Onkyo Creator Series, Focal Diva Utopia

CES isn’t the audio show it once was, but we never turn down the chance to audition speakers, and a trio of opportunities all made an impression whether your budget is $200 or $40,000. Canadian bookshelf speaker specialists Kanto showcased the UKI (the small white speaker in the first slide above), which packs a punch for something so petite—and there’s a subwoofer output if you want to augment the 3-inch concave cone drivers and 1/4-inch silk dome tweeters. There’s also a headphone output if you need a personal audio personal moment. American heritage brand Klipsch and refreshed Japanese brand Onkyo (both with roots dating back to 1946) showcased very different lines: New portable party speakers in the Klipsch City Series and plug-and-play desktop solutions, respectively (some of each shown in slide two). The party speakers feature a signature horn-loaded compression tweeter for high-efficiency high output. The powered monitors maximize minimalism with plentiful I/O and bespoke DSP. Finally, the Focal Diva Utopia (teased in slide three) is a statement piece … well, two high-end streaming music statement pieces, technically. A pair of these active three-way connected towers combine the finesse of trademark French drivers and the amplification authority of UK-based Naim into tonally balanced, rhythmically expressive, punchy and poised playback … but capable of rendering rumble if that’s what you’re into. And the sound optimization setup lets you compensate easily and effectively for imperfect room arrangments, aligning frequency ranges and imaging.

Technics EAH-AZ100 Bluetooth earbuds

While long known for its turntables, Japanese brand Technics has entered its 60th year with a bid for best true wireless earbuds of 2025. It’s done this with trickle-down technology from its $1K earphones and a focus on accuracy that doesn’t forsake energy. With magnetic particle-injected oil surrounding the voice coil in each housing, the lateral motion of a typical driver—the cause of sound-degrading distortion—is impeded. This controlled motion allows for a thinner surround, which means the 10mm diaphragm can move farther faster without warping. TL;DR With the new EAH-AZ100, every note hits harder, extends deeper, and delivers reference-grade resolution supported by top-notch noise cancellation—able to impress even on a raucous show floor.

The post CES 2025: 18 new products we’re looking forward to this year appeared first on Popular Science.

Every time you travel, you take your luggage on its own little vacation. And, just like in the movies, sometimes it gets lost. If you’re an unlucky soul, you’ve experienced it firsthand—taking your trip without your favorite tropical shirt and stressing about your expensive laptop. That’s why a lot of people are getting this smart luggage lock.

It won’t prevent your bag from being lost, but its built-in tracker that works with Apple Find My could help. These have been out of stock for a while, but we finally got them back: a 2-pack for your carry-on and checked bags is $49.99 while supplies last (reg. $59.98).

Don’t let your vacation be ruined 

If you don’t already have a luggage lock, that’s reason enough to get this one. You still won’t want to leave your luggage unattended in the airport, but if it’s stolen or lost, it makes it harder for someone to access your valued jewelry, shoes, and t-shirts. 

And don’t worry about getting through security—this is a TSA-approved lock. That means they have a master key to check your luggage without having to break the lock.

But let’s get into that “smart” part of the lock. You can pair it with your iPhone’s Find My app to track your luggage’s location on a map, get alerted if you leave it behind, and play a sound to locate it. This is the same system behind Apple’s famous AirTag, except it’s built right into your lock.

In the unlikely event that your luggage gets lost on a future trip, you can see exactly where it is. This information could be useful in communicating with the airline to get your items back faster or just for your peace of mind.

Get a 2-pack of these Find My luggage locks for $49.99 (reg. $59.98) while supplies last—we expect these to sell out fast.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

 

SmartLock: TSA-Approved Travel Lock with Apple Find My App Integration (2-Pack) – $49.99

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The post Got big travel plans this year? Don’t leave without this appeared first on Popular Science.

Google hasn’t been shy in pushing out new AI tools and features in recent months, from Gemini in Gmail to AI-hosted podcasts. One of the latest innovations unveiled is Google Deep Research, which essentially lets Google’s Gemini AI loose on the web, with a mission to thoroughly research a topic of your choice.

Imagine there’s something you need to do that would normally require a lot of Googling: It could be finding the best phone to upgrade to, for example, or trying to understand how a self-driving car is put together, or charting out the history of Scotland in the 17th century. Deep Research can take on any kind of challenge like this.

It’s what’s known as an “agentic feature”—a trending term in AI that basically means these bots get more agency and control over what they’re doing. The idea is there’s less hand-holding and more of the AI working independently, which (in theory) should mean less work for you to do.

“Under your supervision, Deep Research does the hard work for you,” Google explains. “After you enter your question, it creates a multi-step research plan for you to either revise or approve. Once you approve, it begins deeply analyzing relevant information from across the web on your behalf.”

One caveat: You need to be signed up to the $20-per-month Gemini Advanced plan to try this out at the moment (which also gives you 2TB of Google One storage as well). Head to the Google One plans page, and you may be able to access a free trial of Gemini Advanced, if you haven’t previously signed up.

Getting started with Google Deep Research

There are three main stages to Google Deep Research workflow: To get to the first, head to Gemini on the web, choose the 1.5 Pro with Deep Research option from the drop-down menu in the top-left corner, then tell the AI what you want to know about (you should see some suggestions appear if you’re stuck for inspiration).

What you search for is completely up to you, but this is a tool for comprehensive research: It needs to be above and beyond something you’d get a standard AI chatbot answer for (like “what’s a good party game for 5-year-olds” or “how do you get wine stains out of a fabric couch”). You could think about something you need help with for work or a side hustle, or just something you’re interested in as a hobby.

Enter your prompt into the box—it doesn’t have to be long, but the more detail the better, if possible—and the first stage of Google Deep Research gets underway. The AI will think about the prompt you’ve given, mull over how best to approach the topic, and then present you with an overview of how it’s going to tackle the challenge.

This research plan is presented to you, and you can make changes by clicking Edit plan: You’re then dropped back into a chat with the AI, so you can tell it to focus more on certain areas, or add in extra areas of research you want it to cover. Each time you make a suggestion, you’ll be given a revised plan.

When you see a research plan on screen you’re happy with, click Start research to move on to the next stage. Gemini gets to work, and will show you on screen the websites it’s looking at and the information it’s parsing—you can sit and watch, or you can get on with something else. You can even close down the Gemini app completely if you need to, and come back later to get your answers.

Answers and reports from Google Deep Research

You shouldn’t have to wait too long for your answers—many queries can be researched in just a few minutes—and you’re then presented with a detailed report, which should cover everything in your original prompt. If you asked any specific questions about a topic, they should be specifically addressed somewhere.

This is the third stage of Google Deep Research, working your way through the report. It doesn’t have to be the end of the research though: You can ask follow-up questions about anything in the report, just as you would in a normal conversation with Gemini. If you carry on the chat, the report itself gets minimized, but you can open it up again if needed.

At the end of the responses, and the end of the report itself, you get references to the web: These can be useful to check the workings of Gemini and to look for further information yourself. Even in Deep Research mode, the “Gemini can make mistakes” message is displayed, and it’s important not to rely too heavily on AI reporting until you’ve made sure it’s all accurate.

Another handy feature of Google Deep Research: You can convert your report into a Google Docs document, by clicking the Open in Docs button in the top right corner. This will present you with a rather plainly formatted document that you can edit or save as usual. If there are tables in your report, they’ll be transferred over to Google Docs, and you still get all your web references at the bottom too.

From testing out Google Gemini Research on a few tech topics, it seems to do a decent job at collating information and working out what’s important and what isn’t—having access to the web resources the AI has used really helps in digging deeper and checking facts. Your mileage may of course vary, depending on the topic and the information available, but the tool definitely has the potential to save you a substantial amount of research time.

The post How to use Google Deep Research to save hours of time appeared first on Popular Science.

Here’s some unsettling news for your Sunday: your VPN is overcharging you. It doesn’t matter how much or little you’re paying because you could be getting a better deal—no fees at all—with this VPN router.

With the same concept as your digital one, some argue the router’s decentralized servers are even more private and secure. But you might care most about never having to pay for it ever, ever again. Today (January 12) is the last day it’s on sale for $149.97 with free shipping (reg. $219).

How does it work? And what can it do?

The setup is seamless, maybe more so than your existing one. Plug the router’s USB-C plug into your laptop, where it gets power. Choose from over 150,000 servers then wirelessly pair up to five devices—all are compatible, including smart TVs.

Each connected device is protected with military-grade encryption, whether you’re at home, working from a cafe, or traveling the world. 

The VPN router is also an excellent choice to unblock content on streaming services. Simply choose a server in locations where content is available, connect the device you want to stream on and enjoy. 

This VPN also has built-in ad blocking at the server level. Imagine watching YouTube or reading articles without the usual distractions or annoyances plaguing the internet. 

If you want a VPN without fees, today is your last chance to order this router for $149.97 (reg. $219). Deal ends January 12 at 11:59 p.m. PT and no coupon is needed.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

 

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The post Last chance to get this VPN with no subscription fees appeared first on Popular Science.

Sitting in the middle of the Iranian plateau, the Dasht-e Kavir, or Great Salt Desert, is the planet’s 24th largest desert. From the ground, the desolate sand dues and bordering mountain range are imposing and beautiful. From above, you get an entirely different perspective. The US Geological Survey-operated Landsat 7 satellite captured a stunning image of the Dasht-e Kavir from above (seen below) way back in 2000. The Landsat 7 satellite operated from 1999-2024.

The Landsat 7 satellite isn’t the only craft capturing beautiful images of our planet from above. Other satellites and crew members on the International Space Station have also documented Earth, taking shots of everywhere from Georgia, USA to the islands of New Caledonia in the South Pacific.

The post 14 gorgeous photos of Earth from above appeared first on Popular Science.

As a Minnesota native, I can’t stand listening to the meteorologist’s winter weather predictions. They’re basically never right. Either they say we’ll get a foot of snow, and we get squat—or vice versa. I recently canceled plans because they warned everyone of “freezing rain and icy roads,” and guess what? It was a beautiful winter day. 

That’s why I’m shutting off the news and downloading this real-time weather radar app. I know we all have free weather apps on our phones, but Weather Hi-Def Storm Watch Plus has future-generated forecasts, so you can actually make plans. Use code FESTIVE30 at checkout to get lifetime access for $27.99 (reg. $39.99) until January 12.

I may have missed out on a day of thrifting and a pizza buffet with my friends because of some guy on TV, but never again. Now, I can see a 10-day forecast that shows snowfall, winter storm conditions, and temperatures.

On the day of my plans, I can open map overlays to see icy road conditions and snowfall on a map. Anyone who’s had to drive to work on the day of a blizzard knows how critical this information is before trekking their way to the office.

I’m also pumped to use this weather radar app in the summer. You already know I’m from Minnesota, so I need to maximize every day of warm weather with outdoor activities. Any information about incoming rainfall and lightning alerts will be so clutch.

Code FESTIVE30 expires January 12 at 11:59 p.m. PT. Get your Weather Hi-Def Storm Watch Plus lifetime subscription for $27.99 (reg. $39.99).

StackSocial prices subject to change.

 

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The post This app predicts blizzards so you can stock up on snacks appeared first on Popular Science.

These are the voyages of the space shuttle Enterprise, boldly renamed by former President Gerald Ford after a massive letter-writing campaign from Star Trek fans.

In 1974, construction of the world’s first space shuttle, known then as Orbital Vehicle-101 (OV-101), began at Rockwell Corporation’s plant in Downey, California. (The city, located in Los Angeles County, is known to fast food enthusiasts as the home to the oldest operating McDonald’s and the birthplace of Taco Bell.) With the debut of the spacecraft set for 1976, it was rechristened the Constitution in honor of the U.S. bicentennial. 

But, as Spock himself, Leonard Nimoy, joked at a ceremony for the shuttle decades later, “Star Trek fans can be very persuasive.”

Richard Nixon’s Prime Directive: Don’t Blow the Budget

In 1972, the Apollo program was coming to an end. If John F. Kennedy inspired the nation with his call to “go to the moon” and “do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard,” Richard Nixon’s rhetoric was less soaring. 

“The space shuttle will give us routine access to space by sharply reducing costs in dollars and preparation time,” he said, as reported at the time by Popular Science. In the wake of the moon landings, NASA Administrator Thomas Paine had grand visions for America’s space program. He proposed sending men to Mars in nuclear-powered spacecraft, building space stations and bases along the way, according to the The Space Shuttle Decision by T.A. Heppenheimer. 

Alas, interplanetary travel was not in the stars. When Robert Mayo, Nixon’s budget director, cut $1 billion from NASA’s budget, Paine focused on a less ambitious part of his proposal: a reusable shuttle. Even that project was nearly axed by Congress for budgetary reasons, Heppenheimer wrote. Once NASA found supporters in the Department of Defense, however, the space shuttle program was on solid ground. The first shuttle, the Enterprise, would only be used for testing. It was the second, the Columbia, that had the honor of being the first space shuttle to launch into orbit. It blasted off on April 12, 1981, exactly two decades after Yuri Gagarin became the first person in space.

The Enterprise never traveled among the stars. But it paved the way for future space shuttles, which would spend 30 years ferrying astronauts and supplies into space, deploying satellites, and eventually making the International Space Station a reality. 

Star Trek Lives Long and Prospers

Nixon announced the space shuttle program in 1972, the same year that the first Star Trek convention was held in New York City. Four years earlier, the show survived a brush with death after fan letters convinced NBC executives to renew the show for a third season. But in 1969, the same year that Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon, the show was canceled. Its 79 episodes, however, would live on in syndication. When President Gerald Ford took responsibility for the space shuttle program after Nixon left office, he discovered how passionate Star Trek fans could be. 

In a now declassified memo, Ford’s advisors asked the president for approval to change the name of the Constitution to the Enterprise. “NASA has received hundreds of thousands of letters from the space-oriented ‘Star Trek’ group asking that the name ‘Enterprise’ be given to the craft,” wrote William Gorog, noting that use “of the name would provide a substantial human interest appeal to the rollout ceremonies scheduled for this month in California.”

Jim Cannon, another presidential advisor and later Ford’s biographer, loved the idea. “It would be personally gratifying to several million followers of the television show ‘Star Trek’, one of the most dedicated constituencies in the country,” he wrote. 

Not everyone was on board. Advisor Bob Hartmann noted that Enterprise was an “especially hallowed Naval name” and he thought the “Navy should keep it.” Another advisor, Jack Marsh, said he approved of the name itself but didn’t appreciate it being chosen because of a “T.V. fad.” 

Ford chose to embrace Star Trek fandom. When the Enterprise rolled out of its hangar in 1976, an Air Force band played the Star Trek theme. Nimoy was there, along with several of his castmates, including Nichelle Nichols and George Takei. The ship would take its maiden voyage in Earth’s atmosphere in 1977, two years before the franchise was revived on the big screen in Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Today, fans can visit the real-life Enterprise on the deck of the USS Intrepid, part of the Intrepid Museum in New York City and a testament to the power of Trekkies in America. 

The post How Star Trek fans changed the name of NASA’s first space shuttle appeared first on Popular Science.

ChatGPT is impressive now, but the newest version will make it look like child’s play. Rumored to come in early 2025, it’s expected to jump from 75 billion GPUs to a mild-blowing 10 trillion. Basically, it could be capable of 133 times more than it already is, but only if you know how to use ChatGPT.

If AI has ever felt intimidating, confusing, or hard to wrap your head around, now is the time to get comfortable—it’s only getting bigger and bigger. We have a deal on online ChatGPT courses that’ll only cost you $29.99 (reg. $790).

Learning AI is now practically a must

Are you one of those people who were hoping AI would just *disappear*? Things aren’t looking too good for you—it seems like it’s here to stay. But, if you embrace it, you’ll see that AI can help you save time, effort, and even frustration. 

For only $29.99, you receive 12 training courses with over 25 hours of material on ChatGPT and other amazing AI tools. They’ll show you exactly how to …

• Have conversations with AI chatbots
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• Tailor AI to your needs, whether it’s creative, personal, or business
• Turn data into visuals with little effort

Picture this: You’re at work, and your boss just dumped a huge, last-minute project on you. Try recurring ChatGPT to speed things along.

You could ask ChatGPT to translate legal jargon into language anyone can understand, summarize a 25-page PDF into an engaging article, write your meeting minutes, and so much more. 

Learn ChatGPT with these $29.99 courses (reg. $790) and hit the ground running when ChatGPT-5 drops later this year. 

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The post ChatGPT-5 is coming soon—here’s how you can prepare appeared first on Popular Science.