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FingerprintsFingerprints were long regarded as the highest standard of forensic evidence, but experts now question exactly what constitutes a match.Media Platforms Design TeamFingerprint evidence is captured from surfaces using powders, lasers, even Super Glue.The Technique Fingerprint investigations strive to match a print left at a crime scene to a print on file or in a database. The accepted technique for scrutiny is called ACE-V, for analysis, comparison, evaluation and verification. Examiners study features such as ridge shapes, patterns and lengths, looking for agreement—some jurisdictions look for a certain number of “points” of similarity to constitute a match....

A flourishing black market of John Deere parts exists online, connecting farmers in rural America with counterparts in Eastern Europe to buy unlocked firmware crucial to tractors. If you’re surprised by the idea of Nebraska farmers working together with Ukrainian suppliers to defeat a tractor company, well, welcome to the bizarre fight over “right to repair.“Those who use the black market, documented in a report by Motherboard, claim they are driven to it by restrictive licensing agreement by Deere, one of the largest tractor companies in the world....

When the last responders leave the sunken cruise liner Costa Concordia, the wreck’s status may shift from grave site to treasure trove. Its passengers and interior decorators reportedly left behind a wealth of cash, jewels, antiques, and thousands of pieces of art. Souvenir hunters, looters, and even the mafia may have plans to dive the wreck for a piece of that fortune. It’s been a busy month for shipwreck headlines and shipwreck hunters....

Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif. — It’s clear before Suzuki’s new President Kevin Saito and chief engineer Hide Kumashiro whip the cover off the 2010 Kizashi that this is a big step for the company. Spokesmen bat words like world-class dynamics, upscale interior, and class-leading power around the clubhouse at the Trump National Golf Club like this was a Lexus event. The name Kizashi itself means “something great is coming” and no Japanese company would casually risk losing face over a product bearing a promise this explicit....

Media Platforms Design TeamA rocket launch, like that of the Minotaur V that propelled the toward the moon last Friday, is usually considered the riskiest part of a space mission. But there is a series of milestones the spacecraft must clear before the mission can be considered a success. Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE)1) Laser Communication DemoThe 7-foot-long LADEE spacecraft will be making long, increasingly looping orbits around Earth for about a month before it starts its lunar orbit insertion sequence....

Media Platforms Design TeamAre you impressed that the Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity have lasted so long?The fact that they were designed for 90 days and have lasted for 4.5 years is phenomenal. Many of us who were involved are not too surprised, because once you make something bulletproof for 90 days in a very hostile mission, it’s not surprising that they’re bulletproof for a very long time. What did the success of the Mars rover program do for robotic exploration?...

Sure, you could prove that your new vertical-lift tilt rotor aircraft is faster than a traditional helicopter design by comparing the two. But wouldn’t it be more fun, and more properly Italian, to drag race it against a blazing-fast superbike?Italian helicopter manufacturer AgustaWestland made this new James Bond-esque video pitting its AW609, the world’s first civilian tiltrotor to hit the production line, against the quintessential Italian Panigale from Ducati.View full post on YoutubeIt’s amazing to watch the massive rotors of the AW609 bearing down on the racing two-wheeler....

Media Platforms Design TeamDeep in the heart of the Fukushima nuclear plant, emissions from the damaged reactors are so intense that a fully suited hazmat crew would soak up a year’s worth of radiation after spending only 5 minutes in the area. Robots, however, can not only sift through debris and measure radioactivity in this hazardous zone, they can also stream live video back to humans, who monitor their every move from a safe distance....

Your hard drive is advertised as having a 60GB capacity, but your computer shows only 55.8GB. What gives? The discrepancy is the result of having two methods of measuring memory. Computers are binary, or “base two,” mathematical systems, and in a binary world a kilobyte is 1024 bytes (2 to the 10th power). When computers were new, the geekerati referred to this as a “kilo.” Noncomputer folks, however, understood kilo to mean thousand, and thought that 1000 bytes should equal a kilobyte....

Media Platforms Design TeamYou might think you’re a good driver. But you, like all other drivers, tend to daydream behind the wheel. Why? It has to do with the way nature wired your brain.Because millions of sensations bombard us every second, the brain sorts through them to allow only the most important ones to become conscious—for instance, you don’t notice what’s in your peripheral vision unless something moves there. It’s just the way the brain evolved to protect it from self-destructing....

It will take time to determine why the Interstate 35 bridge collapsed, so tragically, during the height of a Minneapolis rush hour on Wednesday night. But investigators will likely find that two factors contributed to its failure: age and heavy use. Bridge 9340 was constructed in 1967, 11 years after the launch of the Eisenhower Interstate System. Until it plunged into the Mississippi River, it served as a transportation lifeline for the growing Twin Cities population, carrying across its 14 spans many of the SUVs, cars and trucks that accounted for the 42 percent rise in Minnesota’s vehicle traffic from 1990 to 2003....

Media Platforms Design TeamMedia Platforms Design TeamNearly every car commercial I see these days has a green theme. Automakers all tout their environmentally friendly message in TV ads proudly quoting fuel economy numbers for cars and trucks in their fleet. Some of that hype is certainly true. But some is just fantasy. One ad goes so far as to insinuate that the hybrid SUV you see on screen is so green that it sprouted like a plant out of the soil....

Media Platforms Design TeamWe sure like to hear ourselves talk—and now you can hear us, too, by listening to theinaugural Popular Mechanics podcastgeo-aware gadgetscars that drive themselvesBenjamin Chertoff. In this first installment (a little rough—we’re still in a makeshift studio), I chat with PM senior technology editor Glenn Derene about some sci-fi technology that’s about to be on the market. From to all-TV-on-demand to , the ubiquity of the internet and the small cost of basic GPS chips is poised to change the way we go about our day....

Got a case of the Mondays? America’s Toughest Jobs, which premieres tonight on NBC at 9 pm EST, aims to make your daily slog look easy. On the show, a group of thirteen mostly desk-bound professionals–office workers, retail salespeople and even Wall Street executives–get their hands dirty and compete by driving across frozen Alaskan rivers, manning crabbing vessels in rough waters and using heavy machinery to manipulate steel bridge beams. If some of these tasks sound familiar, you’ve been watching cable TV....

Sometimes you just find that perfect spot. Like a natural slip-and-slide that leads to a 35-foot drop off a waterfall. And while we’d be thankful to these gorgeous young people for recording their amazing antics in stunning 4K, it’s also a depressing reminder that we’re sitting in an office and the next warm-weather weekend is still a few days away.The video comes courtesy of Team Super Tramp, which makes adventure videos around the world....

Media Platforms Design TeamIn Person of Interest, this machine can identify people who are going to be involved in a violent crime, but it cant determine if the person will be the perpetrator, the victim, or just a bystander. Where did you get the idea for the machine?JONATHAN NOLAN: If you start doing some research, its kind of frightening how close to reality the machine were portraying on the show is....

The Malaysian government’s preliminary report on the night Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 went missing contains so many holes that it will only escalate concerns about the lack of transparency in the investigation thus far, aviation safety sources tell PopMech. The five-page report and an accompanying timeline of air traffic control “actions” released this week paints a picture of confusion and mixed signals. It omits crucial details, such as the role of the military controllers in pinpointing the plane’s path after its transponders were turned off....

Media Platforms Design TeamThe Terrafugia Transition flying car is capturing headlines after a public showing at the New York Auto Show and as it edges nearer to a limited FAA certification. However, if we’re realistic about the plane-car as a consumer product, it’s very unlikely to be a commercial success. PopMech has written at length about this recently, but to sum up: First, the Transition is awkward. No matter how revolutionary a car may be, it’s hard to get buyers to swallow a $279,000 price tag if the thing is ugly....

Media Platforms Design TeamReported UFO Incidents (1947-2005)Major Metro CountiesWhere is UFO country? To find out, PM consulted the Center for UFO Studies, which maintains a database of sightings reported from 1947 to 2005. Illinois-based CUFOS gathers data from UFO reporting groups and public records, including Project Blue Book. (If several people report the same sighting, CUFOS registers it as a single event.) For a broad comparison, we ranked both metropolitan and more sparsely settled counties....

Media Platforms Design TeamWish ListPhotographs by Burcu Avsar (except WaterDog)Media Platforms Design TeamLight SaverChemical flares have long been a necessary evil. They save lives by drawing attention to traffic accidents and emergencies, but they also have a nasty habit of starting fires and polluting the environment. The PowerFlare PF-200 Safety Light ($45) improves on its flammable counterparts in almost every way. It uses a 360-degree LED array with seven flash patterns (blinking, rotating, SOS, etc....