Month: June 2019

Enlarge (credit: Ohio Department of Health)

In mammals, there's a relatively simple relationship among metabolism, body mass, and lifespan. As the size of the mammal goes up, for the most part their metabolism slows down, and their longevity increases. There are exceptions, and we are one of them. We're much longer lived than other mammals with a similar body mass. Bears, which tend to weigh quite a bit more than us, rarely live past 30.

But a new paper about longevity includes a remarkable statistic: "Nineteen species of mammals live longer than humans, given their body size, of which 18 are bats." What is it about bats that's so exceptional? A new study takes a careful look at bat aging and finds, at a time when most species are shutting down genes that help keep cells and tissues healthy, bats are cranking them up.

Mini-Methuselahs

To an extent, bats have an advantage, in that flight selects for minimizing body weight. But even by that standard, some bat species are extraordinarily long-lived. The Irish-French team behind the new study notes that a species called Brandt's bat weighs only about seven grams, yet lives for over 40 years in the wild. There have been some hints as to how they manage this exceptional aging. For example, bats maintain the ends of their chromosomes, preventing cells from slipping into senescence, yet do this while managing to keep cells from growing out of control and turning cancerous.

Enlarge / An artist's concept of what the interior of Relativity Space's Mississippi rocket factory may look like in a few years. (credit: Relativity Space)

Relativity Space has signed an agreement with NASA to convert a large industrial building in southern Mississippi into what may become the world's first autonomous rocket factory. The factory is conveniently located just two miles from where Relativity plans to test engines and stages for its Terran 1 rocket.

Building 9101 at Stennis Space Center encompasses 220,000 square feet of factory facilities, which is greater than the combined area of three American football fields. NASA inherited the space from the US military about 20 years ago but has not used it. The property also includes multiple bridge cranes, which is useful for moving large aerospace parts around, and an 80-foot-high bay for the vertical integration of rockets.

"This building will be a long-term enabler of our vision," said Jordan Noone, co-founder and chief technology officer for Relativity. Based in Los Angeles, the company aspires to use 3D printing, machine learning, and automated technologies to build rockets at a lower cost in days or weeks instead of years.

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  The 2019 Subaru Forester. [credit: Eric Bangeman ]

When it comes to cars, there are two types of people: those who pledge their eternal love for Subaru, and everyone else. When I'm testing a Subaru, I get more questions and comments from friends and acquaintances than just about anything else I drive. And that was the case for Subaru's most popular model, the Forester.

Redesigned for 2019, the Forester comes standard with EyeSight, Subaru's suite of driver-assist technology. New to the Forester—and available only with the Touring model—is DriverFocus. Designed to fight distracted driving, DriverFocus uses the facial-recognition tech that has also found its way into smartphones. It can store profiles for up to five drivers and provides visual and auditory feedback if the system detects you're not paying attention to the road.

Look and feel

Sitting smack dab between the sub-compact Crosstrek and the sort-of-mid-size Outback, the Forester starts at $24,295 for the base model and comes in Premium, Sport, Limited, and Touring trim. The last is the most expensive, with an MSRP of $34,295. All five editions get the same 2.5-liter boxer four-cylinder engine, continuously variable transmission, all-wheel drive, EyeSight, and Subaru's above-average dual-screen StarLink infotainment system. A panoramic moonroof is standard on all models other than the base.

Enlarge / These kids evidently got their dad a tie or some kind of parking lot toy... were wireless, noise-cancelling headphones not yet a thing? (credit: Los Angeles Examiner/USC Libraries/Corbis)

The annual day devoted to dads is approaching yet again, so it's time to start thinking (if you haven't already) about what you can do to make your father figure feel special. In addition to spending quality time with Dad, a gift that shows how much you care for him (and how much you listen to him) can make the day even better.

We've combed through our recent reviews, guides, and personal testing to pick out 11 possible tech gifts for Father's Day that we heartily recommend. Some of these ideas have full Ars reviews available to peruse while others are devices that we've personally used, loved, and simply thought would be great additions to any dad's life. And in case the father figure in your life is the kind who never tinkered past programming the VCR clock, we've even included a few picks for the less-tech-savvy dads among us—and those suggestions are better than ho-hum polo shirt or tie gift options, too. Check out the full list of Father's Day gift ideas below and find what works for you before the two-day shipping deadlines pass us by later this week.

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