Netflix has updated its service so that it will no longer support casting a streaming video to a TV from a mobile device. If you’re watching a show on your phone, you’ll no longer be able to easily cast it onto your TV and keep watching. Instead, Netflix is prioritizing its TV app, which means…
If your spare tire is on the exterior of the vehicle, such as underneath an SUV or pickup truck, you’ll want to be extra vigilant because the tire is exposed to the elements. Bolts exposed to the weather, and especially road salt, can corrode, making it difficult to lower the tire. It’s smart to remove…
When a new batch of refrigerators comes into our labs, we start by setting the ambient temperature in our climate-controlled chambers to 70° F to simulate conditions in a typical home kitchen. Then we determine which thermostat setting on each refrigerator will get the internal temperature in the center of the unit to between 36°…
“Developing a tire specifically for electric vehicles requires a number of considerations you do not encounter when working with internal combustion engines,” said Ian Coke, chief technical officer at Pirelli North America. “Electric vehicles are heavier, have more powerful and faster acceleration off the line, and require lower rolling resistance.” Rolling resistance refers to the…
“The biggest challenge is how to make this egg extrude half of its chromosomes—and the correct half,” Amato says. “We’re not quite there yet.” The team dubbed their technique “mitomeiosis” and is trying to better understand how chromosomes like to pair and how they segregate in order to find a way to experimentally induce those…
Every audio system requires amplification. In a traditional hi-fi set-up, the loudspeakers are always “passive”—which is to say, they don’t produce their own power. Instead, they must receive an amplified audio signal from an external source, aptly called an amplifier, in order to do their thing. Even in a more modern, self-contained audio system (like…
In a step toward the wider use of gene editing, a treatment that uses Crispr successfully slashed high cholesterol levels in a small number of people. In a trial conducted by Swiss biotech company Crispr Therapeutics, 15 participants received a one-time infusion meant to switch off a gene in the liver called ANGPTL3. Though rare,…
Bottom-freezers—as well as top-freezers—typically take up less space than other configurations. Bottom-freezers start at 24 inches wide and go up to 33 inches, making them suitable for a tight space. Our most recent surveys of CR members found that bottom-freezers tend to offer better reliability than some other types, too. For example, LG French-doors receive…
The models below (listed alphabetically within each segment) are the ones we’d recommend to our friends and family. Each has standard electronic stability control, an important safety feature. Some were also available with active safety features such as forward collision warning (FCW), automatic emergency braking (AEB), blind spot warning (BSW), and/or rear cross traffic warning (RCTW) as optional or standard equipment when they…
In addition, even 5-year-old models are new enough that buyers will get many of the modern convenience and entertainment features found in a brand-new model, but at a lower price. To help steer you to the best choices, we’ve assembled a list of the most fuel-efficient 5-year-old hybrid sedans and hatchbacks. All performed well enough…