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Jupiter, Mercury, Venus, Uranus, and Mars are set to align in an arc formation on the nights of March 25 through 30, alongside the moon. If you want to spot all five planets in one night, timing, dark skies, and a clear view of the horizon are key. You'll need to peer low on the horizon to spot Jupiter and Mercury. An easy way to identify the planets is to download an astronomy app like Sky Tonight or SkySafari, which will show you exactly where each planet is in the night sky. NASANow it's time to admire Venus — the brightest "star" in the sky, poised above Jupiter — and look for Uranus with your binoculars.

☆ I make about $6,500 donating plasma over 100 times a year, but I don't do it for the money
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( Emily Swaim | Jessica Orwig | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Patrick Herdener donates plasma twice a week, every week and makes between $50-$70 per donation. Herdener said he started donating for money but the spirit of being helpful motivates him now. To be honest, when I first started donating plasma, the main thing that motivated me was money. I started donating more often when I learned where my plasma was going. Patrick Herdener has been donating plasma twice a week for 13 years.

☆ Health experts call for a ban on toxic 'forever chemicals' after EPA moves to cut them from tap water
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | Jessica Orwig | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Toxic PFAS, aka "forever chemicals," are in water, food, furniture, and clothes across the US. The EPA's new proposal to limit the substances in drinking water is a step in the right direction. On Tuesday the US Environmental Protection Agency proposed strict limits on six per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water. The chemicals are prolific in everyday human environments — in our water, food, air, and even the dust in our homes. That means more and more of them are getting into the environment — and drinking water — every day.

☆ 10 qualities that bisexual people find attractive, according to science
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Kelly Burch | Jessica Orwig | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

About 4% of Americans identify as bisexual, meaning they're attracted to more than one gender. Brendon Urie, Cardi B, and Halsey are among celebrities who have said they don't identify as either straight or gay. Frazer Harrison/Todd Williamson/NBCU Photo Bank/Karwai Tang/Getty ImagesThat's according to a 2021 survey, and it's up from just 1% in 2010. There's limited research around what bisexual people find attractive. Here are the qualities that Crowe, Ogle, and limited studies suggest bisexuals are most attracted to.

☆ How to pitch science stories to Insider Inc.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Jessica Orwig | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

The science desk at Insider Inc. is accepting freelance pitches. While many outlets just focused on the drought, we continued to monitor the situation, publishing this article months after the initial news. A reality check of what Butterfly Town, USA really looks like. If you are interested, please pitch us at science@insider.com. In your pitch, include a headline that matches Insider's conversational style and tone as well as a brief 100 to 200-word description of the article's main takeaways and the sources you would plan to interview.

☆ Why SpaceX's Starship mega-rocket looks unlike anything the company has ever built before
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Rupendra Brahambhatt | Jessica Orwig | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Not only is Starship the world's largest, most powerful rocket, it also looks unlike anything SpaceX has ever built. Veronica G. Cardenas/ReutersThis silver-black color scheme is a vast change from SpaceX's white Falcon 9 rockets or NASA's orange and white Space Launch System. SpaceX's silver rocket made of steelSpaceX's Starship rocket is made of stainless steel. SpaceX's black-studded Starship spacecraftStarship is covered on one side with black tiles to help protect it upon atmospheric re-entry. SPACEXSpaceX wouldn't comment on whether, or not, that's the reasoning for their silver Starship rocket.

Hazardous "forever chemicals" called PFAS are in most Americans' blood, and they don't break down. One simple chart shows how long PFAS last in human bodies, compared to substances like caffeine or lead. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a class of thousands of human-made chemicals, which are likely in your food, water, clothes, and furniture. "Once they get into your body, they stick around for a really, really long time," Carmen Messerlian, an environmental epidemiologist who studies PFAS at Harvard's TH Chan School of Public Health, told Insider. That research tells us how long PFAS can linger in our blood, compared to toxic heavy metals or everyday substances like caffeine.

☆ The man in charge of deporting Pablo Escobar's 'cocaine hippos' explains how he plans to fly 70 of them across the world
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Crystal Raypole | Jessica Orwig | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Authorities plan to relocate 70 of the hippos living wild in Colombia, but it's not an easy task. Very carefully, according to David Echeverri López, head of Biodiversity Management, Protected Areas, and Ecosystem Services at Cornare in Colombia. So, authorities will continue pursuing other options, from sterilization to searching for other zoos and sanctuaries willing to take hippos. The thickness of a hippo's skin, and the density of their subcutaneous tissue, also makes it challenging to deliver enough anesthesia to keep them asleep for the right amount of time. Cornare has sterilized 13 hippos, López said, and relocated seven to zoos in Colombia.

☆ Image from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope reveals a rare star preparing to explode and die in a supernova
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | Jessica Orwig | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope captured a star getting ready to die in stunning detail. The image shows a rare Wolf-Rayet star, expelling its outer layers in the phase before a supernova. A Wolf-Rayet star is "among the most luminous, most massive, and most briefly-detectable stars known," according to NASA. Webb helps investigate a dusty cosmic mysteryThat cosmic dust is of great interest to astronomers. An artist's conception of the James Webb Space Telescope.

☆ EPA cracks down on 'forever chemicals' in tap water: What PFAS are, where they are, and why they're harmful
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | Jessica Orwig | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

The US Environmental Protection Agency just released a proposal for enforceable standards for six PFAS compounds in drinking water. The new EPA proposal would set the threshold for those two substances at 4 nanograms per liter of drinking water. It also proposes a "hazard index" to set a limit on the combined quantity of four other PFAS in drinking water: PFNA, GenX, PFBS, and PFHxS. Communities across the US have especially high PFAS contamination in their drinking water, often due to a nearby industrial or military facility. "You can't just regulate in drinking water, without addressing the other side," Sunderland said, adding that you have to "turn off the source."

☆ Climate change is making plane turbulence worse, and it could make flights bumpier and more expensive
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( Crystal Raypole | Jessica Orwig | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Experts believe severe turbulence may increase in years to come as patterns of severe weather continue around the globe. But pilots also have to contend with clear-air turbulence, which is turbulence that has no visible cause. Weather researchers further predict clear-air turbulence will double by 2050, with severe turbulence increasing the most. "The highest altitude flights over the North Atlantic will encounter the most significant increase in severe turbulence," Bennett said. Only 1% of the atmosphere has moderately severe turbulence, and a few tenths of a percent have severe turbulence," she said.

☆ 'Truth serum' drugs do exist. Here's how medicines like sodium pentothal and scopolamine can manipulate the brain.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( Jessica Orwig | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Numerous accounts and scientific reports suggest that you're more prone to tell the truth under the effects of truth serum drugs, but the drugs have other side effects. Furthermore, not only are truth serum drugs not all that useful, they are illegal under certain circumstances, including interrogation. A truth serum experimentTo find out if truth serum works, TV journalist Michael Mosley experienced it for himself in 2013. To investigate sodium thiopental, one of the more popular truth serum drugs, Mosley took two different doses of it. The future of truth-telling drugsThere may be a more powerful truth serum drug out there that researchers have yet to discover.

☆ Should you warm your car up in the winter before driving? I spoke with more than 30 mechanics and couldn't get a straight answer.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( Jessica Orwig | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Car manufacturers don't have consistent advice on how long you should idle your car in the cold. Generally speaking, idling your car for about 30 seconds when it's cold can help it run smoothly. Others like Ford and Chevrolet recommended idling for no more than 30 seconds after starting. How much time is where mechanics diverge on the subject, but around 30 seconds is the general consensus for modern engines. What I can say is if you idle much longer than 30-60 seconds, you're just wasting gas and money.

At $15 off, the 2022 Kindle is the most affordable model you can buy right now. If you're interested in other Kindle deals, you can also get three months of Kindle Unlimited for $1 and the Kindle Paperwhite for an all-time low price of $95. Deal Amazon Kindle (2022) Amazon's newest Kindle is now on salw for $15 off. On the plus side, the Kindle 2022 can last up to six weeks on a single charge. The all-new Kindle is just one of many Amazon Cyber Monday deals you can take advantage of right now.

At $15 off, this all-new Kindle 2022 is the least expensive Kindle you can get right now while time lasts. Deal Amazon Kindle (2022) Amazon's newest Kindle is now on salw for $15 off. The All-New Kindle is actually Amazon's lightest e-reader yet, weighing in at just over a third of a pound. The Kindle 2022 can last up to 6 weeks on a single charge. The all-new Kindle is just one of many Amazon Black Friday deals you can take advantage of before Black Friday ends tonight.

When you buy through our links, Insider may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more. It's the second and last of Amazon's Prime Early Access Sale, and from now until tonight, you can save on all kinds of fitness supplies. Like this year's first Prime Day, the Prime Early Access Sale features steep discounts on everything from Peloton gear to NordicTrack treadmills and protein supplements. Check out our favorite fitness and workout deals below.

During the Prime Early Access Sale, which began today and runs through October 12, Prime members can get an extra kickback, too. Limited-Time Deal Amazon Gift Card Deal Amazon is offering a $10 promotional credit if you purchase a $50 Amazon gift card during the Prime Early Access Sale. Prime Early Access Sale FAQWhat is the Amazon Prime Early Access Sale? Amazon's Prime Early Access Sale is a new shopping event aimed to give Prime members exclusive "early" access to holiday deals, hence the name. Similar to Prime Day, the Amazon Prime Early Access Sale is exclusive to Prime members.

☆ 'Truth serum' drugs do exist. Here's how medicines like sodium pentothal and scopolamine manipulate the brain.
▼ + stars: | 2014-10-10 | by ( Jessica Orwig | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Numerous accounts and scientific reports suggest that you're more prone to tell the truth under the effects of truth serum drugs, but the drugs have other side effects. Furthermore, not only are truth serum drugs not all that useful, they are illegal under certain circumstances including interrogation. ScopolamineZchanguScopolamine was first promoted by Dr. Robert House as a truth serum in the early 20th century, and was the first drug to adopt the name "truth serum." A truth serum experimentThe best way to find out if truth serum works is to experience it for yourself, which is exactly what TV journalist Michael Mosley did. To investigate sodium thiopental, one of the more popular truth serum drugs, Mosley took two different doses of the drug.

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