All posts tagged: fingers

The five different roles each of your fingers play – and why

The five different roles each of your fingers play – and why

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the Well Enough newsletter with Harry Bullmore for tips on living a healthier, happier and longer life Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore It was one of those rushed mornings when I was already running late for work. In my hurry to grab my keys and head out the door, I knocked a few things off the counter, scattering loose coins onto the floor. As I picked up the coins, I noticed I was using different movements to gather everything, and those movements seemed to depend on the different lengths of my fingers. My thumb and index finger pinched together to grab a dime, while my middle finger reached farther to pick up coins that had rolled under the edge of a cabinet. My ring finger and pinky curled inward to hold the coins I had already collected while I reached for more. Those movements seemed to depend on the different lengths of my fingers (Getty Images) These motions really brought home how different …

The five different roles each of your fingers play – and why

Why are your fingers different lengths? The surprising science explained

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the Well Enough newsletter with Harry Bullmore for tips on living a healthier, happier and longer life Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore It was one of those rushed mornings when I was already running late for work. In my hurry to grab my keys and head out the door, I knocked a few things off the counter, scattering loose coins onto the floor. As I picked up the coins, I noticed I was using different movements to gather everything, and those movements seemed to depend on the different lengths of my fingers. My thumb and index finger pinched together to grab a dime, while my middle finger reached farther to pick up coins that had rolled under the edge of a cabinet. My ring finger and pinky curled inward to hold the coins I had already collected while I reached for more. Those movements seemed to depend on the different lengths of my fingers (Getty Images) These motions really brought home how different …

Interpol Fingers Snake-Tattooed Ukrainian Woman In Monaco Oligarch Bombing

Interpol Fingers Snake-Tattooed Ukrainian Woman In Monaco Oligarch Bombing

Published by Jenni Sidey

Update 2: Interpol has identified 39-year-old Ukrainian woman Anastasiia Berezovska as the suspect in the Monaco bombing which targeted a Ukrainian tycoon.  In a Red Notice posted on its website, the police organization released two photos of the suspect on Friday – noting that she has a tattoo – which appears to be of a snake, on her right arm which extends from shoulder to elbow. The notice also says she has dark hair and speaks German.  The suspect was seen running away from Monaco on Monday while wearing a bucket hat, after 58-year-old oligarch Vadim Ermolaev, his mistress, Anna Nasobina, 46, and their young son were injured in the blast.  The suspect captured fleeing the scene on CCTV Monaco’s Prosecutor General, Stéphane Thibault, confirmed the suspect is living in Germany, while a senior investigating source told the Daily Mail that the woman had “attempted to look like a man” during the attack, but a witness was able to identify her.  * * * Update: Earlier yesterday, Monaco authorities stated that a person was taken into custody – then released – in …

Expert explains why our fingers get wrinkly after a long bath or swim

Expert explains why our fingers get wrinkly after a long bath or swim

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the Well Enough newsletter with Harry Bullmore for tips on living a healthier, happier and longer life Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Skin is an awesome and weird organ. As the body’s biggest organ, it does a lot to look after you, protecting you from the outside world of sunlight, harsh chemicals, nasty germs and severe cold. And it does all this while keeping water inside your body and enabling the sense of touch. I’m a biomedical engineer. My research team and I try to better understand the mechanics and function of soft biological tissues. We know skin wrinkles as you get older or when you pinch it between two fingers. But it’s been somewhat of a mystery why skin gets wrinkly and even sometimes changes color after you take a leisurely bath or spend too long in the swimming pool. Often people assume that these wrinkles form because the skin absorbs water, which makes it swell up and buckle. To be honest, …

Power prices are up 76% on America’s biggest grid, and a watchdog is pointing fingers

Power prices are up 76% on America’s biggest grid, and a watchdog is pointing fingers

Published by skeptic

The largest electrical grid in the U.S., the PJM Interconnection, saw prices nearly double over the last year, according to a report published yesterday by Monitoring Analytics, an independent market monitor that serves as a sort of watchdog for the PJM grid. The culprit? Data centers. Wholesale prices for one megawatt-hour of electricity rose to $136.53, up from $77.78 at the same time last year. Crain’s Chicago Business was first to report on the spike. Monitoring Analytics pointed the finger at data centers and PJM’s failure to handle their surging demand adequately. The market monitor pulled no punches. “The price impacts on customers have been very large and are not reversible,” Monitoring Analytics wrote. “The price impacts will be even larger in the near term unless the issues associated with data center load are addressed in a timely manner.”  PJM is a ripe target for such criticism. In 2022, just as data center construction was ramping up, the grid operator paused applications for new generating sources, citing a years-long backlog. It only recently started accepting …

The 10 Best MagSafe Phone Grips for Your Butter Fingers (2026)

The 10 Best MagSafe Phone Grips for Your Butter Fingers (2026)

Published by skeptic

Other MagSafe Grips We’ve Tested Spigen OM104 MagSafe Phone Grip: The OM104 is a phone/grip combo accessory for MagSafe and Qi2 devices that comes with a flexible nylon strap to slide your finger through while holding your phone. Dual magnets and a robust metal construction make the OM104 feel like money well spent, and even after hours of sliding my finger in and out of the strap, it still feels soft, flexible, and most importantly, comfortable. It has one annoying design oversight. As you slide your phone in and out of your pocket, the nylon strap will start to droop down. The strap is longer than the grip itself, so when you close the kickstand, it’ll get pinched inside and won’t allow the stand to fully close. It’s comfortable to use, but that quibble knocks it down. Casely MagRing: Unlike other metal grips we’ve tested, Casely’s MagRing is made of soft silicone. We find it more comfortable on the fingers. It also has a 360-degree swivel, so you can position the grip at virtually any …

Vine-inspired robot fingers can reach out and grab someone

Vine-inspired robot fingers can reach out and grab someone

Published by skeptic

The new bot consists of a pressurized box from which long, vine-like tubes inflate and grow. As they extend, the vines twist and coil around the object before continuing back toward the box, where their tips are automatically clamped in place and they are mechanically wound back up to gently lift the object in a sling-like grasp. The researchers envision applications from agricultural harvesting to loading and unloading heavy cargo. In the near term, they are exploring uses in eldercare, such as helping to safely lift a person out of bed. Often in nursing and rehabilitation settings, this transfer process is done with a patient lift, which requires a caretaker to maneuver the person onto a hammock-like sheet that can be hooked to the device and hoisted up. This manual step is unnecessary with the robotic system.  “Transferring a person out of bed is one of the most physically strenuous tasks that a caregiver carries out,” says Kentaro Barhydt, a PhD candidate in MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering and one of the lead authors of …

‘Fat Fingers’ May Have Caused Verizon’s Network Outage, According to Analyst

‘Fat Fingers’ May Have Caused Verizon’s Network Outage, According to Analyst

Published by skeptic

Verizon suffered a service outage on Wednesday that affected potentially 2 million customers and dragged on for more than 8 hours. Late in the evening, the company declared the outage resolved and advised affected customers to restart their devices in order to be reconnected. It also promised those customers a $20 credit. We don’t know what caused the disruption. Verizon didn’t immediately respond to a request for clarity on the issue. The company did say that the problem was a “software issue” and that there was no indication that the cause was due to a “cybersecurity issue” in a statement to TechRadar Thursday morning. The loss in service was unique for its longevity and because it wasn’t region-specific and affected people across the US, unlike previous cellular outages. When natural disasters take down cellular towers or hardware failures happen, the effects are felt in specific cities or areas. We saw reports (and CNET staffers chimed in) of service being down in New York; Florida; Hawaii, Los Angeles; Oakland, California; and other far-flung spots. Until Verizon shares more …

Why do we have five fingers and toes?

Why do we have five fingers and toes?

Published by Jenni Sidey

Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. The popular nursery rhyme This Little Piggy is an early childhood memory for many of us. It’s a poem that involves five little piggies, each corresponding to one of our fingers or toes. Kids love it, but if you pause to think, this simple rhyme raises a curious question: Why do humans have five digits on each of our four limbs in the first place?  The simple answer is it’s just how we evolved, but determining where these fingers came from and how is a different story. “When you’re talking about why we have five—not six or not four—fingers and toes, I think that’s quite a difficult question,” says Tetsuya Nakamura, an associate professor at Rutgers University’s department of genetics. To find the answer, we need to go back millions of years.  It all starts with a common ancestor  All tetrapods, a group that include amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals, derive from a common fish ancestor. “If you ask, ‘where did …