SCI-TECH

Mobile translation apps have improved substantially in recent years—with a little help on speech recognition from AI. Most apps can now keep up with real-time conversations, if your phone has a strong enough internet connection (so the audio can be processed and converted in the cloud).

It means if you’re trying to hold a conversation with someone in a language you don’t know, you no longer need to spend time typing out words and phrases, or trying to figure out spellings and pronunciations. Instead, simply place your phone between you and the other person, and start chatting.

There are several apps that can do this for you, but here we’ll focus on the free translation apps on your Pixel phone, Galaxy phone, or iPhone. You can use Google Translate for Android and iOS as well, and Apple Translate for iOS.

Google Translate

Open up the Google Translate app, and you’ll be met with the standard text entry box—you can either type something to be translated here, or tap the microphone icon and speak it out instead. There will also be two languages displayed on screen, the language you’re translating from, and the language you’re translating to. Tap on either of these languages if you need to change them.

To get to the real time translation mode, tap Conversation. You’ll then get two microphone buttons on screen: When you’re ready to speak, tap the first button on the left, and say what you need to say. A translation will appear, and you can tap the speaker icon next to it to have the words read out by the app. Your conversation partner then taps the second microphone on the right, and repeats the process.

There are a couple of ways you can speed this up. The first is to tap the small star icon between the languages, which gives you just one mic button that you and the other person share (on iOS, this is already available as a third mic button in the center). The second is to tap the cog icon (top right) in the Android app, then enable Auto playback: This means translations are read out instantly, without an extra button press (oddly enough this is the default and only mode you’ve got on iOS).

There’s an extra bonus on Android: Tap the icon showing two rectangles, in the top right corner, and the view shifts to show one language panel upside down on top of the other, so you can have the phone between you and the other person and both see what’s being said. Note that while you can download languages for offline use, on both Android and iOS, this doesn’t apply to the conversation mode.

Apple Translate

When it comes to iPhones, you can use Google Translate as above, or you can opt for Apple’s own Translate app—which might be more convenient, as it’s already on your phone. The opening screen shows a translate interface for text and voice entry, and you can tap the languages shown if you need to change them.

For real time chat in two languages, tap the Conversation button on the toolbar at the bottom, then tap the microphone button to start talking. Once the app senses you’ve finished what you were saying, it shows a translation on screen: Tap the play button next to it to have it read out.

You can then progress through the conversation using the two languages you’ve selected, though you do have to press the microphone button each time someone speaks. You can save yourself an extra tap for the spoken translations by tapping the three dots (top right), then enabling Play Translations.

Tap the View button (top left), and you can pick from Side by Side (you and the other person are sitting next to each other), and Face to Face (you’re sitting opposite each other)—the interface will change accordingly. Unlike Google Translate, you can use conversation mode in Apple Translate offline, if the relevant languages are downloaded: Tap the three dots (top right), then Download Languages to do this.

iTranslate

Of the third-party apps that are available, iTranslate is just about the best we’ve come across, and it’s available on Android and iOS. Many of the app’s features can be used for free, but you need to pay the premium subscription fee to use the voice conversation mode—a rather hefty $8 a week or a more reasonable $100 for a whole year. If you’re not sure, you can test it for free for a week.

As with the other apps, it’s best to get your chosen languages sorted first, using the buttons near the center on the opening screen (they’ll be labeled with whatever languages are currently set). Then, when you’re ready to chat, tap the Voice button on the bottom toolbar, and the screen is split into two sections for the two languages.

To start translating, tap on one of the microphone buttons: Say what you’ve got to say, the app will work out the translation, and then it’ll be played through your phone’s speakers with no more effort required. When the other person is ready to speak, you simply tap the corresponding microphone button and repeat the process.

Helpfully, iTranslate offers an offline mode, which is enabled by tapping the airplane icon up at the top of the screen—if you don’t already have the necessary language files downloaded, you’ll be prompted to save them to your phone. With that done, you can use the voice mode without an internet connection.

The post How to get real-time translations on your phone appeared first on Popular Science.

For those with celiac disease, kissing can cause more than just romantic jitters. The fear of inadvertently ingesting gluten through a kiss was real for many of the participants in a 2022 study published in the journal Digestive Disease and Science.

However, some new research might put the worry to rest. Data from a small study set to be presented May 5 at Digestive Disease Week 2025 in San Diego, California found that it can’t be passed through a kiss, even if a partner has just eaten a snack packed with gluten. 

“Everyone worries about whether gluten is getting into their food at a restaurant, but no one really looked at what happens when you kiss afterwards,” study co-author Anne Lee, an assistant professor of nutritional medicine at Columbia University, said in a statement. “The advice we gave about kissing and celiac disease was based on precaution and assumptions. We were using our best judgment. I felt it was important to do research to see if there was any actual risk.”

Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder in which the body can’t tolerate gluten. Gluten itself is  a protein found in the wheat plant and also barley and rye. It is found in many types of pastas, bread, noodles, tortillas, and granola and helps food keep its shape. Celiac disease affects one percent of the general population and roughly 2 million Americans have been diagnosed. It is generally marked by a host of unpleasant digestive issues including abdominal pain, indigestion, and diarrhea. For those with celiac disease, ingesting gluten causes intestinal damage even if there aren’t any immediate symptoms.

To delve into how much gluten can be transferred by kissing, the team at Columbia recruited 10 couples for a two-part study. One of the partners had celiac disease while the other did not. During each session, the non-celiac partner ate 10 saltine crackers. The couple then kissed for 10 seconds. During one session, the partner waited five minutes before the kiss. In the other, they both drank four ounces of water before kissing. 

[ Related: What is Gluten? ]

The researchers measured the gluten transfer in both situations by analysing the partner with celiac disease. In both situations, the gluten transfer was minimal in the majority of participants. While gluten was still present in salvia after kissing a partner who had eaten the saltines and then drank water, the amount was less than 20 parts per million in all cases. That amount is considered safe and allowed in many gluten-free products. 

“For clinicians, we can now say to patients, ‘You don’t have to go to extreme measures,’” Lee said. “Patients with celiac disease can be more relaxed, knowing that the risk of gluten cross-contact through kissing a partner who has consumed gluten can be brought down to safe levels if food is followed by a small glass of water.”

Those with severe allergies to peanuts and even shellfish should still be careful before locking lips, as allergens mixed with salvia can cause a reaction.  

The data from this study is still awaiting peer review. Digestive Disease Week is a large gathering of physicians, researchers, and academics in the fields of gastroenterology, hepatology, endoscopy, and gastrointestinal surgery from around the world. 

The post Does kissing spread gluten? New research offers a clue. appeared first on Popular Science.