What do you do when you've got a crack team of F1 engineering experts with time on their hands, as well as dream-level facilities for aerodynamics, carbon composites, electrification and low-volume manufacturing? All sorts of things, as it turns out. We spoke to WAE Technical Director Paul McNamara.
.. Continue Reading Formula One guns for hire: Williams Advanced Engineering offers F1 tech to the masses
As 2018 draws to a close, all the flagship phones of the year are available and duking it out for attention on people's holiday shopping lists. But how do they all stack up against each other? New Atlas compares the specs and features of eight major phones of 2018: Apple's iPhone XR, XS and XS Max, LG's G7 ThinQ, Google's Pixel 3 and 3 XL, and Samsung's Galaxy S9 and S9+.
.. Continue Reading Comparing 2018's flagship phones: iPhone XR, XS, XS Max vs. LG G7 ThinQ vs. Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ vs. Google Pixel 3 and 3 XL
For some time now, scientists have known that electrical currents can help heal chronic wounds. And while there are electrotherapy units that are in use, they can be quite bulky and complex. That's why researchers have created an "electric bandage" that's powered by the motion of the body.
.. Continue Reading Motion-powered electric bandage speeds healing by zapping wounds
Cargo bikes may be handy for schlepping stuff around, but they're also rather long and ungainly to park, store, or use as regular commuters. That's why German product design student David Maurer-Laube created the Convercycle – it's a standard-length e-bike that folds out to haul cargo.
.. Continue Reading Transforming e-bike lengthens to carry cargo
The Lincoln Aviator has debuted at the Los Angeles Auto Show as a new midsize luxury sport utility slotting underneath the larger Navigator as a three-row SUV. Based on the Ford Explorer's platform, the Aviator includes high technology and a hybrid variant that brings some interesting speculations.
.. Continue Reading Lincoln sends the Aviator SUV soaring with hybrid tech
Replicas of famous paintings are routinely created with printers that use only four inks – cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. RePaint, a new technique developed at MIT, combines artificial intelligence, 3D printing, and a rich 10-ink palette for much more faithful results in any lighting condition.
.. Continue Reading Artificial intelligence faithfully recreates paintings with a 3D printer
Researchers measuring the brainwaves of newborn babies have discovered that a baby's kicks are likely a way for the infant to map and begin to understand its body. The study could help doctors develop better techniques for looking after premature babies.
.. Continue Reading Tiny kicks and punches in the womb help babies understand their new bodies
In the distant past, all whales had teeth. Now, some feed using baleen instead. A new analysis of previously-discovered fossils has provided a fresh insight into the evolution of that baleen, suggesting that for a while, some whales simply sucked down their food.
.. Continue Reading Study suggests prehistoric whales may have sucked at feeding
Kia put the Niro to market about a year ago, as the company's first vehicle designed specifically to be electrified. The 2017 Kia Niro was a hybrid by default and very well done at that. For 2018, Kia introduced the Niro Plug-in Hybrid model, which takes that one step further. With the PHEV, we can get hints as to what the upcoming battery electric model will be like, too.
.. Continue Reading Review: 2018 Kia Niro Plug-In Hybrid is an efficient set of wheels
Netgear's Arlo Technologies has announced a new wireless security camera flagship. The outdoor/indoor Arlo Ultra can record 4K resolution footage with high dynamic range, offers night vision in color and sports its own spotlight that floods the yard with light when movement is detected.
.. Continue Reading Arlo puts the spotlight on wire-free home security
A new report highlighting the grim threat posed by climate change to human health has estimated that in 2015 almost 3 million lives ended prematurely as a result of ambient air pollution, and that millions more living in cities - including the elderly - are at risk from extreme temperatures. The research was authored by a coalition of doctors, academics and policy experts from 27 organizations spread across the globe.
.. Continue Reading Grim report details threats to human health posed by climate change
It's easy to take web access for granted, but in many regions getting online isn't as simple as just opening up a browser window. Now Chinese firm LinkSure Network has announced a system of satellites to be launched by 2026, which it wants to provide internet access across the globe, free of charge.
.. Continue Reading LinkSure is building a satellite network to provide global internet access for free
To those of a certain age, the Commodore 64 is synonymous with 80s gaming. Lego, on the other hand, is a little-known children's toy from the southern reaches of Scandinavia. Perhaps inevitably, someone has thought to marry the twin realms of the Commodore 64 and Lego, resulting in the winsome offspring that is The Brixty Four.
.. Continue Reading A Commodore 64 made of Lego is surely the answer to all our prayers
Last year's Leaf overhaul not only delivered a huge range bump, more power and more torque, but it also came wrapped in a much less awkward body style than the all electric vehicle that preceded it. Nissan treated the world's best-selling electric car to a sporty makeover in July of this year, and has now revealed a powerful track variant called the Nismo RC.
.. Continue Reading Nissan promises more thrills from latest Leaf Nismo RC electric race car
The universe has been making stars for a good 13 billion years or so, and a natural question to ask might be "how many stars have existed in that time?" But now astronomers have taken it several steps further and asked "how much light has been emitted in that time?" Using a new measurement method, the team has apparently managed to quantify all the starlight every produced in the observable universe – and the result is a figure that'll make your eyes water.
.. Continue Reading Astronomers calculate the total amount of starlight ever produced in the observable universe
As the world continues to warm, you can expect more and more folks to be turning to air conditioners to keep their living environments cool and comfortable. And in that sense, this energy-intensive technology will do plenty to exacerbate the very problem it is designed to solve. The Global Cooling Prize is a competition to help stop runaway climate change, by dangling US$3 million in prize money for the development of more energy-efficient cooling solutions.
.. Continue Reading Richard Branson launches $3m challenge to reinvent the air conditioner
If you're decommissioning a nuclear site, it would be nice to be able to call on Iron Man. But since he's a comic book character, researchers at the University of Bristol are proposing the next best thing – an armored exoskeleton that would protect workers from radioactive contamination, while also reducing fatigue and providing vital information through helmet-mounted augmented reality displays.
.. Continue Reading Researchers call on Iron Man for nuclear workwear inspiration
On Wednesday, Chinese scientist He Jiankui took to the stage at the Second International Summit on Human Genome Editing amidst a maelstrom of controversy surrounding his recent revelation of creating the world's first genetically edited babies. As He announced pride in his work, the Chinese government called it "shocking and unacceptable."
.. Continue Reading Scientist behind world's first genetically modified babies is "proud" of his work
Another day, another dire report on the planet's future. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has released a provisional Statement on the State of the Climate in 2018, and the picture it paints is all too familiar: Temperature records were shattered, sea ice shrank and extreme weather events devastated every continent in one of the hottest years on record.
.. Continue Reading State of the Climate report paints 2018 as a devastating, record-breaking year
There's a lot of high-tech gear you could haul into the outdoors these days, but there's also plenty to be said for solutions that take a simpler approach. The Singapore-based designers behind the Ember Stove aren't ones to complicate things, taking to Kickstarter with a compact two-piece cooking solution designed to fit in your pocket and fire up with just a handful of twigs.
.. Continue Reading Pocket-sized camping stove creates a clean vortex of fire
The only bits of the Moon in private hands sold at auction at Sotheby's in New York today for US$855,000. The three small shards of lunar rock were returned to Earth by the Soviet unmanned Luna 16 mission in September 1970 and were a gift by the Russian government to Mme Nina Ivanovna Koroleva, widow of Sergei Pavlovich Korolev, the "Chief Designer" and director of the Soviet space program.
.. Continue Reading Tiny shards of Moon rock fetch $855,000 in world first sale
From fuels, to foam mattresses, to high-performance carbon fibers, scientists are getting better all the time at capturing harmful CO2 and turning it into useful products. Researchers at Rutgers University have made an exciting breakthrough in this area, describing a new method of artificial photosynthesis that can convert carbon dioxide into the building blocks for plastics and other materials, and do so with greater efficiency and much more cheaply than ever before.
.. Continue Reading Artificial photosynthesis breakthrough could turn CO2 into plastics on the cheap
In the largest ever academic study into belief in conspiracy theories, a team from the University of Cambridge polled people in nine countries to reveal how mainstream certain fringe conspiratorial views have become in recent years.
.. Continue Reading From aliens to immigration, international study finds most believe a conspiracy theory
Mazda has unveiled the all-new Mazda3 sedan and hatchback at the LA Auto Show, showcasing a sleeker look, fresh interior, and better engine choices alongside safety improvements.
.. Continue Reading Slick new Mazda3 surfaces in LA
Serious off-road four-wheeling is now on the menu at Honda with the release of its first side-by-side sand throwers. The Talon 1000X and 1000R share a 104-hp, twin-cylinder engine and six-speed dual clutch transmission, but take different approaches to hardcore off-roading.
.. Continue Reading Honda gets into side-by-sides with the new Talon 1000X and 1000R