If we're ever going to get on top of the whole plastic waste problem, a partial solution may lie in substances that fix themselves when broken, instead of having to be discarded. With that in mind, many groups have been developing self-healing materials – and one of the latest functions like blood.
.. Continue Reading Self-healing material has resin in its "veins"
When most of us walk over uneven ground, our feet respond to the dips and humps by flexing the ankle and moving the toes. Prosthetic feet typically don't do so, often resulting in falls. An experimental new model, however, uses a tripod-like assembly to react more like a real foot.
.. Continue Reading Experimental prosthetic foot maintains stability on rough terrain
There are more than a few ways for cyclists to find their way around without pulling out their smartphone these days, from audio devices that mount to your helmet to belts that buzz when a turn needs to be made. The SmartHalo was a particularly pretty solution that caught our eye back in 2015, and now its creators are back with a new and improved version that promises greater connectivity and puts fitness data right in the rider's line of vision.
.. Continue Reading SmartHalo 2 bike computer puts fitness info in a cyclist's field of view
Plastic cutlery may well be convenient, but it is certainly wasteful and as more and more research shows, detrimental to the environment. Outlery was cooked up as an alternative, consisting of a collapsible and reusable cutlery and chopstick sets that can be packed into a very manageable pocket-sized package.
.. Continue Reading Outlery's collapsible cutlery might be the world's smallest utensil set
"Solar steaming" is an eco-friendly form of water purification in which sunlight is used to heat tainted water, turning it to steam which condenses back into liquid. That clean liquid is then collected as drinking water. A new system offers improved performance, and it copies the structure of the rose flower.
.. Continue Reading Rosy tech offers better, cheaper water purification
From virtual windshields to transparent roofs to portable steering wheels, Jaguar Land Rover isn't afraid to get a little creative when looking to the future of automotive design. The latest concept imagines a potentially more intuitive form of turn-by-turn navigation, gently warming either side of the steering wheel to guide the driver to their destination.
.. Continue Reading Jaguar Land Rover's sensory steering wheel guides drivers with heat
Fieldwork Robotics – a spinout company from the University of Plymouth in the UK – has announced the successful completion of early field trials of a raspberry-harvesting robot. If commercialized, the system could help make up for a shortage of human fruit pickers in the country.
.. Continue Reading Raspberry-picking robot completes first field trials
Almost 50 years to the day since Neil Armstrong uttered the immortal words "the Eagle has landed" Lego will launch its Creator Expert set of the Eagle Lunar Module to celebrate the anniversary. Developed in cooperation with NASA, the set comes with mini astronaut figures and a Moon-surface diorama stage complete with craters, footprints, a flag and even a replica of the plaque Armstrong and Aldrin left behind on the surface.
.. Continue Reading Apollo 11 Lunar Lander Lego set marks 50th anniversary of the first men on the Moon
Cell division is one of the most fundamental biological functions, vital to life – but there's still so much about it that we don't understand. In an attempt to find out more, researchers at the University of Chicago have now managed to recreate cell division outside of a cell for the first time, surprising even themselves.
.. Continue Reading Cell division recreated outside of a cell for the first time
This year was the 90th anniversary for Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este, which was first held at the palatial 16th-century villa on the shores of Lake Como on September 1, 1929. As a setting for a celebration of any form of heritage, there could be no finer location, as the former royal residence near Rome is now a luxury hotel, world-renowned for its 25 acres of terraced Italian Renaissance gardens.
.. Continue Reading Pictorial: The spectacular 2019 Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este
No matter what the latest fad diet tells us to do, we already know the general gist of how to stay healthy – eating too much sugar and fat leads to weight gain and metabolic diseases. But what if you could stay healthier without changing your diet? In mouse tests conducted at Max Planck, researchers have now found a way to alter the fat metabolism in the liver, reducing the chances of diabetes without changing a high-fat diet.
.. Continue Reading Altering liver's fat metabolism could help prevent diabetes without dietary changes
One of the hidden gems at the 2019 Concours d'Eleganza Villa d'Este was this crazy 1182-horsepower plug-in hybrid. Built to honor the great Austro-Daimler marque, the Bergmeister ADR 630 Shooting Grand is a tarmac-tearing beast with an enormous 155-mile all-electric range.
.. Continue Reading Historical Austro-Daimler marque is honored with 1,200-horsepower plug-in hybrid
A genetically modified fungus designed to safely reduce malaria-spreading mosquito populations has, for the first time, been successfully tested outside of laboratory conditions in a simulated village environment in Burkina Faso, West Africa. The trial decimated the target mosquito population in only 45 days paving the way for more trials in open environments.
.. Continue Reading Genetically modified fungus kills malaria-spreading mosquitos in landmark West African trial
Growing its lineup from the expanding S.O.5.10 caravan, Oregon's Overkill Campers presents a lighter, simpler take on tow-anywhere camping. The T.K.4.7 rides on a similarly rugged foundation as its big brother but offers a more compact living space that blurs the boundary between inside and outside. With two of four sides taken up almost entirely by wide-opening doors, the trailer lets campers connect with the great outdoors in a way most other small trailers do not.
.. Continue Reading Overkill T.K.4.7 off-road camping trailer rides small but opens up for big, breezy views
New research suggests that some of the dirt you may have eaten as a child could have contained a type of bacteria that strengthens the immune system. The study reveals the bacteria Mycobacterium vaccae can produce a unique anti-inflammatory fatty acid with anti-inflammatory properties.
.. Continue Reading Dirt-residing bacteria produce anti-inflammatory fats that could lead to a “stress vaccine”
We spoke to this semi-paralyzed maniac last week about his preparations for attempting a new UTV jumping world distance record in his Polaris RZR - and on Monday, Tanner delivered, eclipsing the target mark by more than 20 feet.
.. Continue Reading Update: Tanner Godfrey smashes UTV distance jumping record
They're not much to look at, but mole-rats are pretty amazing animals. Among a range of other biological oddities, these weird little rodents have a remarkable resistance to pain that's not seen in other mammals, and now researchers have a better understanding of why. A new study has uncovered the molecular reasons for the pain insensitivity, which could eventually lead to new pain relief techniques for human use.
.. Continue Reading Nerve study on pain-immune mole-rats could inspire new pain relief for humans
Two fascinating new studies are shedding light on the association between the gut, the brain, and autism. The new research reveals how gastrointestinal problems can be triggered by the same gene mutations associated with autism, and a striking mouse study has demonstrated how a fecal transplant from humans with autism can promote autism-like behaviors in the animals.
.. Continue Reading Two new studies strengthen the gut-brain connection in autism
As part of a celebration of Victorian cinema, the British Film Institute (BFI) and the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) have released the oldest known moving picture of a solar eclipse. Recently restored to 4K quality by conservation experts at the BFI National Archive, the one-minute-eight-second film is a recording of the total eclipse of the Sun made by British magician and pioneering filmmaker Nevil Maskelyne in North Carolina on 28 May, 1900.
.. Continue Reading First moving picture of a total solar eclipse restored to 4K quality
iRobot has refreshed its line of cleaning robots, adding a new mopping machine to the mix along with an updated vacuum. Together, the Roomba s9 vacuum and the Braava jet m6 mop are designed to work in tandem to keep floors dust- and dirt-free, without any input from the user.
.. Continue Reading iRobot's latest vacuum and mopping machines work together as a robo-cleaning tag team
More and more people are utilizing their smartphones for underwater photography, but there's a problem with using a watertight housing made just for your device – it's useless when you change phones. The Xpoovv, however, works with a wide range of smartphone makes and models.
.. Continue Reading Xpoovv underwater housing fits a variety of smartphones
Because sloths move very slowly – when they move at all – they burn relatively few calories, thus requiring little food. Scientists have now applied that principle to a sluggish but energy-efficient robot, known appropriately enough as the SlothBot. One of its primary uses could be environmental monitoring.
.. Continue Reading Sloth-inspired robot saves power by taking things slow
We spent a week in the all-new 2019 Kia Forte and found that it has raised the bar for expectations in the small car segment. With a great drive dynamic, a good look, and some solid technologies available, the Forte is the new compact to beat ... yet it still has some weaknesses for others to exploit.
.. Continue Reading 2019 Kia Forte sets a new standard for entry-level compact sedans
Drone racing pilots are capable of some impressive control and trickery, but autonomous racing drones are also looking to claim their share of the spotlight. Scientists at TU Delft have now developed what is claimed to be the smallest autonomous racing drone on the planet, a feat that involved some serious innovations in the algorithms that control its flight path.
.. Continue Reading World's smallest autonomous racing drone created by Dutch scientists
The obvious opening line here is "Are you not entertained?". Clearly drawing from the movie of the same name as the new Jeep pickup truck, Hennessey went a step further (as they are wont to do) and shoved 1,000 horsepower into a Jeep Gladiator. The result is also predictable.
.. Continue Reading Hennessey goes full Gladiator with Maximus 1000