Headliner
CFMoto's liter-class adventure bike lands in the USA for $12,499
by Utkarsh Sood
Liter-class bikes aren't exactly accessible. Not just state-of-the-art superbikes that look like Greek goddesses, but even something as rugged as the Honda Africa Twin comes for upwards of $15,000. CFMoto's latest offering takes a shot at that status quo.
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Highlights
MaterialsEngineering
Plastic-free vegan leather sees production-scale breakthrough
by Maryna Holovnova
Scientists have been searching for alternatives to animal leather, and mushrooms might be one of the most promising options. Finnish researchers have taken another step toward bringing mushroom-based leather bags and shoes to store shelves.
AutomotiveTransport
Review: 2026 Audi SQ5 delivers sensible misbehavior
by Aaron Turpen
The 2026 Audi SQ5 is a family crossover with five seats, a useful cargo area, and all-wheel drive. It’s also capable of launching itself to 60 mph in 4.6 seconds. Because apparently groceries need to be accelerated urgently.
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More Stories
ArchitectureEngineering
Boldly twisted tower lures you into its Escher-like space to spy on birds
by Bronwyn Thompson
A new 19.9-meter (65-ft) tower rises like a brutalist-inspired, twisted monolith above its rural surroundings, providing a space for watching migratory birds that populate Wuhan's Chenhu Wetland, China.
Consumer TechTechnology
HoverAir's latest flyer eradicates divide between pocket cam and drone
by Monica J. White
After a quick reveal earlier this month, HoverAir has revealed full specs for the Versa, a pocket gimbal camera that snaps onto prop-packing wings to fly like an autonomous camera-drone. The novel hybrid has also launched on Indiegogo.
Space SystemsEngineering
NASA abandons orbit-boost attempt to rescue Swift space telescope
by David Szondy
The mission to rescue NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory space telescope may be in need of some rescuing itself. Due to multiple malfunctions in the LINK spacecraft's attitude control system, space engineers have decided to abandon the boost attempt.
Knives and MultitoolsGearOutdoors
Tiny titanium keyring puts a versatile toolkit in your pocket
by Abhimanyu Ghoshal
This new piece of EDC gear we've spotted looks like a handy little screwdriver with bit storage. However, it serves two additional functions beyond fastening that make it practical for more than just DIY projects and repairs.
Engineering
'Light pumping' bends beams in femtoseconds toward faster computing
by Malcolm Azania
By calibrating a “light pump” to match the optical composition of a medium, researchers can shoot a “probe” beam at a new deflection angle. Surpassing previous electronic means, Caltech’s light-bending opens the door to hyperspeed computation.
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AutomotiveTransport
Ferrari just sold a single super-divisive Luce at 62x its asking price
by Abhimanyu Ghoshal
Ferrari's first EV drew immense praise for the inventive interiors with a focus on physical controls – but was panned for its exterior design. Despite the polarization, a one-off Luce has sold for a whopping $40 million at auction.
RoboticsEngineering
New controller makes operating an excavator almost instinctive
by Omar Kardoudi
MIT engineers replaced excavator joysticks with a miniature-arm controller that mimics human arm motion, letting complete novices match veteran operators' skill level from their very first session, no years of practice required.
Elsewhere
Do androids dream of Olympic gold? The World Humanoid Robot Games in China is showcasing some seriously impressive humanoid boxing, soccer, and sprinting skills – in some cases beating human world record holders.
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