🦟 Google deploys bacteria in mosquito war

Headliner

Google wants to spread mosquitos to fight deadly diseases. Here's why.

by Emma Schneck

As Aedes aegypti spreads further across the world, can natural mosquito “birth control” fight some of the world’s most fearsome diseases?

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Highlights

Camping TrailersAdventure VehiclesOutdoors

30-sec folding A-frame camper is an ultralight standing-height wonder

by C.C. Weiss

The newly debuted Alite camping trailer from Aliner is about as small, light and simple as hard-walled towable living gets. The resurrected micro-camper weighs less than 700 lb, sets up in 30 seconds and becomes a tiny A-frame for escaping it all.

WearablesConsumer TechTechnology

Smart rings are suddenly everywhere. Has their time finally come?

by Howard Armitage

Smart rings have gone from niche health tech to casual online impulse buys. With established brands now joining Oura and Samsung, has the technology finally hit the mainstream, and what are you giving up when the price collapses?

Hot deal via StackSocial: Rewire your brain 15 minutes at a time

Most language apps bill you every month, and many lean on AI-generated lessons. A Babbel lifetime subscription is $159 with code LEARN (reg. $299) through Oct. 6.

MotorcyclesTransport

Hillbilly Express: Riding the 2026 Harley-Davidson Pan America Special

by Boris Mihailovic

I’m fairly certain a few good ol’ boys from Appalachia had a big hand in creating the Pan America. Which, as an aside, is still the most polarizing motorcycle Harley-Davison makes. And I understand why.

Urban TransportTransport

These wheels were made for walking, at up to 7 mph

by Omar Kardoudi

Shift Robotics' Moonwalkers Dusk are the lightest motorized shoes the company has built and the first to come in sizes that actually match your feet. They glow as you go, and an upgraded AI learns your stride in about 10 steps.

GearOutdoors

Slick cargo crate hauls gear, doubles as an off-grid rescue tool

by C.C. Weiss

A multifunctional contraption for camping and overlanding, the Rock Tamers Traction Crate looks simply to be a new milk crate design. But its name betrays a critical 2nd function: delivering traction to rescue you from a frustrating off-road debacle.

MaterialsEngineering

Sea sponges serve as inspiration for strong, lightweight metamaterials

by Malcolm Azania

Venus’ flower basket glass sponges can live many years far below the surface of the ocean. Composed of lightweight, durable silica structures, the pipe-shaped organisms are also providing a great opportunity for aircraft and architectural biomimicry.

AutomotiveTransport

Aston Martin DBX GT offers 717 horsepower in a tailored suit

by Simon Heptinstall

Aston Martin returns to its classy roots with the new 717-hp DBX GT. The super-SUV mixes storming V8 performance with grand touring comfort. The GT’s James Bond style challenges rivals like Bentley’s Bentayga.

Glowing Skin, Plus a Free Gift

Pique's Radiant Skin Duo pairs Sun Goddess Matcha with B·T Fountain, a beauty electrolyte clinically backed to deliver 25% greater skin hydration in 15 days. Through Oct 11, get a FREE Nectar Sweetener with any $115+ order.

Shop Pique Week →

RoboticsEngineering

MIT robot swims through water via living muscle cells

by Omar Kardoudi

The new light-guided swimmer uses one layer of living muscle to propel and steer itself through a Petri-dish maze. The thin design could one day help soft robots reach underwater spots rigid machines can't enter.

Knives and MultitoolsGearOutdoors

Swiss Army knife adds prized EDC accessory it's lacked for centuries

by Abhimanyu Ghoshal

For how ubiquitous they are, Victorinox' Swiss Army Knives strangely don't come with clips to hold them in place in your pocket. Tortoise Gear is making one that you can install permanently or temporarily, and it goes on in seconds.

Elsewhere

Abhimanyu Ghoshal spotted a disaster simulation center in China where you can experience a slice of what it might be like to get caught in a typhoon and a flash flood. That's serious doomsday prep right there.

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