Features of the week
AutomotiveTransport
Toyota's tiny, barebones IKEA pickup could be its most versatile ever
by C.C. Weiss
One of the most interesting concepts revealed at this year's Japan Mobility Show was also one of the simplest. The barebones Toyota IMV Origin concept is potentially one of the most versatile vehicles Toyota (or any automaker) has ever built.
WearablesConsumer TechTechnology
Autofocus glasses watch your eyes, and shift their focus accordingly
by Maryna Holovnova
Finnish startup IXI is on a mission to reinvent what eyewear can be, and it now seems to be just a step away from turning that vision into reality. The company's autofocus glasses are in the final stages of development before their official launch.
BiologyScience
Bunnies on a trampoline? How this 'harmless fun' is creating a huge issue
by Chelsea Haney
In recent months, AI-generated wildlife clips have flooded social media, merging real animal behavior with playful fabrications but scientists warn that these digital deepfakes can distort people’s sense of what the natural world looks like.
Tiny HousesOutdoors
Light-filled apartment-style tiny house is built for coastal living
by Adam Williams
Living on a coastline can be rough on cars, trailers and indeed, tiny houses. It's with this in mind that Tru Form Tiny has carefully designed its new custom Urban Park Max 37 to ensure it stands up to the elements.
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Top Stories: Transport
British motorcycle brand returns... But will anyone remember it?
by Utkarsh Sood
Looks like Norton wasn’t the only British motorcycle brand to get a new lease of life. Phelon & Moore is making a loud comeback after having been dormant for decades, with a retro-styled roadster called the Brighton-6 Roadster.
Want to own your own Waymo? 2026 could be your year
by Michael Franco
Most fully autonomous cars are being deployed in commercial settings, such as those used by driverless-ride providers like Waymo. However, a new company called Tensor plans to bring an L4 robocar to consumers next year, and it looks damn impressive.
Unique mixed-propulsion eVTOL completes transition flight testing
by Abhimanyu Ghoshal
China's TCab Tech has successfully completed transition flight tests for its full-scale E20 eVTOL demonstrator, a major milestone that proves its aircraft can handle the most complex part of its flight envelope.
Newest underwater scooter is one of the fastest we've seen
by Ben Coxworth
Although underwater scooters may offer users an aquatic "thrill ride," many of the things don't go much faster than the person could swim on their own. Such is not the case with the Sublue Vapor, however, which tops out at a speed of 10 km/h (6 mph).
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Top stories: Body & Mind
Common nutrient turns our guts into diabetes-fighting chemical factories
by Michael Franco
Adding to the growing body of research that proves our microbiome is a powerful ally in fighting disease, scientists have found that an easy-to-get nutrient in our food causes our guts to produce powerful insulin-regulating compounds.
Vitamin C shields lung cells from common air-pollution damage
by Bronwyn Thompson
Vitamin C may offer meaningful protection against the invisible but pervasive threat of fine-particle air pollution. The common antioxidant significantly reduced lung inflammation and cellular damage caused by everyday, low-level exposure to PM2.5.
Watch: Glowing tool seeks out DNA damage in real time
by Pranjal Malewar
See how scientists can now watch DNA repair in real time. A new glowing sensor developed at Utrecht University reveals how cells fix double strand breaks live.
The simple ingredient that unlocks kale’s real nutritional power
by Bronwyn Thompson
Kale has long been crowned a “superfood,” praised for its rich antioxidant and nutrient content – but new research suggests many of those perks go untapped unless you pair the leaves with something to boost the body's ability to absorb the good stuff.
Top Stories: Outdoor
This ingenious tiny house is almost like two homes in one
by Adam Williams
The Yamabiko is small, even by tiny house standards. However, despite its modest length of 21.6 ft, it squeezes in not just one but two separate interior layouts, each mirroring the other and sharing a single bathroom.
'World's first' sodium-ion flashlight shines bright even at -40 ºF
by Abhimanyu Ghoshal
Okay, so you know how it absolutely sucks when you're exploring the polar icecaps and your flashlight craps out at sub-zero temperatures? Your batteries might be to blame – and the solution might be an alternative to conventional lithium-ion cells.
48-second single-touch inflatable tent camps the air or ground
by C.C. Weiss
The all-new Float tent looks to make camping faster, easier and tailored to the conditions on the ground. It inflates into form in under a minute, and when the ground gets too rocky, soggy or scratchy, the Float leaps up into the trees.
AR ski goggles show you the hazards that your eyes alone can't see
by Maryna Holovnova
Provuu is a brand from Switzerland, where they know what's needed for a good day on the slopes. The company's ski goggles are now on Kickstarter, and if you’ve ever had to cancel a ski day due to low visibility, this might be a must-have gadget.
Top Stories: Technology
Antigravity 360 drone: The most immersive flight you'll ever have
by Joe Salas
Antigravity just dropped the A1 – the world's first "all-in-one 8K 360 drone." Totally sounds like marketing hype until you fly it and realize how truly revolutionary this drone really is.
Futuristic dome grows food by itself – with help from some fish
by Bronwyn Thompson
Inspired by the humble old greenhouse, a futuristic self-contained food ecosystem offers us a glimpse at a how we might one day have "farm to table" on our apartment block rooftops or in space-poor urban areas. Think of it as a tiny house of produce.
Dinky little laser box throws big-screen entertainment from inches away
by Paul Ridden
Until fairly recently, if you wanted to get a projector close to the wall, the ultra-short-throw model you'd need would be something of a beast. China's JMGO changed that in January with its compact O2S Ultra – and now the next in line has launched.
Lockheed Martin drone makes mission-saving decisions on its own
by David Szondy
Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works has shown how combat drones can think on the fly with a demonstration of its AI-Driven Mission Contingency Management (AI/MCM) system that can adjust missions in the face of unforeseen events.
Top Stories: Science
Lost Silk Road city discovered beneath mountain lake
by Pranjal Malewar
Archaeologists have discovered the submerged ruins of a medieval Silk Road city beneath Lake Issyk-Kul in northeastern Kyrgyzstan. Buildings, artifacts, and a necropolis have been found deep under the waters of the lake.
Ultra-rare carnivorous 'killer plant' found lurking on city's doorstep
by Bronwyn Thompson
There's an old saying that everything in Australia wants to eat you – and this apparently includes plants. Now scientists have made a special find, stumbling across a massive community of a rare meat-eaters living closer to humans than ever before.
How much faster you'd 'age' on Mars – relatively speaking
by David Szondy
If you're going to Mars you'd best take along a jar of anti-aging cream because while you're there you're going to age faster than on Earth thanks to the Theory of Relativity. It's only 477 millionths of a second per day, but that tends to add up.
Your pet dog, even the chihuahua, may still carry wolf genes
by Jay Kakade
Most pet dogs carry a little wolf inside them; tiny snippets of wolf DNA that slipped into dog genomes after domestication. Now a new study has found almost two-thirds of dog breeds have a small amount of wolf genes, including some breeds you wouldn't expect.
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