Features of the week
AircraftTransport
Tidy flying motorcycle with electric microjets opens pre-orders
by Joe Salas
The LEO Solo just went up for preorder, pitched as an FAA Part 103-friendly (no pilot license required), single-seat personal eVTOL. It's supposedly landing in late 2025.
ArchitectureTechnology
Rising high into Saudi sky: World's new tallest skyscraper progresses
by Adam Williams
Following construction restarting earlier this year, more details have been revealed on what is arguably the world's most ambitious architecture project: the mind-bogglingly tall JEC Tower, which is currently rising in Saudi Arabia.
Wellness and Healthy LivingBody and Mind
Fluoride and the brain: Largest US study ever unearths surprise new link
by Bronwyn Thompson
In the first US study looking at whether the recommended fluoride levels in drinking water affects brain function, researchers have found that the hot-button mineral has no negative impacts on cognition – and may actually be giving it a boost.
MotorcyclesTransport
Radical new motorcycle helmet opens from the back
by Utkarsh Sood
The DJagger helmet features a unique design that eliminates the need for the conventional chin strap. The rear end of the helmet opens laterally, retreats backward, and rises outward, creating ample space for your head to move in and out.
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Top Stories: Transport
New Atlas tours the Polaris R&D facility on the Slingshot's 10th anniversary
by Aaron Turpen
It may surprise some to learn that Polaris has a serious research, development, and testing facility. I got a full tour of the place, along with a dedicated test track that I got to use later.
Open-roof EV claims the world's quickest 0-60 mph time
by Abhimanyu Ghoshal
The Aspark Owl hypercar from Japan was once the fastest electric production car you could buy. Its new drop-top version is said to go from 0-60 mph in just 1.72 seconds, arguably faster than any other car on the market ever.
Solar-powered floating airports: The missing link for air taxis?
by David Szondy
Air taxis might be the next big thing but they can't get very big if there's no place for them to land. AutoFlight Aviation Technology is developing a vertiport that's essentially a solar-powered barge that can go where it's needed – water permitting.
Tern fixes the biggest issue with its flagship folding ebike
by Paul Ridden
Taiwan's Tern Bicycles has listened to its customers and delivered a belt-drive Vektron folding ebike as part of the fourth-generation rollout in the US, which also includes a regular chain-driven flavor that offers a sportier ride.
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Top stories: Body & Mind
3D-printed cornea restores blind patient's sight for the first time
by Abhimanyu Ghoshal
In a major breakthrough in human tissue replication, for the first time ever a 3D-printed cornea has been transplanted onto a legally blind patient's eye, successfully restoring their sight.
Bird flu has a heat-proof gene that protects it from our fever defenses
by Bronwyn Thompson
Avian influenza viruses have a gene that makes them incredibly resistant to heat, rendering our body's natural defense system – fever – powerless in fighting infection. In fact, higher temperatures actually help those bird-derived bugs replicate.
It's official: Global health body makes historic call on weight-loss drugs
by Bronwyn Thompson
The World Health Organization has finally made its recommendations on using GLP-1 therapeutics for weight loss, though it remains to be seen whether it changes their status for prescribing or price. And scientists still have some concerns.
'Smart sticker' turns any cup into a health-monitoring device
by Maryna Holovnova
Terrified of bloodwork, needles, and clinic bills? Science is getting closer and closer to collecting our health data in fast, affordable, and pain-free ways – the latest example being a cup sticker that measures vitamin C levels in the user's sweat.
Top Stories: Outdoor
Best multitools of 2025: Revamped Leathermans to Swiss Army skeletons
by C.C. Weiss
After a rather slow 2024, 2025 saw more multitool debuts than we could keep up with. Our favorites included a reimagining of Leatherman's most popular, a skeletal Swiss Army knife, and a Gerber campsite classic that starts fires.
Off-grid tiny house embraces downsizing, doesn't skimp on comfort
by Adam Williams
This recently completed tiny house, by Vagabond Haven, packs a lot of comfort into a compact footprint. Designed to sleep two people, it's fully equipped for off-grid living and is envisioned as a vacation home or rental.
Sub-30-lb rooftop tent slashes price & boosts car camping convenience
by C.C. Weiss
So many rooftop tents on the market weigh well over 100 lb. The all-new Weekend from Groenberg shatters that mold and weighs in at a fraction of those figures. And for a limited time, it also prices in at a fraction of the competition.
Snowboard suspension system makes for smoother, faster carving
by Ben Coxworth
As any snowboarder knows, the board does not just float dreamily across soft, puffy snow. It bangs and it shakes and it chatters against the hard-packed slopes, which is exactly where the shock-absorbing ShredLORD is designed to come in.
Top Stories: Technology
DragonFire laser weapon takes down high-speed drones
by David Szondy
Britain's DragonFire laser weapon upped the ante on November 20 at the Ministry of Defence's Hebrides Range in Scotland when the high-powered, solid-state laser for the Royal Navy shot down drones flying at 351 knots (404 mph, 650 km/h).
Biometric 'human washing machine' cleans, dries and adapts to your mood
by Bronwyn Thompson
Japanese company Science is commercially producing its Mirai Ningen Sentakuki – Human Washing Machine of the Future – after an overwhelming response at the Osaka-Kansai Expo this year. Only 50 models will be made, with a price tag of US$385,000.
New tech pulls lithium from dead batteries cheaper than you can buy it
by Michael Franco
While lithium extraction technologies generally focus on ways to get the essential metal out of the ground, there's another source to mine: existing batteries that no longer work. A new technique could now make that process economically viable.
Review: Rugged Thor 002 offers reliable thermal imaging on a budget
by Bronwyn Thompson
Thermal imaging has become wildly accessible, thanks to technological advancements that have made it more affordable than ever. Thermal Master's Thor 002 sits squarely in that sweet spot. And it's about a third of the price of its main competitors.
Top Stories: Science
Your poop could save lives – and 'stool banks' will even pay you for it
by Bronwyn Thompson
You may be sitting on – so to speak – a very valuable asset that scientists would love to get their hands on: your poop. As well as blood, plasma and organs, you can now donate fecal samples to stool banks for research and use in transplants.
Tiny structures kill bacteria by stabbing them with metal spikes
by Ben Coxworth
Nobody wants harmful bacteria on objects such as medical implants, yet we also don't want them building up a resistance to antibiotics. Well, help may be on the way, in the form of metal structures that kill the microbes by poking holes in them.
3.3-billion-year-old rocks reveal oldest chemical traces of life
by Pranjal Malewar
Using advanced chemistry and AI, a team of Carnegie researchers uncovered new chemical traces of Earth's earliest life in 3.3‑billion‑year‑old rocks, and evidence that oxygen‑producing photosynthesis began over 800 million years earlier than thought.
Lining pipes with lab-grown diamonds can keep them squeaky clean
by Abhimanyu Ghoshal
Industrial pipes carrying water or chemicals invariably get gunked up as deposits accumulate on their internal surfaces. Researchers in Texas have found that lining pipes with lab-grown diamond film can prevent buildup like nothing else.
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