Rear racks are certainly handy for carrying cargo on your bike, but they’re not always long enough, wide enough, or just handy enough. The PedalPorteur was created to address those shortcomings, with a transformable design. Los Angeles-based engineer Gordon MacMorran first created the PedalPorteur for use by his kids, but has now turned to Kickstarter to fund large-scale production. At […]
Transformable Bike Rack
Australia’s Bubble House
A truly unique piece of Australian real estate is up for grabs. Architect Graham Birchall’s personal home, based around a series of 11 intersecting bubble domes, has gone up for sale in Ipswich, Queensland. Birchall built the home in the 1980s as a study of the adaptable nature of spheres. The domes range in diameter from 4 to 8 meters […]
Wood-Based Biopaste
In its natural state, lignin is a tightly cross-linked organic polymer that plays an important role in giving plants and trees their rigidity. But when these resources are converted into paper, the manufacturing process leaves huge amounts of lignin on the scrapheap. Scientists in Germany have developed a technology that could give the organic polymer a new lease on life, […]
Whipr Combines 3 Types of Resistance Training
Although there already are exercise machines that simulate nordic skiing, rowing and other activities, they’re usually separate devices that are all fairly large. Whipr takes a different approach, consisting of a small base unit that works with multiple attachments. The system was invented by marine biologist/scuba diver/stand-up paddler Luke Tipple, who needed a way of exercising in hotel rooms while […]
Self-Assembling Layer Prevents Metal Batteries From Failing
Functional batteries that incorporate lithium metal into the anode could herald a huge breakthrough in energy research, with the material promising incredibly high energy density compared to the copper and graphite used today. Scientists at Pennsylvania State University are putting forward a new solution to one of the key problems plaguing the technology so far, demonstrating a self-assembling layer that […]
Spit Tests To Diagnose Heart Attack Within 10 Minutes
New preliminary research is suggesting a simple saliva test can detect the presence of a protein biomarker known to signal the occurrence of a heart attack in just 10 minutes. If this prototype test is validated in future studies it could dramatically accelerate the speed at which patients with cardiovascular problems can be diagnosed and treated. During a myocardial infarction, […]