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Fish's piranha-proof scales could lead to tough, flexible body armor -

Here's a question - if piranhas are so ferocious and will attack anything, why aren't they the only fish in the Amazon? Well, in some cases, it's because other fish possess bite-proof armor. The 300-pound (136-kg) Arapaima is just such a fish. In the dry season, when water levels get low, Arapaima are forced to share relatively small bodies of water with piranhas. Their tough-but-flexible scales, however, allow them to remain unharmed. A scientist from the University of California, San Diego is now taking a closer look at those scales, with an eye towards applying their secrets to human technology such as body armor. .. Continue Reading Fish's piranha-proof scales could lead to tough, flexible body armor

Section: Research Watch

Tags: Armor, Biomimicry, Fish, Flexible, University of California

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Furry sock shoes designed for walking, running and sports -

Swiss Protection Socks from Swiss Barefoot put a whole new spin on the barefoot movement. These are essentially big, burly socks that are designed to be worn not inside shoes, but instead of them. The manufacturer claims that the socks are hefty enough to protect your feet from the pain and dangers of walking completely barefoot. .. Continue Reading Furry sock shoes designed for walking, running and sports

Section: Outdoors

Tags: barefoot, outdoor, Running, Shoes, Swiss Barefoot, Walk, Water Sports

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Smartphone tech battles drug abuse and depression -

Some day, perhaps soon, it's possible that your smartphone could stop you from shutting yourself off from the world, or turning to illicit substances to deal with the stresses of life. Two separate studies are currently under way, looking at how smartphone-enabled technologies could be used to monitor peoples' levels of stress or depression, and then take action to keep them from making the wrong choices... Continue Reading Smartphone tech battles drug abuse and depression

Section: Health and Wellbeing

Tags: Behavior, Drugs, Northwestern University, Psychology, Smartphone, Stress, University of Massachusetts

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Kodak announces it's getting out of the camera-making business -

After making and selling cameras for over 120 years, the Eastman Kodak Company announced yesterday that it plans to stop producing its “dedicated capture devices” – in other words, its digital cameras, pocket video cameras, and digital picture frames. The company plans on phasing out the products throughout the first half of this year. This news doesn’t come as a surprise, as Kodak filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection just last month, at which time it announced that it would be undergoing a “reorganization” in order to focus on its most valuable business lines... Continue Reading Kodak announces it's getting out of the camera-making business

Section: Digital Cameras

Tags: Business, Digital Cameras, Kodak, Photography

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Wear your iPad or other tablet wherever you go, with GoPad -

For those of you so in love with your iPad that you've often fantasized about a way to have your slate permanently attached to your person, a simple accessory called the GoPad isn't far off. Once attached to your tablet, it allows the iPad to be worn by creating a make-shift platform resting against your chest... Continue Reading Wear your iPad or other tablet wherever you go, with GoPad

Section: Wearable Electronics

Tags: iPad, Tablet, Wearable

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World's largest offshore wind farm opens for business -

Walney wind farm off the coast of Cumbria in the UK yesterday became the world's largest offshore wind facility. One hundred and two turbines over 73 sq km (28 sq miles) provide a maximum output of 367.2 MW. It's claimed the facility will provide enough power for about 320,000 homes - half as many again as the total number in Cumbria... Continue Reading World's largest offshore wind farm opens for business

Section: ecoGizmo

Tags: Energy, Renewable Energy, Wind, Wind turbine

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easyJet to trial greener electric taxiing -

UK-based bargain airline easyJet has thrown its weight behind the development of an electric taxiing system in a bid to cut its fuel consumption and enhance its environmental credibility. The "electric green taxiing system" (EGTS) is a joint venture by engineering and aerospace conglomerates Honeywell and Safran. Safran claims that four percent of easyJet's fuel consumption is used taxiing aircraft before take off and after landing from and to gates. .. Continue Reading easyJet to trial greener electric taxiing

Section: Aero Gizmo

Tags: Airline, easyjet, Electric, Environment, Honeywell, Safran

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Tesla unveils Model X crossover electric car -

Tesla has unveiled its latest electric car, the Model X, at its California Design Studios. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the prototype crossover vehicle on display was the company's most advanced to appear at a launch so is unlikely to differ significantly from the vehicle that will be put into production. The vehicle will be available in both rear- and four-wheel-drive versions. The latter packs two independent electric motors - one on the rear axle and the other in the "engine bay" - with a "Perfromance" all-wheel drive model able to accelerate from 0 - 60 mph (96.5 km/h) in under five seconds... Continue Reading Tesla unveils Model X crossover electric car

Section: Automotive

Tags: Battery Electric Vehicles, Crossover, Electric Vehicles, Tesla, Tesla Motors

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Snowless sled: Summer downhilling for brave souls -

It's a reality that we come to realize as small children: certain wonderful indulgences of childhood like snow days, mud fights and sled jumps are entirely at the mercy of Mother Nature. You only get to enjoy them for a few months out of the year, and if the weather doesn't cooperate, you may miss a whole year or two. If only we'd had the Hanczar snowless sled when we were kids. .. Continue Reading Snowless sled: Summer downhilling for brave souls

Section: Outdoors

Tags: Sled, Snow

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World's tallest building proposed for Azerbaijan -

The Burj Khalifa, which has held the title of world’s tallest building with a height of 2,717 ft (828 m) since its completion in 2010, may have its crown stolen by a new 3,445 ft (1,050 m) high building proposed for construction in Azerbaijan... Continue Reading World's tallest building proposed for Azerbaijan

Section: Holiday Destinations

Tags: Building and Construction, Tallest Building, World's Tallest

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Pilot plant converts fruit and veggie waste into natural gas for cars -

Some readers might remember the Mr. Fusion unit in Back to the Future that Doc Brown fills with household garbage, including a banana peel and some beer, to power the iconic time-traveling DeLorean. While we're still some way from such direct means of running our cars on table scraps, researchers at Fraunhofer have developed a pilot plant that ferments the waste from wholesale fruit and veg markets, cafeterias and canteens to make methane, which can be used to power vehicles. .. Continue Reading Pilot plant converts fruit and veggie waste into natural gas for cars

Section: ecoGizmo

Tags: Algae, Biofuel, Biogas, Fraunhofer, Methane, Waste

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Yamaha clocks strong performance in MotoGP testing -

Honda's main rival for the 2012 MotoGP title is Yamaha, so lets take a quick look at how the team fared in pre-season testing at Sepang in Malaysia. Team riders Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies spent the three track days allocated working to arrive at the base settings for the new 1000cc YZR-M1 before serious testing begins next month. The final session saw Lorenzo the second fastest rider, 0.59 seconds behind Casey Stoner (Honda RC213V). Team mate Spies ended up in fourth position, some 0.88 seconds behind Stoner... Continue Reading Yamaha clocks strong performance in MotoGP testing

Section: Motorcycles

Tags: Bridgestone, Jorge Lorenzo, MotoGP, Racing, Yamaha

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Nike develops performance rubber sole for prosthetic running blades -

By now, probably just about everyone has seen amazing footage of single- or double-amputee runners, using Össur's Flex-Run carbon fiber running blades. The springy substitutes for legs allow their users to run so fast and naturally, that there is currently a debate over whether or not it would be fair to allow athletes using them to compete against non-amputees. Carbon fiber isn't exactly known for its grippy qualities, however, so Nike has been working with one-legged triathlete Sarah Reinertsen, to create the equivalent of a shoe that could be used with the blades. The result is the Nike Sole... Continue Reading Nike develops performance rubber sole for prosthetic running blades

Section: Sports

Tags: Athlete, Disability, Nike, Prosthesis, Running, Shoes

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"Fracture putty" could speed healing of broken bones -

Anyone who has ever broken a bone knows that while receiving the injury itself is quite unpleasant, being laid up for several weeks to even a few months afterwards is also no picnic. Help may be on the way, however. The U.S. Department of Defense is funding a study, to develop fast bone-healing treatments that could be used on soldiers, along with civilians and even animals. Already, scientists have gotten promising results in laboratory tests, using something they call “fracture putty.”.. Continue Reading "Fracture putty" could speed healing of broken bones

Section: Health and Wellbeing

Tags: Bones, Healing, Stem Cells, University of Georgia

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Beautiful REK bookcase grows with your library -

The beautiful REK bookcase by Rotterdam-based designer and architect Reiner de Jong is an elegantly designed unit that can be configured to accommodate a book collection of any size with a minimum of wasted space... Continue Reading Beautiful REK bookcase grows with your library

Section: Around The Home

Tags: Furniture

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DoubleBack adds a sliding pod to VW's Transporter van -

It was over thirty years ago that Volkswagen first started offering “pop tops” on its camper vans. In the years since, the soft-sided interior height-extenders have become a common sight on VW vans parked in campgrounds all over the world. Now, Welsh company Overlander Motorhomes is offering what it sees as the logical compliment to the pop top – it’s the DoubleBack, a sliding insulated pod that extends the interior length of Volkwagen’s T5 Transporter van... Continue Reading DoubleBack adds a sliding pod to VW's Transporter van

Section: Automotive

Tags: Campervan, Camping, Van, Volkswagen

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Blizzard Survival's Reflexcell technology adds a new dimension to emergency blankets -

Mother Nature is a cruel vixen, and man needs every advantage he can get when attempting to ward off her fury. Blizzard Survival improves upon the traditional emergency blanket with a honeycomb-like build that both reflects and traps heat to keep you warm. It's a technology called Reflexcell. .. Continue Reading Blizzard Survival's Reflexcell technology adds a new dimension to emergency blankets

Section: Outdoors

Tags: Blizzard Survival, emergency, Heat, Insulation, Jacket, Survival

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Olympus details impressive OM-D E-M5 Micro Four Thirds camera -

At first glance, you might think that you've seen the new E-M5 from Olympus before, and you'd be right. Kind of. The new Micro Four Thirds camera is based on the classic lines of the OM series film SLR cameras first introduced in 1972, and becomes the first of the company's OM-D Series. Olympus trumpets its arrival as the beginning of a new era in digital imaging and has included a number of breaking technologies to support its claims... Continue Reading Olympus details impressive OM-D E-M5 Micro Four Thirds camera

Section: Digital Cameras

Tags: Micro Four Thirds, OLED, Olympus

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Yumemiru app aims to let you control your dreams -

We all wish we could control what our dreams are at night, whether it's to pretend we have powers like Superman or simply to enjoy a relaxing stroll through a mansion on the Moon that happens to have a talking lion for a butler, complete with monocle. Sadly, we're still a long way away from programming our sleeping moments like a Netflix queue, but one Japanese app may have a quick solution. The Yumemiru app for iOS can detect when you enter dream sleep and then plays a soundtrack to influence what happens in your dreams... Continue Reading Yumemiru app aims to let you control your dreams

Section: Good Thinking

Tags: App, Dreams, iOS, iPhone, Psychology

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Programmer nails real-time rendering of ultra-realistic human skin -

Graphics researcher Jorge Jimenez has cracked the problem of rendering what he calls "ultra realistic skin" in real-time with consumer-level computer and graphics hardware. It's a breakthrough made possible by the process of separable subsurface scattering (SSS) which quickly renders the translucent properties of skin and its effect on light in two post-processing passes. The code is based wholly on original research using DirectX 10. Jimenez describes the achievement as the result of hours of "research, desperation, excitement, happiness, pride, sadness and extreme dedication.".. Continue Reading Programmer nails real-time rendering of ultra-realistic human skin

Section: Games

Tags: Graphics, Research, Skin

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Deep Blue luxury catamaran designed as submarine support vessel -

Luxury yacht designers Ardoin Yacht Design and U-Boat Worx submarines have collaborated on the perfect companion for U-Boat's one, two or three person submarines. The Deep Blue catamaran can carry the submarine and 12 passengers to your diving spot at up to 30 knot speeds, then hydraulically lower and raise the submarine for launching and docking... Continue Reading Deep Blue luxury catamaran designed as submarine support vessel

Section: On the Water

Tags: Catamaran, Submarine, U-boat, U-Boat Worx, Yacht

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NASA launches search for greener propellant -

NASA has put out the call for greener propellant fuel for use on the spacecraft of the future. Though it does not appear that NASA has stipulated that alternative propellants must match the performance of current mainstay hydrazine, it's clear that only high-performance substances need apply. Environmental credentials are where the new fuel must demonstrate an edge over hydrazine, which is a corrosive, toxic pollutant. As well as the environmental benefits, use of greener propellants should prove more economical, reducing the need for involved safety procedures that can lengthen launch times... Continue Reading NASA launches search for greener propellant

Section: Aero Gizmo

Tags: Alternative Energy, Fuel, NASA, Propellant

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Kia presents the bulldog-like 4WD Track'ster concept -

The Chicago Auto Show got underway on Wednesday, and Kia had one of the noteworthy debuts of day one. The company's Track'ster concept is essentially a race-inspired hot hatch version of its popular Soul. The car gets a potent powertrain and aggressive look. Kia is clearly empowered by its recent success. Once essentially the baby brother of Hyundai, a brand that itself has a historical reputation as a cheap, entry-level automaker, Kia is really starting to come into its own. According to the company's numbers, it launched more new models in the US between 2009 and 2010 than any other automaker and was one of the world's fastest growing auto brands... Continue Reading Kia presents the bulldog-like 4WD Track'ster concept

Section: Automotive

Tags: Car, Chicago Auto Show 2012, Concept, Kia, Performance

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iRobot launches new 710 Warrior robot -

iRobot, the company behind household helpers, such as the Roomba and Scooba, and military and police robots, such as the PackBot and Negotiator, has released an updated version of its Warrior 700 robot. Like its predecessor, the newly launched 710 Warrior is designed for EOD (explosive ordnance disposal), reconnaissance and surveillance missions and can lift loads of up to 220 lbs (100 kg) and carry payloads of more than 150 pounds (68 kg) over rough terrain... Continue Reading iRobot launches new 710 Warrior robot

Section: Robotics

Tags: iRobot, Reconnaissance, Robot, Surveillance

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Red Bull unveils 2012 Formula One car -

Current world F1 champion Red Bull Racing has unveiled the car with which it will defend the title in 2012 - the Renault-powered RB8. With No. 1 driver Sebastian Vettel looking for a hat-trick this year, Chief Technical Officer Adrian Newey OBE is taking no chances with the design, which traces it roots back to the RB5 of 2009... Continue Reading Red Bull unveils 2012 Formula One car

Section: Automotive

Tags: F1, Mark Webber, Pirelli, Racing, Red Bull, Renault, Sebastian Vettel, Sebastian Vettel

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