New Atlas: Technology-Innovation-Outdoor News

Turnkey kit converts commercial ships into drone carriers

David Szondy — Wed, 22 Jul 2026 03:30:27 GMT

Even aircraft carriers are joining the drone age. Elbit Systems has unveiled a concept to convert standard commercial merchant ships into modular carriers capable of launching and retrieving its Hermes 650 Spark fixed-wing unmanned aircraft.

Category: Military, Engineering

Tags: drones, Aircraft Carrier

Threat of extreme solar storms may be far worse than we imagined

Mike McRae — Wed, 22 Jul 2026 03:09:00 GMT

A theorized limit to our planet’s response to geomagnetic storms may be the product of a statistical illusion, researchers claim, revealing that the extent of damage from the most extreme solar events could be greater than we ever imagined.

Category: Astronomy, Science, Refractor: Science & Health

Tags: Sun, Magnetic field, geomagnetic, NASA, coronal mass ejection, solar-storm

Norton Motorcycles amplifies comeback with gutsy adventure bike

Utkarsh Sood — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 23:03:00 GMT

There’s something endearing about one of the world’s most prestigious motorcycle makers almost disappearing into oblivion and making a full-fledged resurgence with a fresh approach. One that’s not only strategic but equally forceful, and might I say, incredibly ballsy.

Category: Motorcycles, Transport

Tags: Norton Motorcycle, Adventure Bikes, Touring, Twin-engine, Reviews, Triumph, Suzuki, Iceland

Cell phones don't cause brain cancer, comprehensive study shows

The Conversation — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 22:22:00 GMT

Sarah Diepstraten & John (Eddie) La Marca, WEHI (Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research)/The Conversation

Category: Cancer, Illnesses and conditions, Body and Mind, Refractor: Science & Health

Tags: Brain cancer, Cell+Phone, Hidden Technology, Smartphones, Chronic illness, Disease

Leatherman's sleek, fast-cranking torque multiplier caches bonus tools

C.C. Weiss — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 20:37:00 GMT

Rather than encompass the "toolbox in your pocket" nature of the typical multitool, the all-new Leatherman Adapter is designed to serve as a secondary companion, the perfect partner-in-crime for a more fully loaded pocket EDC like the Arc. The Adapter folds just a little larger than Bic lighter size and expands by way of a single joint to deliver serious DIY leverage and torque. While it lacks the flippable implements of other multitools, it hides additional functions away in an onboard cache.

Category: Knives and Multitools, Gear, Outdoors

Tags: Multitools, Leatherman, EDC, Tools, Everyday Carry

3D printing breakthrough produces custom contact lenses in 20 minutes

Maryna Holovnova — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 18:59:38 GMT

Contact lens technology has come a long way. Early lenses were made from glass, and were uncomfortable to wear for an entire day. Today, lenses are made from soft materials such as silicone hydrogel and they are barely noticeable on the eye.

Category: 3D Printing, Manufacturing, Engineering

Tags: University of Waterloo, Contact Lenses, Vision

Stealthy EDC screwdriver hides 24 bits in a pop-up cartridge

Abhimanyu Ghoshal — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 15:27:00 GMT

We've seen a couple of nifty screwdrivers that have room to hold their own driver bits. Thanks to clever design, this new one packs a whopping 24 bits in a lightweight body that's way more compact than you'd expect.

Category: Knives and Multitools, Gear, Outdoors

Tags: EDC, Tools, xxKickbooster, Kickstarter

A $200 MacBook Air is real, but supplies won’t last

Tue, 21 Jul 2026 15:20:00 GMT

TL;DR: Less than 100 units left — A refurbished 13-inch MacBook Air is $199.97 (MSRP $1,199) in grade-A condition with an Intel Core i5 and a 12-hour battery.

Category: Deals

Low back pain cut by 50% in first swimming clinical trial

Bronwyn Thompson — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 14:01:00 GMT

In the first study of its kind, scientists have found that swimming can provide relief from chronic low back pain. The trial suggests this exercise is clinically effective for treating this hard-to-target condition.

Category: Chronic Pain, Illnesses and conditions, Body and Mind, Refractor: Science & Health

Tags: Macquarie University, Swimming, Physical therapy, Physical activity, Exercise, Back Pain, Pain, Chronic pain

Anduril lets loose the Thunder with attack helicopter Wingman

David Szondy — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 13:12:28 GMT

This year's Farnborough International Air Show was the venue for a major announcement by Anduril. The company has developed Thunder, a group 5 autonomous tilt-rotor attack helicopter designed as a Loyal Wingman for combat choppers.

Category: Military, Engineering

Tags: Anduril, drones, Helicopters, Farnborough Airshow

Princesses in Ancient Egypt were trained in their grave weapons

Mike McRae — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 09:06:00 GMT

Life as a daughter of royalty in Ancient Egypt may not have been all rose petals and feather fans.

Category: Archaeology, Science, Refractor: Science & Health

Tags: ancient, Egypt, Mummies, Weapons, pyramids, Bones

100-ton buoy earns world-first wave energy certification

Omar Kardoudi — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 08:08:57 GMT

A Swedish device that mimics the human heart to turn ocean swells into electricity has just cleared a hurdle that's kept wave power sidelined for decades. CorPower Ocean's C4 buoy has now passed the strictest safety test in the marine energy industry. The company behind it is now moving toward what could become the world's first commercial wave power plant.

Category: Energy, Engineering

Tags: Wave Power, Ocean, Engineering, Renewable Energy

World first: Koala gets life-changing two-shot chlamydia vaccine

Bronwyn Thompson — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 06:30:23 GMT

Ten months on from the huge news that a chlamydia vaccine had been approved for Australia's koala population, an 18-month-old female known as Bamse has become the first to receive the groundbreaking medicine in a new double-dose format that makes large-scale treatment possible.

Category: Infectious Diseases, Illnesses and conditions, Body and Mind, Refractor: Science & Health

Tags: Queensland University of Technology, Vaccines, Koala, Animal science, Australia, Biodiversity, Endangered, Disease

Chronic fatigue's exhaustion traced to a faulty 'doorway'

Paul McClure — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 04:42:51 GMT

Scientists have identified a faulty cellular pathway that may help explain why people with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) experience such profound exhaustion, immune dysfunction, and crashes after exertion.

Category: Illnesses and conditions, Body and Mind, Refractor: Science & Health

Tags: chronic-fatigue-syndrome, White blood cells, Diagnostic tools, Griffith University, mitochondria

How your brain learns who to avoid after a bad experience

Bronwyn Thompson — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 03:22:57 GMT

Scientists have discovered a neural mechanism that shapes our aversion to select individuals, opening the door to understanding how the brain drives our dislike of others.

Category: Learning & Memory, Brain Health, Body and Mind, Refractor: Science & Health

Tags: University of Tokyo, Brain, Neuroscience, Memory, Fear, Social Experiment, Behavior, Avoid, Depression, Anxiety

Review: Skirting death and reaping the rewards on V9 electric unicycle

Joe Salas — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 02:31:26 GMT

I've never been one to shy away from trying something new, even if it's dangerous, scary, intimidating, daunting, and all the other adjectives that would make most people go "oh, hell no!"

Category: Urban Transport, Transport

Tags: Electric Vehicles, Scooter, Self Balancing Unicycle, Unicycle, Reviews

4x4 camper van slides an entire room around to elevate off-grid life

C.C. Weiss — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 02:03:00 GMT

If you ask us, off-road camping is the best kind of camping. But hours after hours of brutal, hard-hammering, slow-crawling trail driving can also leave the body aching before you even step out of the vehicle. Unfortunately, many of the best 4x4 camper vans will require you to squeeze those aching limbs into an undersized bed at night. But the new Bürstner Habiton X gives you an agile Sprinter 144 on the trail and your own personal longitudinal bed at camp. That's all thanks to its space-optimizing transformer capabilities.

Category: Campervans, Adventure Vehicles, Outdoors

Tags: burstner, Campervan, Off-road, Off-grid, Hymer, Transformable, RV, Outdoors and Camping, Camping

Melatonin may have a modest effect on chronic joint and muscle pain

The Conversation — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 22:41:58 GMT

Dipa Kamdar/Kingston University/The Conversation

Category: Chronic Pain, Illnesses and conditions, Body and Mind, Refractor: Science & Health

Tags: Melatonin, Joints, Muscle, Pain, Chronic pain, Medication, The Immune System

Robotic elephant-trunk gripper uses internal camera for a sense of touch

Maryna Holovnova — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 21:36:52 GMT

Evolution has already found solutions to lots of problems, so engineers more often borrow ideas from nature instead of reinventing the wheel. We’ve previously seen robots that can curl up like armadillos to protect themselves, and now researchers have developed yet another soft robotic gripper that mimics the tip of an elephant’s trunk. It’s called EleTac and, according to its creators, can actually “feel” the objects it touches.

Category: Robotics, Engineering

Tags: Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Biomimicry, Elephant, Touch

Magnetic multitool packs secret cache and "everlasting" implement

Shirl Leigh — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 20:30:00 GMT

Most repair tools for the DIYer are functional, but can be cumbersome to carry around. The T.Fix, however – a triangular pocket-sized tool on Kickstarter – is a balance of function, versatility and modern elegant design.

Category: Knives and Multitools, Gear, Outdoors

Tags: Tools, Kickstarter, Titanium, EDC

Off-grid tiny house opens up almost everything to the outdoors

Adam Williams — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 18:48:11 GMT

One common way of maximizing space in a tiny house from feeling is by embracing an indoor/outdoor lifestyle, but few models lean into this idea as much as the Shak. The off-grid home opens up almost its entire interior to the outside – even including the bathroom.

Category: Tiny Houses, Outdoors

Tags: Building and Construction, Tiny Footprint, Micro-House, House, Home

Sony makes us wait 9 years for new superzoom bridge camera

Monica J. White — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 13:33:57 GMT

Fixed-lens cameras have recently been enjoying a comeback as photographers look for something better than a phone without committing to a bag full of heavy lenses. That trend has been playing out across Sony's own RX range, from pocketable compacts up to the full-frame RX1R III, and now the company is bringing back its all-in-one superzoom bridge camera.

Category: Photography, Consumer Tech, Technology

Tags: Sony, Cameras, Super-Zoom, Compact, All-in-one

Work finally begins on 2 World Trade Center supertall skyscraper

Adam Williams — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 12:38:01 GMT

Construction has officially begun on New York City's most high-profile new supertall skyscraper. Rising to a height of 1,226 ft (373.7 m), 2 World Trade Center will finally complete the rebuilt World Trade Center skyline.

Category: Architecture, Engineering

Tags: Building and Construction, Skyscrapers, New York, Foster and Partners, Office

New clues to 2,000-year-old game played by millions before vanishing

Mon, 20 Jul 2026 06:29:10 GMT

The unearthing of 2,000-year-old boards has given historians a new insight into an ancient game akin to chess that was played much earlier, by everyone from royals to commoners in society.

Category: Archaeology, Science, Refractor: Science & Health

Tags: China, ancient, Board, Fossils, Chess, Game, Puzzles

Review: Toyota bZ makes big leap bumper to bumper, but is it enough?

Aaron Turpen — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 01:03:00 GMT

Toyota's first real swing at a mainstream battery-electric vehicle, in the awkwardly named bZ4X, felt like it had been designed by committee. Did a name change improve things?

Category: Automotive, Transport

Tags: SUV, Toyota, Battery+Electric+Vehicle, Electric Vehicles, Reviews

'Friendly' gut bug may trigger type 2 diabetes when it gets hungry

Paul McClure — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 00:45:51 GMT

A bug commonly cast as one of the gut’s good guys may have a darker side when dietary fiber is in short supply. Researchers have found that the gut microbiome could help identify people at increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes years before the diagnosis.

Category: Diet & Nutrition, Wellness and Healthy Living, Body and Mind, Refractor: Science & Health

Tags: Type 2 diabetes, Gut Bacteria, Microbiome, Fiber, Diet

Affordable tiny house provides simplicity on a single floor

Adam Williams — Sun, 19 Jul 2026 23:03:00 GMT

Large and luxurious tiny houses are all well and good, but the Fairfax 20' draws on the small living movement's modest roots with a compact, no-frills model that's currently up for sale for just US$33,700.

Category: Tiny Houses, Outdoors

Tags: Building and Construction, Tiny Footprint, House, Home, Micro-House

Expansive two-story luxury home thrives in unusual rooftop location

Stefan Ionescu — Sun, 19 Jul 2026 20:03:00 GMT

London-based architecture studio, David Kohn Architects, has transformed the top of a 19th-century Covent Garden warehouse with an unexpected addition. Dubbed Smart's Place, it’s a two-story home that feels more like a freestanding house with its own patch of ground, even though it’s an extension of a flat roof.

Category: Architecture, Engineering

Tags: London, Home, House, Building and Construction

Review: $750 robot mower handles lawns like its pricy peers

Bronwyn Thompson — Sun, 19 Jul 2026 16:03:00 GMT

The Anthbot M9 is a surprisingly adept wire-free mower, which can master lawns of up to 1,000 sq m (around a quarter of an acre) for a fraction of the price of its famous competitors. And, importantly, it's incredibly easy to use, making it a great option for those new to home-robot life.

Category: Consumer Tech, Technology

Tags: Mower, Smart technology, Smart Home, Artificial Intelligence, GPS, RTK positioning, Satellite Navigation, Reviews

Is porn actually addictive? Here's the latest verdict

The Conversation — Sun, 19 Jul 2026 15:06:00 GMT

Danielle Thielke and Giselle Woodley, Edith Cowan University, and Campbell Ince, Monash University/The Conversation

Category: Society & Community, Wellness and Healthy Living, Body and Mind, Refractor: Science & Health

Tags: Addiction, Edith Cowan University, Monash University, Pornography, ADHD, Depression, Developmental conditions

Exacting atomic-scale 3D printing is adding a critical capability

Malcolm Azania — Sun, 19 Jul 2026 14:03:00 GMT

Whether you’re constructing homes through your 3D-printing company, creating RPG tabletop terrains and cosplay weapons through your garage-based modeling operation, or providing disaster relief and building structures in distant locales or even on other planets, you don’t want to waste your medium. On Earth, that’d be financially and ecologically expensive, but in space, on the Moon, or on Mars, depleting your printing resource could be a disaster.

Category: 3D Printing, Manufacturing, Engineering

Tags: Yokohama National University, Recycling

205-hp 'hyperbike' looks like a cyberpunk outlaw's getaway vehicle

Abhimanyu Ghoshal — Sun, 19 Jul 2026 10:03:00 GMT

In the event that we spiral into a dystopian hellscape ruled by evil corporations in the future, it seems pretty reasonable to turn to a life of crime, swiping data and selling cyborg spare parts on the black market.

Category: Motorcycles, Transport

Tags: Custom Bikes, Custom, KTM, Goodwood

Once-daily LDL cholesterol-smashing pill gets FDA approval

Bronwyn Thompson — Sun, 19 Jul 2026 06:06:00 GMT

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has just approved a game-changing cholesterol drug, the first of its kind in a class that's otherwise administered by injection.

Category: Heart Disease, Illnesses and conditions, Body and Mind, Refractor: Science & Health

Tags: clinical trials, Heart Disease, Cardiovascular, Statins, Cholesterol, Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol

'World's 1st mass-produced humanoid robot' motors to market in China

Maryna Holovnova — Sun, 19 Jul 2026 06:03:00 GMT

People have been fantasizing about humanoid robots for decades. Movies such as Blade Runner, Ex Machina, and A.I. Artificial Intelligence imagined a future where robots and AI could interact with humans and save them from loneliness. Today, those sci-fi stories seem to be closer to reality than ever before, as Chinese company Ubtech has recently launched a product it calls the world’s first full-size, mass-produced "ultrabionic" companion robot.

Category: Robotics, Engineering

Tags: Humanoid

US Air Force makes its first wingman drone missile launch

David Szondy — Sun, 19 Jul 2026 02:31:32 GMT

In a US first, the US Air Force has successfully fired a missile from a Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) Loyal Wingman. Conducted in collaboration with Anduril Industries, the YFQ-44A drone launched an AIM-120 missile at a digital target.

Category: Military, Engineering

Tags: US Air Force, Anduril, drones

World-first airdrop of an autonomous drone boat into rough seas

David Szondy — Sun, 19 Jul 2026 02:03:00 GMT

In a world first, the Royal Air Force airdropped an autonomous drone boat from a military transport aircraft. Part of the Royal Navy's Project Beehive, a Kraken Technologies K3 SCOUT vehicle was parachuted from an Airbus A400M cargo plane over the North Sea.

Category: Military, Engineering

Tags: Royal Navy, Royal Air Force, Autonomous, drones

Twisted, loopy lock secures your whole bike ... 2 wheels and all

Ben Coxworth — Sat, 18 Jul 2026 23:03:00 GMT

Properly locking your bicycle can be a hassle, as you often have to secure the frame and rear wheel via a U-lock, while using a cable lock (or similar) on the front wheel. The Cordalock is out to change that, as it's a single lock that secures the whole bike.

Category: Bicycles, Transport

Tags: Kickstarter, Lock, Security, Theft

Criteria for MS have changed. Here’s what leading experts now outline

Mike McRae — Sat, 18 Jul 2026 22:57:00 GMT

Two years ago, the list of signs and symptoms required to diagnose a patient with the neurodegenerative autoimmune disease multiple sclerosis underwent a massive overhaul.

Category: Imaging & Diagnostics, Medical Innovations, Body and Mind, Refractor: Science & Health

Tags: Multiple Sclerosis, Neurodegenerative conditions, Autoimmune, Nerves, Diagnostic devices

Review: Solar-powered smart feeder offers bird's-eye view on your phone

Bronwyn Thompson — Sat, 18 Jul 2026 18:03:00 GMT

Take your backyard birding to a new level with the Harymor smart feeder, one in a new class home technology that lets you experience local wildlife up close from your phone, no matter where you are.

Category: Consumer Tech, Technology

Tags: Birds, Outdoor Technology, nature, Wildlife, Animal science, Behavior, Artificial Intelligence, Smart Camera

If touchscreens won, why am I buying buttons?

Howard Armitage — Sat, 18 Jul 2026 16:03:00 GMT

The older and lazier I get, the easier I want my life. So when I discovered the Stream Deck+, a versatile little desktop controller with programmable buttons, built-in screens and rotary knobs, I knew I had to have one. If I'm not in the right browser tab, saying "Hey Yaffle, office aircon 24" works perfectly well, but it's just … More. Effort. Than ... Click.

Category: Consumer Tech, Technology

Tags: Buttons, Controller, Touchscreen, Computer Human Interface

Many cold and flu tablets don't work. An expert explains why

The Conversation — Sat, 18 Jul 2026 15:00:00 GMT

Jack Janetzki & Lauren Cortis, Adelaide University/The Conversation

Category: Infectious Diseases, Illnesses and conditions, Body and Mind, Refractor: Science & Health

Tags: Influenza, Virus, Decongestant, Pharmaceuticals, Winter

Electronic temporary tattoos monitor your vitals without irritation

Malcolm Azania — Sat, 18 Jul 2026 12:03:00 GMT

These aint your grandpa’s medical electrodes.

Category: Materials, Engineering

Tags: Pennsylvania State University, Sensors, Electroencephalography (EEG)

Latest Volkswagen smart vehicle isn't a camper bus or car

Abhimanyu Ghoshal — Sat, 18 Jul 2026 10:03:00 GMT

N+ has a fun approach to making ebikes: it inks licensing deals with big-name brands to launch new models with something familiar to attract your attention in today's ever-expanding bicycle market.

Category: Bicycles, Transport

Tags: Volkswagen, ebikes, Radar, Road Safety, urban transport, Cycling

Hidden chemistry of nuclear fallout glimpsed in recent experiments

Pranjal Malewar — Sat, 18 Jul 2026 06:53:00 GMT

The bomb drops. A nuclear blast erupts. Uranium is vaporized, where it mixes with the atmosphere and is dispersed across the land as toxic dust called fallout.

Category: Physics, Science, Refractor: Science & Health

Tags: Nuclear weapons, Nuclear Fission, Uranium, Explosion, Bombs, Chemistry, Radioactivity

Habitable underwater pod blows open new world of subsea exploration

Etiido Uko — Sat, 18 Jul 2026 06:03:00 GMT

Humans have occupied the International Space Station (ISS), which sits at about 248 miles (400 km) above sea level, for 25 years. Meanwhile, the sea, sitting at … well, sea level, with a maximum known depth of 6.8 miles, has never had a station manned for up to a month. Researchers are looking to change that with a new subsea habitat.

Category: Marine, Transport

Tags: Underwater, Ocean, Research

Sub-1-lb Dyneema tent boosts life at backcountry base camp

C.C. Weiss — Sat, 18 Jul 2026 03:17:00 GMT

Stepping away momentarily from the ultralight freestanding tents that have really been having their moment in recent years, Zpacks presents its latest non-freestanding backpacking tent. Pitched with a single pole, the new Plex Solo Pro pulls out all the stops in furnishing backpackers and other deep-backcountry explorers with an ambitious blend of featherlight packability and camping convenience.

Category: Tents, Gear, Outdoors

Tags: Tent, zpacks, Camping, Backpacking, Bikepacking, Outdoors and Camping, Lightweight, Dyneema

Cyborg cockroaches go amphibious ... thanks to a new diving suit

Etiido Uko — Sat, 18 Jul 2026 02:03:00 GMT

What sounds more terrifying than a part-cockroach, part-robot cyborg? Definitely one that can also breathe underwater. Yet, this is exactly what researchers have just created, except they are replacing “terrifying” with “useful.” Scientists from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Singapore and Waseda University in Japan have created a soft, flexible diving suit for cyborg cockroaches. The suits are equipped with miniature oxygen generators that allow the cockroaches to survive for up to three hours underwater or in low-oxygen conditions.

Category: Robotics, Engineering

Tags: Nanyang Technological University, Remote Control, Insect, Cyborg, Amphibious, Waseda University

Why nature has never evolved a perfect weapon for any species

Bronwyn Thompson — Sat, 18 Jul 2026 01:52:00 GMT

From a snake's venomous fangs to the sharp spines that cover a cactus, puncture tools can be found right across the animal kingdom. While they come in all shapes and sizes, there's a fascinating force driving their diverse designs.

Category: Biology, Science, Refractor: Science & Health

Tags: University of Illinois, Animal science, Animals, Evolution, Charles Darwin, Weapon, nature, Self-defense, Resources, Energy-efficient

Tiny drone hits invisible mode by twisting faster than eye can detect

Omar Kardoudi — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 20:37:30 GMT

Engineers at Northwestern University have built a drone that vanishes without camouflage or transparent panels. Its trick is spinning so fast that your eyes simply give up trying to focus, a stealth edge that could turn surveillance into something almost invisible.

Category: Drones, Consumer Tech, Technology

Tags: Stealth, Artificial Intelligence, Engineering, Northwestern University, Invisibility

Fiat's Multiplina: The electric anti-SUV we didn't know we needed

Utkarsh Sood — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 19:45:17 GMT

It seems we’re living in an age of revival. Revival of old brands, motorcycles, and scooters. Now, with the Fiat Multiplina, we have the revival of the very cool bubble cars that saw peak popularity somewhere in the middle of the last century.

Category: Automotive, Transport

Tags: Fiat, Electric Vehicles, Kei Cars, Affordable, stellantis, Concept Vehicle

Some good news if you think you've accumulated a sleep debt

The Conversation — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 18:50:00 GMT

Amelia Scott, Woolcock Institute of Medical Research, Macquarie University/The Conversation

Category: Sleep, Wellness and Healthy Living, Body and Mind, Refractor: Science & Health

Tags: Sleeping, Sleep deprivation, Insomnia, Circadian Rhythms, Biological age, Anxiety, Brain activity

RayNeo Air 4 Pro glasses review: My favorite go-anywhere big screen

Abhimanyu Ghoshal — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 14:41:00 GMT

There are several different kinds of VR and AR headsets and glasses on the market today. RayNeo's Air 4 Pro slots squarely into the one-trick category, and that's a good thing. Pop these on, plug them into your phone or laptop, and boom – an instant giant display for your eyes only.

Category: Consumer Tech, Technology

Tags: Video, Smart Glasses, Glasses, TCL, Display, Head Mounted Displays, Gaming, Reviews

Rustic tiny house combines towability with a spacious and open interior

Adam Williams — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 13:00:24 GMT

With its mid-size length and open interior, the Cedar Ridge manages to be towable without feeling too cramped inside. The tiny house features a farmhouse-inspired decor, plenty of storage, and two loft bedrooms, making it well-suited to full-time small living.

Category: Tiny Houses, Outdoors

Tags: Building and Construction, Tiny Footprint, Micro-House, House, Home

Rotating Playcube projector is becoming an AI entertainment hub

Monica J. White — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 09:57:17 GMT

The Playcube was already an unusual little projector: a palm-sized, Rubik’s Cube-like device with a 360-degree rotating design, built to throw a big image onto a wall, ceiling, or whatever flat surface you have nearby. Now, TCL is adding a new layer of interaction through Google’s Gemini AI.

Category: Home Entertainment, Consumer Tech, Technology

Tags: TCL, Projectors, Portable, Google TV, Gemini, HD

Smart multi-sensor kit simplifies home fermentation

Shirl Leigh — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 06:52:32 GMT

From Smokpub, makers of a compact electric cocktail and whisky smoker, comes the Doubot, a sourdough fermentation system currently on Kickstarter. They claim it's “a smarter way to proof dough” for the novice baker second-guessing their technique.

Category: Around The Home, Consumer Tech, Technology

Tags: Kitchen, Food technology, Kickstarter, xxKickbooster

Antibody treatment halts aggressive prostate cancer in early trials

Paul McClure — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 05:35:01 GMT

A newly developed antibody has halted the growth and spread of aggressive prostate cancer in preclinical tests, raising hopes for a more targeted way of treating metastatic disease without the side effects that have hampered earlier attempts to block the same cancer-driving pathway.

Category: Cancer, Illnesses and conditions, Body and Mind, Refractor: Science & Health

Tags: antibodies, Prostate cancer, Breast cancer, Chemotherapy, Immunotherapy

US military commits millions to 500-kW super laser weapon

David Szondy — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 05:10:59 GMT

It looks like laser weapons are going to get a major power-up. The US government has awarded contracts worth US$86 million to develop new Joint Laser Weapon Systems (JLWS) capable of outputting up to 500 kW to take out next-generation cruise missiles.

Category: Military, Engineering

Tags: Laser weapon, Lockheed Martin

Bullet-like teardrop camper spreads wings into high-power base camp

C.C. Weiss — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 04:08:00 GMT

One of the fiercest, sharpest go-anywhere teardrop trailers roaming the Outback, the Stockman Rover series has been a highly enviable hunk of RV hardware since well before it got a 2.0 update. And it remains one after what we'll call a V2.2 facelift. The newly updated 2026 camper maintains its world-leading combination of intimidating exterior construction and cushy interior comfort, taking on a new power system, new multi-awning setup, stealthy black-out look, and available entry-level trim that drops its base price by AU$10K compared to 2025.

Category: Camping Trailers, Adventure Vehicles, Outdoors

Tags: teardrop trailers, Caravan, trailers, Trailer, RV, Off-road, Camping, Outdoors and Camping

The surprising pastime linked to slower biological aging

Bronwyn Thompson — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 01:56:03 GMT

In a rare study looking at the relationship between cultural engagement and biological aging, scientists have found a potential link between spending time at the theater, visiting museums, and watching movies on the big screen and living healthier for longer.

Category: Aging Well, Wellness and Healthy Living, Body and Mind, Refractor: Science & Health

The future of US psychedelic medicine is carved out by the FDA

Bronwyn Thompson — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 00:46:09 GMT

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued its first comprehensive guidance on how psychedelic drugs should best be studied in clinical trials, signalling a shift toward recognizing the potential of these therapeutics. The report also outlines what's needed to see promising compounds approved.

Category: Psychedelics, Medical Innovations, Body and Mind, Refractor: Science & Health

Tags: FDA, Psychedelic Medicine, psychiatry, Culture, clinical trials, Drug development, Experimental