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Media Platforms Design TeamWe usually don’t associate Saturn with wildly inventive designs, but they managed to cut loose with their imaginative Flextreme concept, which was built in collaboration with Opel. Using a diesel version of the E-Flex system found on the Volt concept (which is set to debut in 2010), this plug-in hybrid can connect to a standard wall outlet and draw 34 miles of electric-only propulsion from a three-hour charge....

The brain remains famously remains one of the most mysterious parts of the human body. The challenges of neuroscience are among the most daunting in the medical field. Expansion microscopy is a crucial element of that study, a chemical technique that expands a small specimen to make it more observable at the molecular level. A new technique allows scientists to expand microscopy so that instead of focusing on a single cell, it can explore full neural circuits, at a speed around 1,000 times faster than before....

Today, SpaceX successfully used a rocket and cargo capsule to deliver supplies to the ISS. The cargo was launched in a Falcon 9 rocket that previously visited the ISS in June, and was paired with a recycled Dragon cargo capsule. For years, SpaceX has landed its rockets and collected them, but this is the first time it’s reused a rocket for a NASA mission. Only a few other private missions up to this point have agreed to use the recycled boosters....

A new YouTube video tour gives a 360 degree view of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. The tour, hosted by Commander Tony “Brick” Wilson, was uploaded by defense contractor and F-35 manufacturer Lockheed Martin. Wilson points out some of the less well known aspects of the fifth generation stealth fighter, including the aircraft’s armament capability, sensors, and engine performance. View full post on YoutubeThe F-35 was the second fifth generation fighter to fly....

Tesla’s layoffs last week will affect what had been the company’s solar panel division according to Reuters, which says it has seen several internal documents and spoken to seven current and former Tesla solar employees.If true, the move marks a change in strategy by CEO Elon Musk, who two years ago fought ardently to add solar panels to the car company’s portfolio.In 2006, Musk helped to form a solar panel company founded by his cousins, SolarCity....

The U.S. Army is on the verge of updating its howitzer fleet to double the shooting range. The M109A7 Paladin and M777 howitzers are likely to see a serious increase in the distance at which they can support friendly forces while staying out of the range fans of Russian and Chinese-made artillery. One part of this upgrade: a gun barrel nearly as long as a telephone pole. A Work of Art(illery)Field artillery is back in vogue....

We may never get to Mars, but Kim Stanley Robinson’s Red Mars is the next best thing. The science fiction classic is coming to Spike TV soon, with the network ordering up a full scale, 10 part mini-series adaptation of the dense tome. Red Mars takes place on the first human colony on Mars, as humans struggle to form a new order while also terraforming the red planet. It weaves in hard sci-fi with an intense dissection of political and economic theories, discussing not just the formation of a new Mars biosphere, but of the humans living within it....

The U.S. Air Force has awarded contracts to defense giant Lockheed Martin to develop two new hypersonic weapon systems. The contracts are in response to the rapid development of hypersonics in Russia and China, a development that could challenge U.S. technological superiority.The first weapon, the AGM-183A Advanced Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW, pronounced “Arrow”) is an outgrowth of the DARPA’s Tactical Boost Glide program. ARRW is a rocket carried aloft by an aircraft such as a B-52 bomber and has a top speed of up to Mach 20....

The Nintendo Switch is one of the best pieces of gaming machinery in recent years. But for gamers that choose to play in the company of others, they’re either forced to set the volume at the minimum or downgrade to the long-forgotten wired earphones. Not the best options.Nintendo Switch Bluetooth Audio AdapterNintendo Switch Bluetooth Audio AdapterSee DealIf you’ve experienced this very dilemma, you’ll want in on this Bluetooth adapter, which lets you stream your Switch audio directly to your favorite pair of wireless headphones or speakers....

Carry-on luggage has to be reliable, a joy to travel with, help you stay organized, and provide plenty of space whenever you need it. With the cascade of suitcases out there, it can be tough to parse through and find the one for keeps. But the Genius Pack G4 makes packing one of the best parts of your trip. Well, almost.It’s easy to mistake the G4 as bog-standard luggage, but inside is where the good stuff is....

By now we all know that knife blades can be made from all manner of things from saw blades, to wrenches, to railroad spikes, but when it comes to making a beautiful handle, there’s a whole other wide world of options. A surprisingly appealing one that you probably wouldn’t think of of is to use old, busted up skateboards. Fortunately for us, one clever craftsman did think of it, and the results are stunning....

Media Platforms Design TeamResearchers from Tufts, Northwestern, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have pulled off a disappearing act for electronic devices that could change the way we think of our gadgets, as well as introduce new capabilities for medical implants and even spy gear.The technology, which will be announced in a paper this week in Science, is called transient electronics or resorbable electronics. These systems work until they are no longer needed, at which point they dissolve completely away—the dissolution triggered by ordinary water in their operating environment....

Media Platforms Design TeamThink Ferrari, and you probably think of only one color: “Rosso Corsa,” or racing red, the hue that’s been synonymous with the Italian manufacturer for decades.But a recent visit to the Maranello factory revealed a curious trend: orders for traditional “Ferrari Red” are at an all-time low (40 percent, in fact), giving way to a broader array of non-metallic, pearlescent, and even matte finishes, not to mention alternate shades like “Rosso Berlinetta” and “Rosso Fuoco....

Scientists worldwide are rapidly increasing their ability to genetically re-engineer plants, animals, and microbes. Amor Menezes, an aerospace engineer and synthetic biology researcher at the University of California, Berkeley, argues that augmented organisms could transform long-term human space missions. Menezes and his research team just published an outline in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface on the six most promising applications for such engineered organisms. Here’s how genetic engineering will revolutionize space travel....

The night is always darkest before the dawn, and right now on Star Trek: Discovery, things are looking pretty dark.[Warning: Spoilers ahead]In this episode alone we see the execution of at least dozen people, while one man explodes from a…space…thing, and Burnham eats a Klepian slave.Welcome to Star Trek in 2018. All Hail Emperor GeorgiouView full post on YoutubeThere are a couple of reasons why Discovery is so bloody right now....

On Tuesday, our planet will get a brief visit from a solar system traveler. An asteroid the size of the Statue of Liberty will pass by the Earth, narrowly missing us. Not to worry: There’s no chance the asteroid will hit us. And the flyby will provide a nice opportunity to view a cosmic passerby with a telescope.The asteroid is called 2010 WC9, and was first detected eight years ago by the Catalina Sky Survey in Arizona....

One of the more terrifying threats facing future generations is the decline of antibiotic effectiveness alongside the rise of “superbugs.” Bacteria breed fast and evolve quickly, and over time many species will evolve a resistance to one antibiotic or another. Given enough time, some bacteria will evolve an immunity to every antibiotic. In fact, some already have. These superbugs can’t be fought with any antibiotics, and getting infected with them can often be a death sentence....

Like anyone who’s into cars and considers himself an unheralded economic genius, I constantly peruse Craigslist for great deals. But I never actually buy anything, which means that I’m tormenting myself by adding to an ever-growing mental roster of missed opportunities. The Moby-Dick of that catalog is a white ’90s Bronco that I snoozed on in 2012, with a 7.3-liter diesel and five-speed swap, advertised for $5,500. I hemmed and hawed for a day and decided to pull the trigger, but by then it was gone....

Get ready to feel nostalgic because we’re going back to 1989, when the Game Boy was king. Odd Tinkering is a YouTube channel that restores various items and tools such as lighters and hammers. Recently, Odd Tinkering took on a Game Boy refurb but as you can see, this classic handheld game system needed a lot of love. View full post on YoutubeThe fifteen minute video shows Odd Tinkering’s process from unboxing, to dismantling, to soldering, and finally, a thorough cleaning with soap and water mixture to remove 30 years of embedded dirt....

Engineers at Penn State have created a battery that can overcome one of the major hurdles electric cars face: the weather. They have a designed a new battery that can self-heat, allowing for rapid charging regardless of the outside cold.Like any other battery, electric vehicle (EV) batteries are affected negatively by the cold. Studies by the Department of Energy have shown that weather can affect plug-in EV batteries by over 25 percent, bringing car ranges down from around 80 miles to 60....