Scientists have discovered that 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 the viruses replicate.

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Category: Infectious Diseases, Illnesses and conditions, Body and Mind

Tags: University of Cambridge, University of Glasgow, avian-influenza, Influenza, Birds, Virus, pandemic, The Immune System, Infections

Russia has suffered a major setback after the launch of its Soyuz MS-28 mission ferrying astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) caused severe damage to the country's only pad capable of handling crewed boosters.

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Category: Space, Science

Tags: Roscosmos, NASA, Soyuz, International Space Station

So many rooftop tents on the market weigh well over 100 lb (45 kg), with the heaviest pushing 300 lb (135 kg). The all-new Weekend from Danish camping goods company 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, running closer to traditional ground tent pricing. Could this be the attainable, easy-to-use rooftop tent the market has been begging for?

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Category: Tents, Gear, Outdoors

Tags: roof-top tent, Tent, Inflatable, Camping, Outdoors and Camping, Lightweight, Kickstarter

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.

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Category: Aircraft, Transport

Tags: eVTOL, Autoflight, Air Taxis, Aviation

Perovskites may sound like perogies or piroshkis, but no high-carb-cheese-and-potato-flavor-pocket can do what they do. They’re minerals that can do the same party trick as many of your favorite childhood toys and models (such as the classic AMT Interplanetary UFO Mystery Ship; oh, how I miss you) and teenage trinkets such as glowsticks and “neon” rave necklaces: that is, they absorb and emit light.

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Category: Energy, Technology

Tags: Laser, Perovskite, University of Cambridge, Solar Cell

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).

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Category: Military, Technology

Tags: Royal Navy, Laser weapon

The tiny house movement has never just been about, well, houses, and it has produced all kinds of weird and wonderful structures on wheels – everything from a pub to a wedding chapel, an office and more. This example provides a hot and steamy take on small living with a sauna that seats up to six people.

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Category: Tiny Houses, Outdoors

Tags: Building and Construction, Tiny Footprint, Sauna, Off-grid

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.

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Category: Wellness and Healthy Living, Body and Mind

Tags: University of Minnesota, Teeth, Children, Teenagers, Cognitive functioning, Vitamins and minerals

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.

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Category: Energy, Technology

Tags: Lithium-ion, Lithium metal, Battery, Rechargeable Batteries, Recycling, University of Illinois

After a rather slow year in multitools that saw us bring knives into the mix in 2024, 2025 saw more multitool debuts than we could keep up with. Many of them were rather underwhelming – limited utility, weird forms, copycats and other subpar debuts – but a few stood tall above the pack.

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Category: Knives and Multitools, Gear, Outdoors

Tags: Multitools, Camping, Outdoors and Camping, Leatherman, Swiss Army, Gerber, Tools, Knife, Backpacking

I've been skeptical about a lot of AI-first gadgets over the last couple of years – the Rabbit R1 and the Humane Pin come to mind – mostly because they promise too much and either underdeliver or fail spectacularly. There's a lot AI can do well, and maybe at this point what we need are more singularly focused products... Like this tiny device aimed at helping kids explore their creativity.

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Category: Consumer Tech, Technology

Tags: Artificial Intelligence, Printer, Consumer Electronics, Gadgets, Kids, Children

It may surprise some to learn that Polaris has a serious research, development, and testing facility. One that rivals the kinds of equipment and know-how found at many full-scale automotive manufacturers. I got a full tour of the place, along with a dedicated test track that I got to use later.

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Category: Automotive, Transport

Tags: Polaris, Three-Wheeler, Features

Ever since Stefano Boeri Architetti's Bosco Verticale was completed in 2014, putting greenery on skyscrapers has been in vogue – and honestly, as far as architectural trends go, it's one of the better ones. MVRDV's latest project leans into the idea with a lush plant-filled residential tower.

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Category: Architecture, Technology

Tags: Building and Construction, MVRDV, Residential towers, sustainable design, Taiwan

On a remote coral reef near Papua New Guinea, endless streams of bubbles rise from cracks in the seabed into the shallow water, fed by an underground volcanic system. For scientists, this natural phenomenon has become a kind of crystal ball, revealing how our changing oceans will shape the marine life within them.

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Category: Biology, Science

Tags: Australian Institute of Marine Science, Coral, Climate Crisis, Ocean acidification, Carbon Dioxide, Carbon Removal, Biodiversity, Marine Biology

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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Category: Bicycles, Transport

Tags: ebikes, Tern, Folding, Foldable bike, Bosch, Pedal-assisted, cargo bike

The Loyal Wingman concept has taken a major step toward reality as Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works pulled off an aerial demonstration where a 5th-generation F-22 Raptor interceptor took command of a drone for the first time.

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Category: Military, Technology

Tags: Lockheed Martin, Skunk Works, F-22 raptor, drones

You probably know that simply tossing dead batteries in the trash is no bueno – they release toxic heavy metals as they break down over time in landfills, contaminating the soil and nearby water supplies. Thankfully, we now have e-waste recycling facilities around the world that can prevent these from polluting the environment – but surely we can also make safer batteries that decompose naturally, no?

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Category: Energy, Technology

Tags: Battery, McGill University, Environmentally-friendly, Wearable, Internet of Things

For all the innovation in helmets, most of it has gone towards making the things "smart." Think AI, AR, integrated cameras, intercom systems, and whatnot. But the traditional helmet design has remained unchanged for the most part. A company called Roof plans to change that.

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Category: Motorcycles, Transport

Tags: Helmets, Modular, Helmet, Road Safety, Smart Helmet, EICMA 2025

The Wagoneer S marks a bold leap for Jeep as the brand’s first full-electric model for US buyers. Jeep doesn’t seem shy about it. Its greatest downsides are not electric, but are problems it shares with Wagoneer models on the whole.

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Category: Automotive, Transport

Tags: Jeep, SUV, Electric Vehicles, Reviews

Japanese engineering outfit Aspark has been working on its oddly mesmerizing Owl hypercar since 2014, and was once the fastest electric production car you could buy. It beat out the legendary Rimac Nevera last June with its blistering top speed of 272.7 mph (438.73 km/h).

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Category: Automotive, Transport

Tags: Hypercar, Japan, Electric Vehicles