If you’re a bicycle commuter, then you probably wear a backpack when you ride. There are some items, however, that are better carried on the bike itself. A new system is designed with this in mind, combining a backpack with detachable bike-mountable bags. Known as the Modular Commute Backpack Kit, the setup is made by Vancouver-based startup Two Wheel Gear. […]
Modular Commuting System
5 Apps to Help You Unplug, Disconnect and Decompress from Smartphone Obsession
Although we take them for granted these days, smartphones are simply amazing. Seriously: there was a time when people who wanted to know answers to questions like, “why is the sky blue?” or “what is a VoIP number?” had to find an expert or crack open an encyclopedia (or more recently load one from a CD-ROM). But these days, answers […]
Holographic Microscope To Speed Up Asthma Diagnostics
Diagnosing asthma in small children is often challenging, as standard measures such as lung function tests can’t be used below a certain age. A new blood-analysis device could help, however, delivering definitive results in less than two hours. A type of holographic microscope, the tool is being developed by scientists at Germany’s Fraunhofer Research Institution for Marine Biotechnology and Cell […]
Banana Waste Converts Biodegradable Waste Into Plastic
The bunches of bananas that we buy in stores grow off of a central trunk-like structure, known as the pseudostem. And while that part of the plant is typically discarded during harvesting, it may soon find use in a plastic that biodegrades and is fully recyclable. According to Australia’s University of New South Wales (UNSW), the growing of bananas is […]
Star Shaped Capsule For Pills
The Pill is still one of the most common forms of contraception, but it only works if you remember to take it every single day. To remove some of that risk and hassle, researchers at MIT have updated their slow-release, star-shaped oral capsules to last up to four weeks, and used it to deliver contraceptive drugs. MIT first revealed its […]
Eye Tracking Test For Parkinson
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has delivered a Breakthrough Device Designation to a novel eye-tracking technology that claims to offer objective and early diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease. The FDA designation is hoped to accelerate the approval process for the test offering clinicians a new and reliable way to diagnose the degenerative disease at its earliest stage. “In my […]
Genetically Engineered Yeast
Nothing ruins a weekend session like realizing your beer is stale, but it’s an all-too-common problem. Now, researchers from Jiangnan University have found a way to keep beer fresher for longer, by genetically engineering lager yeast to produce certain compounds that prevent staleness. Unless you’re slurping it straight out of the brewer’s conditioning tank, there’s a good chance your beer […]
Hanging Burch Barrel Grills,Smokes and BBQ
The best place to barbecue your food in the wilderness mightn’t necessarily be the best place to make your campfire, but inventor Roby Burch sees no reason that all heat-related activity can’t take place around the same barrel of cold-rolled steel. The Burch Barrel is imagined as a one-stop shop for grilling, smoking and fireside chatting, and uses a nifty […]
Graffiti-Painting Drone
A couple of years ago, we heard how New York artist Katsu was using a modified DJI quadcopter to spray-paint graffiti on high, difficult-to-reach surfaces. In a move that likely won’t be welcomed by everyone, he’s now developed a consumer graffiti drone, that’s available to the general public. Known as the Katsuru Beta, the limited-edition quadcopter was designed via a […]
Energy Efficiency Grade NYC Buildings
New York City has introduced a bill that will rank and grade large buildings according to energy efficiency. The Local Law 95 implemented by the New York Department of Buildings will require structures that are 25,000 square feet (2,322 square metres) and over to report publicly on their data energy and water use. The protocol, which will come into action […]