Lifestyle
The latest news on health, home innovation, design, architecture and outdoor living.
Portable range hood keeps kitchens smoke- and grease-free
June 06, 2022
As important as kitchen ventilation is, it’s something that’s often not up to scratch. French designer Maxime Augay has now launched the AirHood, a portable range hood that can sit on a bench and efficiently pull grease and smoke out of the air.
Health & Wellbeing
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Tiny shapeshifting robots brush and floss your teeth, kill bacteria
July 05, 2022Like many menial tasks, there may soon be a way to outsource brushing your teeth to robots. A new system of microrobots can change shape to form bristles or floss, and don’t just brush plaque away but release antimicrobials to kill bad bacteria. -
New clues to how COVID may trigger immune damage in the brain
July 05, 2022A small autopsy study examining brain tissue from deceased COVID-19 patients is offering clues to how this coronavirus can lead to brain damage. The findings suggest an abnormal immune response could be damaging vascular cells in the blood-brain barrier. -
How viruses can change your body odor to attract mosquitoes
July 04, 2022Researchers have discovered how some viruses can alter the smell of their host in order to attract mosquitoes. A study found dengue and Zika viruses can alter a host’s skin microbiome to enhance the volume of odor molecules that draw in mosquitoes.
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Outdoors
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Decathlon makes its instant-pitch 2 Second Easy tent a triple
June 30, 2022In 2020, Decathlon updated its classic Quechua 2 Second Tent with the 2 Second Easy, an even smoother variant with faster-packing operation. Decathlon now grows the Easy family with a 3-person variant that's every bit as fast and easy to work. -
Knotix roof rack rolls on and off, and uses magnets to secure itself
June 30, 2022Although roof racks are great for carrying boats, bikes or other gear, they needlessly create wind drag when not in use. The Knotix rack was designed with that in mind, as it can be mounted or dismounted in a claimed 20 seconds. -
Blackcan system heats water, and pumps it through a camping mattress
June 28, 2022While there already are camping mattresses with built-in heating elements, they use batteries that have to be frequently recharged. The Blackcan II Pro system is different, in that it utilizes hot water which is heated by a gas burner.
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Tiny Houses
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Quirky shed packs in everything from solar power to a chicken coop
July 06, 2022Pin-Up Houses is known for creating unique designs. However, the firm's latest model, a shed/storage space named Gardenrobe, mixes together such disparate features as solar power, rainwater collection, and even a chicken coop. -
Tiny spaces, big ideas: 2022 Shed of the Year finalists announced
June 24, 2022This year's Shed of the Year finalists have been announced. Packed full of interesting designs by passionate amateurs working to a shoestring budget, highlights include an aircraft hangar-like build and a creation inspired by historic buildings. -
Tiny house getaway puts the focus on the great outdoors
June 20, 2022Sigurd Larsen recently completed a tiny house-style cabin for hospitality startup Raus. It's designed to offer a strong connection to the landscape and is defined by its generous glazing, including a large sliding door that opens up to the outside.
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Architecture
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Polestar's sleek spaceship-like treehouse lands in a Finnish forest
July 05, 2022Polestar has decided to dip a toe into architectural design. The Swedish automotive brand has created a sleek minimalist treehouse likened to a spaceship that features generous glazing to frame the view of the surrounding forest. -
Curving Danish refugee museum tastefully merges old with new
July 04, 2022BIG recently completed a new refugee museum in Denmark. Located at what was once the country's largest WWII refugee site, it transforms two aging hospital buildings into a museum by linking them together with a modern curving entrance lobby. -
Best of Britain: RIBA showcases UK's finest new buildings
July 01, 2022RIBA has revealed the 29 projects that feature in this year's National Awards. Consisting of the UK's finest new architecture, highlights include a house built into ruins and the country's first Passivhaus-rated high school.
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Around the Home
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Kreativ design app will clear your room to showcase Ikea furniture
June 22, 2022The Ikea Kreativ digital design tool lets customers scan a room using a smartphone camera, remove existing furniture and try out new products from the Swedish home furnishing giant's catalog in a virtual recreation of their living space. -
Shrooly system automates in-home mushroom-growing
June 06, 2022Like most foods, mushrooms are best when fresh … but it can be difficult to grow them yourself. Shrooly is designed to help, by automatically providing the best conditions for pre-inoculated mushroom-growing pods. -
Toyota applies its EV tech to O-Uchi Kyuden home battery system
June 06, 2022It was back in 2015 that Tesla unveiled its Powerwall battery energy storage system for the home. Well, Toyota has now announced its similar O-Uchi Kyuden System, which can draw power from EVs.
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Good Thinking
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Single Delta board delivers personalized flight info to multiple passengers
June 09, 2022Back in 2020, Delta Air Lines previewed a passenger information system where a number of travelers looking at the same screen would each be served up different views. Now that Parallel Reality technology is flying into Detroit later this month. -
Could candy sprinkles thwart pharmaceutical counterfeiters?
May 09, 2022Candy sprinkles may make desserts more interesting, but a scientist has developed what could be a much more valuable use for them. His CandyCode system might one day be utilized to confirm that supposedly authentic pills aren't actually counterfeits. -
Fraunhofer "smart" screws transmit a warning when they're loosening
May 02, 2022It's easy to forget that structures such as bridges, wind turbines and scaffolding are held together by screws which could loosen – with catastrophic results. The new Smart Screw Connection system is designed to warn authorities before that happens.
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Children
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Shark Wheel proves it's cool to be square with mini electric cars for kids
June 28, 2022Back in 2013, California-based startup Shark Wheel hit Kickstarter with a very odd-looking cube-shaped skateboard wheel. Now the company has supersized the design for a pair of funky electric cars for kids – the Shark SUV and the Shark UTV. -
Infalurt warns drivers of babies forgotten in cars
March 18, 2022If a driver is preoccupied, or if there's a disruption to their routine, they can forget and leave their baby in their car – if that car then gets too hot, the result can be lethal. The Infalurt Child Safety System is designed to keep such scenarios from unfolding. -
Lego reveals first ever bricks made from recycled plastic bottles
June 28, 2021Lego has been taking steps toward more sustainable practices and has just revealed the first prototype of its classic brick element crafted from recycled plastic that meets the company's quality and safety requirements.
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Remarkable People
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Sir Ernest Shackleton's Endurance found after 107 years under the ice
March 09, 2022The wreck of one of the most famous exploration ships in history has been located. Using a robotic submersible, the Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust has found Sir Ernest Shackleton's Endurance, which was crushed in the Antarctic pack ice in 1915. -
Interview: Rocket-bike pilot Eddie Braun on his new Stuntman film
July 25, 2021New Atlas was at Snake River Canyon five years ago when Eddie Braun spectacularly finished the terrifying rocket bike jump that nearly killed Evel Knievel. The event is now a gorgeous documentary on Disney+, and we sat down with Braun to reminisce. -
Big, bold and beautiful: The incredible art of Christo and Jeanne-Claude
June 03, 2020The artist Christo recently passed away at the age of 84. For decades, he and his wife Jeanne-Claude made headlines with their striking and provocative artworks, such as installing a giant orange curtain between two mountain slopes in Colorado.
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Pets
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Smart pet door lets your furry friends in, keeps critters out
June 21, 2022Installing a pet door can be a great way to allow your furry friend to come and go as they please, but sometimes leads to unwanted visitors too. Petvation is looking to change that with the help of AI facial recognition and a mobile app. -
Clever self-cleaning litter box takes the stench out of managing cat waste
June 02, 2022There’s no question cats are cute and cuddly – just ask the internet. But viral cat videos don’t tend to highlight the messy business of dealing with your cat's messy business. Tokyo-based Popur thinks its new system lays waste to the competition. -
Biometric ID app knows lost dogs by their noses
April 28, 2021Just like our fingerprints, the shape and pattern of each dog's nose is unique to that animal. Bearing this in mind, pet food company Iams has launched a "nose-centric" app for identifying lost dogs – appropriately enough, it's called NOSEiD.
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Holiday Destinations
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Japanese concept camper car lives like a rolling slopeside igloo
February 10, 2022Japan's Hoshino Resorts skips the ski lodge-inspired camper van concept and goes a different route. Its adorable Camakuruma mini-motorhome concept brings the cool, icy feel of an igloo inside to blend inconspicuously with its alpine surrounds. -
World's largest aquarium nears completion in Abu Dhabi
October 26, 2021A massive marine park entering its final phase of construction in the United Arab Emirates will invite visitors to enjoy an aquarium housing an astounding 68,000 marine animals once completed sometime next year. -
World's deepest pool plunges divers into a sunken city in Dubai
July 15, 2021Not content with boasting the world's tallest building, the world's largest mall and a host of other forward-thinking ventures that include flying taxis and firefighters with jetpacks, Dubai has now opened the deepest swimming pool in the world.
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