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ESA is examining three space mission concepts to fill the fifth medium class mission slot in its Cosmic Vision science program. The missions under consideration include a next-generation infrared space telescope, a surveyor craft that seeks out transient high-energy events, and a new Venus orbiter.

The UK's Royal Navy has taken delivery of its first robotic minesweeper system. The demonstrator system is not only intended to hunt and clear traditional mines without placing sailors in harm's way, but can also deal with the more sophisticated modern digital mines.

​In the more advanced stages of diabetes, the patient has a real risk of going blind. While there are treatments to help keep this from happening, they're invasive and often painful. There may be new hope, though, in the form of glowing contact lenses.

Some wristwatches are showcases of technology, but others try to throw a bit of fun into the mix. Instead of chimes, the Jacob & Co Opera watch sports a complete 120-note music box that plays on demand. And if that isn't enough, the mechanism rotates around the dial in a tiny ballet as it plays.

​Earlier this month, Anker's eufy EverCam launched on Kickstarter, offering a 365 day battery life. But you'd still need a Wi-Fi connection for it to keep watch over your home. The Reolink Go goes a step or two further, offering 4G mobile connectivity and optional solar battery topups.​

​Smartphone-based diagnostic devices allow doctors in resource-poor regions to perform tests that would otherwise involve sending samples away. Most such devices, however, can only analyze individual samples. By contrast, a new one can check 96 samples for diseases, all at one time.

Since it launched in April 2004, Gmail has been one of the standard bearers for web-based email, and Google just announced a major refresh for it. As well as a visual overhaul, Gmail is getting confidential emails, the option to snooze messages, and smart replies, among other new features.

​The health benefits of dark chocolate are well known. Two small new studies have sought to build on this by exploring how particular concentrations of cacao can boost cognitive function along with endocrine and cardiovascular health, finding that the darker the chocolate the brighter the results.

A lot of cyclists use power meters, but likely a lot more would use them if the things weren't so expensive – they can easily cost over US$1,000. A group of Dutch entrepreneurs is out to address that situation, with the IQ².

Be it fear of striking nerves, major veins or arteries, doctors performing cranial surgery must take great care over many hours. But a new drilling robot built at the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) could help lighten the load.

Researchers at UC Berkeley have now mapped out the structure of telomerase – an enzyme known to play a key role in aging and cancer – in more detail than ever before, and the breakthrough could inform a new generation of highly-targeted drugs.

​In a typical tennis practise session, a LOT of balls end up strewn about the court. Bending over and picking them all up is just part of the deal – but perhaps it doesn't have to be, if the ball-collecting Tennibot reaches production.