The New Atlas

AUTOMOTIVE In pictures: The finest and flashiest cars of the 2016 LA Auto Show The LA Auto Show started this week and New Atlas spent a few days speed-walking the floor to get the scoop on new cars, trucks, urban transporters and auto technology. We've put together an overflowing gallery of the best of the best cars for your viewing pleasure.   Read more VR Trio of Oculus Touch titles reveals a Rift on the rise We recently got an extended look at three titles for Oculus Touch, the Rift's upcoming tracked controllers.   Read more MOTORCYCLES Honda revives the Rebel cruiser The Rebel​ was one of the most popular entry-level cruisers of the 1980s, and now Honda has given it a new lease of life with a brand new model in two engine versions. With either a 500 cc parallel twin or a 300 cc single, the new Rebel is an affordable cruiser designed for efficient commuting.   Read more MUSIC Monophonic synth kit makes digital sound creation a snap Modal Electronics has detailed its upcoming Modal CRAFTsynth monophonic DSP-based synthesizer, which comes as a self-assembly kit. The UK-based boutique maker reckons that sonic wizards should be ready to rock in less than 10 minutes.   Read more TINY HOUSES Build your own tiny house with Bunk Box plans For handy types happy to roll up their sleeves, PAD has collaborated with Shelter Wise to sell plans for its Bunk Box tiny house. Definitely on the smaller side, this model looks best suited as a weekender, second home, or perhaps a guest home.  Read more ARCHITECTURE World’s tallest modular tower opens in Brooklyn What is claimed to be the tallest modular tower and the only modular residential high-rise in the world opened last week in Brooklyn, New York. The 32-story, 359-ft (109-m) tall building at 461 Dean Street is made up of 930 modules, each of which were constructed off-site at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.   Read more MOTORCYCLES Kawasaki's vision for emotionally responsive, artificially intelligent motorcycles leaves us cringing Kawasaki has released some details on its future plans to enhance your motorcycling experience with a voice-interactive, personality-based AI assistant. And it looks absolutely terrible.   Read more AROUND THE HOME Flippr gives ironing a timesaving twist Sharkk has unveiled the Flippr, an ironing board that flips over so you can iron both sides of the garment without moving it. The tedious task is further sped up with accessories like pants clips, a wire shelf for the iron, and a detachable detail board for sleeves and collars.   Read more ENERGY The glowing dye that could enable liquid-based batteries for powering homes and cars Climate change has made the search for efficient sources of renewable energy more urgent than ever before. But how does one store and deliver energy sources like solar and wind power? The answer might lie in a fluorescent dye known as BODIPY.   Read more HOME ENTERTAINMENT Modern Relics: The brief history of Betamax From what might have been to what never stood a chance, our Modern Relics video series takes a look back at technology that has fallen by the wayside, found itself on the wrong side of a format war, or was simply superseded by new innovation.   Read more ENERGY Ecotricity wants to heat British homes with gas from grass A British green energy company sees grass as the solution to the UK's energy needs. Ecotricity has announced plans to produce methane using grass harvested from marginal farmland that could one day heat 97 percent of British homes and create a whole new energy industry.   Read more SPACE ExoMars sharpens its scientific tools The ExoMars mission will make its first observations of Mars during two orbits to test and calibrate instruments in preparation for a detailed study of the atmosphere of the Red Planet beginning in 2018.   Read more DRONES User-friendly drone flies like a copter and like a plane Various groups have developed drones that take and land vertically, yet transition to horizontal flight while airborne. One of the latest, AeroVironment's Quantix, is designed to be particularly easy to use.​   Read more BICYCLES New magnetic bike pedals take a lighter approach ​​While many cyclists use clipless pedals, other riders hate the idea of being mechanically attached like that. That's why David Williams and his team first created Maglock pedals. Now, he's back with a smaller, lighter and less expensive version known as the Vault.​   Read more BIOLOGY Our last line of defense against antibiotic-resistant bacteria is beginning to fail, says ECDC The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has just reported on how well the EU is doing in the battle to keep deadly antibiotic-resistant bacteria at bay. And the news isn't great.  Read more VR The best VR gifts for any price range New Atlas looks at a variety of virtual reality gifts, no matter what price range you're working with.   Read more ARCHITECTURE Glass-bottomed swimming pool is not for the faint-hearted During a hotel renovation in South Tyrol, Italy, the firm NOA installed a swimming pool that cantilevers 12 m (40 ft) above the ground. Definitely not suitable for those afraid of heights, it has a glass bottom section that's supposed to make the swimmer feel like they're floating in mid-air.  Read more ENVIRONMENT Bird poop seems to be keeping the Arctic cool ​​Every summer millions of birds flock to the Arctic, and every summer an abnormal amount of cloud particles form in the atmosphere over the same region, the result of a thick layer of bird poop that coats much of the local landscape. ​   Read more AUTOMOTIVE Acura explores interior tech and styling with Precision Cockpit ​It was just this year that we first laid eyes on the Acura Precision Concept car. Based on the exterior design of that vehicle, the automaker has now revealed a stand-alone cockpit concept … appropriately known as the Acura Precision Cockpit.   Read more MOBILE TECHNOLOGY The best mobile apps to keep the holidays merry & bright ​The holiday season is demanding, but mobile technology can help. Here’s our picks for smartphone and tablet apps that promote holiday cheer while minimizing the season’s stresses.   Read more DRONES Pocket-sized drone slides right into a smartphone case The AirSelfie is the latest flying camera to zoom into the drone selfie arena, and may just be the least cumbersome one we've seen, with the ability to slide away into the user's smartphone cover when not in use.  Read more ARCHITECTURE Luxury towers to provide a splash of glass on the Hudson New York's striking Via 57 West, which was designed by BIG and completed earlier this year, is set get to some very esteemed company at its perch on the Hudson River. Just a block north, three luxury residential towers awash with glass are to be built on a 5-ac (2-ha) site called Waterline Square.  Read more MOTORCYCLES In pictures: The best of EICMA 2016 Just a month after Intermot closed its gates, a second wave of world premieres took to the exhibition stage in Italy. Other than the numerous new models that filled the headlines, the 2016 EICMA showcased strong signs of recovery from Europe's motorcycle manufacturers.   Read more BIOLOGY Light sculpting technique records neurons firing inside a mouse's brain Rockefeller University researchers have taken a step closer to achieving the current "holy grail" of brain science – the ability to look into a living brain and see all the neurons firing in real time, with the subject free to move around and perform tasks.  Read more SPECIAL PROMOTION FOR NEW ATLAS READERS Name Your Price on 156 Hours of Brand New Coding Courses 2017 is almost here, which means there's no time like the present to finally learn to code! With a massive amount of content covering core languages like Python, JavaScript, Ruby on Rails, and much more, this 156-hour bundle is sure to usher you into a new life as a computer programmer.   Read more