Korvaa Is The World’s First Headphones “Grown” From Bio-based Materials
Helsinki-based multidisciplinary design studio Aivan recently unveiled Korvaa, the world’s first headphones made exclusively from microbially grown materials. Created using synbio, Korvaa is the first physical implementation of the technology and marks a potential shift away from a fossil fuel-based economy.

World’s First 360-Degree Infinity Pool Proposed For London Skyline
Compass Pools has unveiled a concept for a four-sided infinity pool atop a London skyscraper, accessed via a submarine-style door. Called Infinity London, the project is described by the swimming pool manufacturer as “only building in the world to incorporate a 360-degree infinity pool”.

The Time I Sabotaged My Editor With Ransomware From The Dark Web
When I started shopping around for my ransomware service, the community was still grieving GandCrab. GandCrab wasn’t the first Ransomware As A Service (RaaS) but its overwhelming success had demonstrated the model’s commercial potential.

MIT’s Color-Changing Ink Lets You Jazz Up Your Art, Clothes, Car Every Day
If you’ve ever purchased two articles of the same clothing because you couldn’t decide on a color, here’s a game-changer: color-changing ink. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has developed a “reprogrammable ink” that lets you change the color of objects whenever you wish by exposing them to light of various wavelengths.

MIT Scientists Made A Shape-Shifting Material That Morphs Into A Human Face
The next big thing in 3D printing just might be so-called “4D materials” that employ the same manufacturing technique but are designed to deform over time in response to changes in the environment, like humidity and temperature.

Chopvalue Gives Chopsticks A Second Life As High-Quality Design Material
ChopValue, a Vancouver-based company, creates high-performance designs made entirely from recycled chopsticks. Collected from restaurants, discarded chopsticks are transformed through a carbon-neutral micro-manufacturing model and reintroduced as high-value engineered products.

The Dark Side Of Electronic Waste Recycling
Electronics can be hazardous when disposed of improperly, and the Basel Action Network, or BAN, investigates the underground world of the e-waste trade. The nonprofit group secretly embeds trackers in discarded devices, then hands them to recyclers to see where they end up, exposing bad practices in the process.

Inside X, Google’s Top-Secret Moonshot Factory
Within Alphabet, Google’s parent company, it is grouped alongside Deepmind in “Other Bets”, although in that metaphor, X is more like the gambler. Its stated aim is to pursue what it calls “moonshots” – to try to solve humanity’s great problems by inventing radical new technologies.

IKEA Let Customers Pay With Their Time Instead Of Currency
For the opening of the Swedish retailer’s new outpost in Jebel Ali, a large commercial port located on the harbor of Dubai, the brand wanted to encourage shoppers to journey to the new store by allowing them to use the time it took for them to get there as currency.

Climate Tile Designed To Catch And Redirect Excess Rainwater From Climate Change
The Climate Tile is a pilot project designed to catch and redirect 30% of the projected extra rainwater coming due to climate change. Created by THIRD NATURE with IBF and ACO Nordic, the project will be inaugurated on a 50m pavement stretch at Nørrebro in Copenhagen.

How To Prepare Your Kids For Jobs That Don’t Exist Yet
Artificial Intelligence will rule the jobs of the future, so learning how to work with it will be key. “There’s three job opportunities coming in the future,” says Avi Goldfarb. He divides them up into people who build AI, people who tell the machines what to do and determine what to do with their output, and, finally, celebrities.

How The Architecture Industry Is Reacting To Climate Change
As businesses and governments grapple with how to approach climate change, the field of architecture faces a monumental opportunity—and some might argue an immense responsibility—to make an impact.

Relax, Turn Off Your Phone, And Go To Sleep
Our devices are a gift that connect us to so many people and so much information, but they do not have to raise our anxiety and harm our all-important sleep. We need to control our devices, rather than letting them control us.

The Metaphysics Of The Hangover
A hangover is about being poisoned, no doubt. The toxins linger in the body and must be expelled, or waited out. We’re sick with a mini-flu and need to get better. But isn’t a hangover about more than physical toxins, at least some of the time? I’ll wager that a hangover is frequently about shame as well.

A Forest Submerged 60,000 Years Ago Could Save Your Life One Day
Before this underwater forest in the Gulf of Mexico disappears, scientists recently raced to search for shipworms and other sea life that could serve as incubators of unexpected medicines, churning out new lifesaving formulas and compounds that may not be found anywhere else on the planet.

Tor vs VPN, Which One Should You Use For Privacy, Anonymity And Security
Many regular people that choose VPNs do so to prevent their ISPs from spying on their browsing history and selling it to advertisers. What they don’t realize is that they are not enhancing their privacy – they are just delegating the trust to a different company.

Inside My Nightmarish Quest For Screen Time Zero
Living a life free from screens. It’s something we all wish we could do, but, thanks to the now-ubiquitous nature of technology, can’t. I spent a week cutting my screen time in half each successive day: eight hours on Monday, four hours on Tuesday, and so on until I had less than 10 minutes on Sunday.

Hovering Above San Francisco, This Home Office Invites Deep Reflection And Clarity
Hovering above San Francisco, ‘Aerie’ is a small addition to the Californian city. Architects Luke Ogrydziak and Zoë Prillinger from OPA completed the project as a vibrant work and study space cantilevering over a four-story drop of an existing house.

The Brilliant Avant-Garde Movie Posters Of The Soviet Union
These extraordinary avant-garde movie posters are from the pre-Stalin days of the Soviet Union before Soviet Realism took a hold on graphic design. The period of artistic freedom in the Communist Soviet Union was relatively brief but some of these posters are amongst the greatest ever created.

How Big Tech Plans To Profit From The Pandemic
As the coronavirus continues to kill thousands each day, tech companies are seizing the opportunity to extend their reach and power. Towards a future in which, for the privileged, almost everything is home delivered, either virtually via streaming and cloud technology, or physically via driverless vehicle or drone.

You’re Tracked Everywhere You Go Online. Use This Guide to Fight Back.
I recently did an online privacy checkup: Google was sharing my creditworthiness with third parties. If you would like Hearst, the publishing giant, to stop sharing your physical mailing address with third parties, you have to mail a physical letter with your request to the company’s lawyers.