A 25m swimming pool linking the tops of two 10-storey towers is to be built in London.

The pool, nicknamed “Sky Pool”, has been described as a world first and will feature a transparent bottom.

It will allow swimmers to peer down on passers-by from a height of 35m.

Eckersley O’Callaghan, the firm which has worked with Apple on the design of its stores around the world, will engineer … Read More → "Swimming pool ‘bridge’ to link London towers"

Where and when you form new memories affects where they are stored in the brain’s hippocampus, which is the memory center in our brain, researchers at Ohio State University found in a new study. They saw evidence that a particular part of the hippocampus stores memories relative to time over durations of at least a month and space over distances of up to 30 km (18.6 mi).
via Read More → "The brain stores memories relative to time and place of origin"

An Atlanta-based company called CineMassive who builds giant multiscreen video walls has created what is easily the world’s largest version of Minesweeper. On its hardest setting players will have to clear 38,799 mines without blowing the whole thing up and having to start over from scratch.

The game is played on 24 high-definition screens that are linked to work … Read More → "The world’s largest version of Minesweeper has you trying to clear over 38,000 mines"

India’s making a pretty big stride in that direction after declaring Cochin International Airport as the world’s first facility of its kind that runs entirely on solar power. All of the airport’s energy requirements are met thanks to a roof-mounted installation on the terminal, as well as a solar plant beside the cargo warehouse. The plant comprises 46,150 panels that spread across 45 acres and generates 12MW — with any excess power being pushed back into the local … Read More → "Indian airport now runs entirely on solar power"

Dinosaur Comics creator Ryan North found himself stuck in a skateboarding pit with his dog, Chompsky, an umbrella, a leash, a t-shirt, and a pocket computer. To escape, he played Twitter like a text adventure.

Click through for the full gameplay report; the solution was, of course, combining two inventory items in a way that makes … Read More → "Twitter combines everything in man’s inventory to help him escape pit"

Software created by Intel was instrumental in giving Stephen Hawking a voice. Now, the company has released this same software under a free software license.

The development of the platform, called ACAT for “assistive context-aware toolkit,” was detailed in a WIRED story earlier this year. It’s a system that makes computers more accessible to people with disabilities. And now that the … Read More → "You can now use Stephen Hawking’s speech software for free"

Ever balked at installing solar panels on your roof because it’s pretty damn expensive or you’re not sure how much power it would actually generate, or a combination of both? Well, a new venture from Google is aimed at taking the guesswork out of weaning your household off the grid. Powered by Google Maps, Project Sunroof can tell users how much sun is hitting their roof and how much they might be able to … Read More → "Project Sunroof calculates rooftop solar potential using Google Maps"

Head injuries can be particularly sinister — unless it’s obvious that you took a bad blow, you might not get the help you need in time to mitigate the damage. University of Pennsylvania scientists may have an easy way to raise the red flag when you’re hurt, however. They’ve crafted a polymer that changes color depending on the amount of force, giving anyone around you a sign that you’ve suffered some trauma. The key … Read More → "Color-changing helmets could warn you about head injuries"

The iconic image of the American farmer is the man or woman who works the land, milks cows and is self-reliant enough to fix the tractor. But like a lot of mechanical items, tractors are increasingly run by computer software. Now, farmers are hitting up against an obscure provision of copyright law that makes it illegal to repair machinery run by software.
via NPR</ … Read More → "DIY tractor repair runs afoul of copyright law"