Cutting Edge

If you wanted to impress on Earth Day, you could do worse than this all-electric motorcycle from Canada.

The Sora superbike from Quebec-based Lito Green Motion is finally hitting the streets after years of development and promos. The Canadian Ministry of Transport recently certified the firm as a motorcycle manufacturer, and the $41,000 bike is getting lots of attention.

The Sora, which means "sky" in Japanese, has a 12 kWh lithium polymer battery and a range of 185 miles on a single charge, which takes 8 hours, or 90 minutes with a quick charger. It can be recharged anywhere using a conventional plug. … Read more

After succeeding at the once inconceivable task of making thermostats sexy, Nest is now out to change peoples' relationships with their utility companies, and make the energy industry more efficient in the process.

Today, Nest, the company founded by Tony Fadell -- the "godfather" of the iPod and fellow former top Apple employee Matt Rogers -- rolled out its next big effort.

While many had speculated that the company's follow-up to its Learning Thermostat would be another smart home appliance, the company instead unveiled Nest Energy Services, a broad initiative aimed at attacking the problems of general … Read more

Electric scooters are being positioned as eco-friendly alternatives to traveling everywhere in your car. What could make an electric scooter even more green? How about a built-in solar panel? The Solar Electric Scooter does just what its name suggests: gives you a lift with an assist from the sun.

We've seen sleeker scooters (like the MUV-e) and weirder scooters (like the ZeitEco). The Solar Electric Scooter's claim to fame is right underfoot where the solar panel is built into the vehicle.… Read more

For the roughly three percent of the population that suffers from amblyopia, or "lazy eye," the best current treatment option -- covering the stronger eye to force the weaker one into better behavior -- works only some of the time in kids and has been totally ineffective in adults.

Now researchers out of McGill University in Montreal say that playing Tetris may ultimately treat the disorder in adults because the puzzle video game trains the eyes to work together as information is distributed across them in a complementary fashion.

"The key to improving vision for adults, who … Read more

Don't cry for Tyrannosaurus rex and its teensy-weensy arms. It was in good company in the dinosaur kingdom with a recently discovered new species found in Madagascar. After a nearly 10-year dino drought on the island, two researchers uncovered the Dahalokely tokana, a creature with big back legs and itsy-bitsy front arms.

The critter was about as tall as a human male, but had a length of 9 to 14 feet. What helped the researchers peg it as a new species were some unique characteristics of the vertebrae, including the shape of cavities on the side. For dinosaur species, that's a lot like finding a fingerprint.

Besides being a new species, Dahalokely is also helping to fill in some puzzling gaps in the fossil record for Madagascar. "We had always suspected that abelisauroids were in Madagascar 90 million years ago, because they were also found in younger rocks on the island. Dahalokely nicely confirms this hypothesis," said project leader Andrew Farke, curator of paleontology at the Alf Museum.… Read more

Google Earth has been around for years, but thanks to a new integration with Leap Motion, you can now soar through the digital representation of our planet like never before.

Starting with the release today of Google Earth 7.1, those who use Leap Motion's hands-free 3D gesture control technology will be able to control the exploration tool, "flying" through the software by simply waving their hands.

As of right now, unfortunately, the only people who will be able to benefit from this partnership are the thousands of developers who have already received one of Leap Motion'… Read more

After multiple scrubbed launches last week, an Antares rocket finally lifted off the ground from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia as part of Orbital Sciences' bid to transport cargo to the International Space Station.

The rocket lifted off at 5 p.m. ET Sunday and achieved orbit smoothly. It launched an 8,400-pound mock Cygnus supply ship into orbit about 158 miles above Earth.

Antares is a medium-class, two-stage, 13-storey rocket designed to carry payloads of up to 6,500 kg (14,329 pounds). Along with SpaceX, Orbital was awarded a Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) contract to … Read more

I just rewatched Ridley Scott's "Prometheus," and I think the soundtrack's opening horn melody would go perfectly with this NASA pic.

The Hubble Space Telescope has photographed the Horsehead Nebula in stunning detail. The nebula, about 1,500 light years away in the constellation of Orion, was imaged in infrared wavelengths against the backdrop of the Milky Way.

The pink cast is from hydrogen gas behind the nebula, which is being lit up by Sigma Orionis, a five-star system. … Read more

After weeks of testing, the Federal Aviation Administration announced on Friday that it has approved Boeing's plans to fix batteries on its 787 Dreamliner airplanes.

The FAA said it will start instructing operators next week about the changes that will keep the batteries from catching on fire. This will allow airlines to get the planes up and running again.

"A team of FAA certification specialists observed rigorous tests we required Boeing to perform and devoted weeks to reviewing detailed analysis of the design changes to reach this decision," FAA Administrator Michael Huerta said in a press release. … Read more