It was a vast boat that saved two of each animal and a handful of humans from a catastrophic flood. But forget all those images of a long vessel with a pointy bow — the original Noah’s Ark, new research suggests, was round. A recently deciphered 4,000-year-old clay tablet from ancient Mesopotamia — modern-day Iraq […]
Automotive/Transportation
Complaints Spark Camry Hybrid Probe
U.S. safety regulators are investigating complaints that power-assisted brakes can fail at times in Camry gas-electric hybrids. The probe covers about 30,000 of the midsize cars from the 2007 and 2008 model years. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says it has 59 complaints about intermittent loss of power-brake assist. The agency says the problem […]
Magnet Maker Attracts Customers Selling Scrap
If you need a big magnet to pick up an even bigger piece of metal, a Columbus factory is ready to help. Walker Magnetics, with a plant near Rickenbacker Airport, is the country’s leading manufacturer of magnets for the steel industry. Inside the walls of a nondescript building, workers fabricate magnets capable of lifting more […]
Nissan Settles with Gov’t over Deceptive Pickup Ad
Nissan went too far with a TV commercial that depicts its Frontier pickup truck powering up a sandy hill to save a struggling dune buggy, according to the Federal Trade Commission. In an announcement Thursday, the commission said Nissan has agreed to settle deceptive advertising charges over the 30-second ad. In it, a little black […]
McLaren Unveils New Formula One Design
McLaren has unveiled its new MP4-29 car for the coming Formula One season with the hope of improving on the team’s worst performance for nearly a decade. With its narrower front wing, lower nose, and smaller rear wing, McLaren is counting on the new car to deliver after finishing fifth in the constructors’ championship last […]
Photos of the Day: Hennessey Venom GT Meets NASA Playground
The Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center is one of only about half-a-dozen places in the world that provides the kind of room and infrastructure to make test runs safe for high-end sports cars. An engineer readies a Hennessey Venom GT for test runs on the 3.5-mile long runway at the Shuttle […]
Kennedy Runway a Proving Ground for Hennessey
A major name in automotive development brought one of his exotic vehicles to the 3.5-mile-long runway at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida recently to evaluate its aerodynamics and to see how the car would handle throughout its performance range. “You can have the smartest engineers and designers, but until you get the car going […]
Visas to Lure Immigrants to Detroit
Gov. Rick Snyder asked the federal government Thursday to set aside thousands of work visas for bankrupt Detroit, a bid to revive the decaying city by attracting talented immigrants who are willing to move there and stay for five years. The Republican governor has routinely touted immigration as a powerful potential force for growing Detroit’s […]
Anti-Robot Runs on Custom Power Plant
Forget about rescue robots or belt-driven construction equipment, Prosthesis aims to be the first step in the direction of large-scale, human-piloted robots. The philosophy behind a new, real-life mech suit can be summed up in one word: Anti-Robot. Sponsored by the Vancouver, Canada educational organization, eatART, this device changes the way we view robotics, transportation, […]
Natural Gas Locomotives May Prove Cheaper, Cleaner
The diesel-burning locomotive, the workhorse of American railroads since World War II, will soon begin burning natural gas — a potentially historic shift that could cut fuel costs, reduce pollution and strengthen the advantage railroads hold over trucks in long-haul shipping. Rail companies want to take advantage of booming natural gas production that has cut […]