Travel

We've come a long way from the early days of aviation. Aircraft cabins used to have more in common with our living rooms; seats were over-stuffed armchairs you could push around, and in-flight entertainment was a game of backgammon or bridge. It's tempting sometimes to wish for a return to those days – now it's more about either squeezing more people in, or providing a more comfortable experience only for those who can afford it. In this article, we're going to take a look at some new cushy options for your tush, and some others that seem quite outlandish ... Read More

Anyone who owns an electric travel guitar will know that it can still be a bulky item to carry around. Chopping away huge chunks of the body helps keep its footprint down, but there's not much you can do about the neck. Daniel Mapp's solution is to cut the neck in half and fold it down into the body – allowing it to fit nicely into a backpack. He's also abandoned the trusty wooden fingerboard in favor of futuristic-looking fretless aluminum, which is said to give it long-lasting sustain and a unique tone. Read More

In bad news for regular jet-setters and shift workers, research by psychologists at the University of California, Berkeley, has shown that acute disruption of circadian rhythms can cause memory and learning problems long after people have returned to a regular schedule. While similar effects have been shown in jet-lagged subjects, the UC Berkeley study is the first to look at long-term effects and changes in brain anatomy after the subjects have recovered from jet lag. Read More

Out of financial necessity, Russia was one of the innovators when it came to the burgeoning field of space tourism, with American businessman and former JPL scientist Dennis Tito becoming the first space tourist in mid-2001 when he spent nearly eight days in orbit on the Russian Soyuz TM-32, the International Space Station (ISS), and Soyuz TM-31. Following Russia’s halting of orbital space tourism earlier this year due to an increase in the ISS crew size, private Russian company, Orbital Technologies, has now announced plans to build, launch and operate the world’s first commercial space station (CSS). It envisions the station will be used by professional crews and corporate researchers to conduct scientific experiments, as well as private citizens looking for an out of this world holiday destination. Read More

Celebrity Cruises has gone beyond presenting its wine list on an iPad to become the first cruise line to provide self-guided contemporary art tours using Apple's tablet. The latest "first" closely follows the company's introduction of “Celebrity iLounge” equipped with MacBook workstations, a Mac accessories store and Mac short courses on the ships. Read More

In an effort to persuade the UK Government to move forward with the project as soon as possible, design studio, Pristmanngoode, has unveiled its high speed train concept, the Mercury. The company has previously worked with Chinese rolling stock manufacturer, Sifang, to design high speed trains for China and other parts of the world and now believes that a new high speed train is vital for the future of Britain. Perhaps taking London’s famous buses as an example, the Mercury is a double-decker train that incorporates a flexible, open plan design that Priestmanngoode says allows passengers to interact without compromising privacy. Read More

One definition of the word frustrating is realizing you don’t have the right cord for the right job when you need it most - whether it be for an iPod, iPhone or one of the multitude of mobile devices that connect via USB. Presenting a simple yet effective solution to that particular problem is the Scosche flipSYNC, a keychain USB and sync cable about the size of a car alarm remote control. Read More

It's happened to most of us at one time or another - you pack a suitcase before going on a trip, only to find that it's over the airline's weight restriction. Surely there has to be a better way than lifting that heavy suitcase back and forth to your bathroom scales, right? British company Expert Verdict is now selling a clever solution on their website. This self-weighing suitcase has an LCD display just underneath the handle that will tell you exactly how much the contents weigh. Read More

Each year, around 80,000 people in Germany become seriously ill from occlusions of veins caused by blood clots. Such thromboses can cause pulmonary embolism or even heart attacks. Air travel is recognized as a risk factor for deep vein thrombosis with evidence showing the wearing of compression socks or tights while traveling reduces the incidence of thrombosis in people on long flights. However many people don’t wear such items as they don’t realize they may be at risk. A new fast and easy test of the risk of travel-related thrombosis will soon be possible – and all airline passengers will have to relinquish is one drop of blood. Read More