Using a new generation of sensor-equipped crash dummies, Honda's engineers honed their new design to create a faster—yet softer—catching of the human noggin.Eric AdamsSince their explosive debut in the 1970s, airbags have saved tens of thousands of lives—at least 50,000 in the United States alone—and their impact has only expanded with time. Today, they fire…

For many newbies, the first outdoor gear store they set foot in will probably be an REI. One of WIRED's favorite retailers, the venerable customer collective has been around since 1938. Because its shareholders are members, it's able to prioritize environmental stewardship over quarterly profits. In fact, REI donated 70 percent of its profits in…

Richard Baker/Getty ImagesSometime between Wednesday and Friday, an Illinois resident died of an unknown respiratory illness that may have been the result of vaping. The death was one of nearly 200 cases of mysterious respiratory problems across 22 states whose only known link is the recent use of electronic cigarettes, or vapes, according to the…

At the core of Brazil's out-of-control fires in the Amazon is deforestation.Dado Galdieri/Getty ImagesBeing a rainforest, the Amazon isn’t supposed to burn out of control, unlike California’s drier landscape, which is built to burn and burn explosively. Yet here we are, watching swaths of the Amazon go up in flames. And we can easily nail…

Billy H.C. Kwok/Getty ImagesIf you’re a Very Online American but not alt-right, finding a Pepe the Frog meme in a comment section feels like finding a KKK hood in the back of someone’s closet. It’s objectively goofy-looking and the people associated with it have been banished by polite society, but the symbol is so saturated…

Under CEO Jack Dorsey, Twitter formed a council of outside experts to help fight abuse on its network. Now, one member says, it has "eroded to practically nothing."Cole Burston/Bloomberg/Getty ImagesAt the beginning of 2016, Twitter announced some good news: the formation of the Trust and Safety Council, made up of more than 40 outside groups…

Hello and welcome back to Startups Weekly, a weekend newsletter that dives into the week’s noteworthy startups and venture capital news. Before I jump into today’s topic, let’s catch up…

It’s easy to forget that Silicon Valley starts with ‘silicon’, and that there would be no technology innovation without innovation at the silicon level. And Graphcore is well aware of…

The rumors have been suggesting it for a while now, and fans have been pretty much begging for it… and it’s happening: Ewan McGregor will return to the role of…

It’s here! About ten months after we learned that Jon Favreau would be heading up a Star Wars series called “The Mandalorian” on Disney’s soon-to-launch streaming service Disney+, we have…