Huffing and puffing won't blow these straw homes down

A UK construction firm is selling straw-insulated homes, which engineers at the University of Bath who developed the idea say offer vastly reduced energy bills to customers, as well as encapsulating CO2 and utilising unused wheat by-product. Matthew Stock reports.

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Oculus brings virtual reality to the masses

Virtual reality technology company Oculus, a unit of Facebook, said it would start shipping the much-awaited consumer version of its Rift headset in the first quarter of 2016.

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SpaceX puts Dragon passenger ship through test run

A Dragon passenger capsule, designed to eventually carry astronauts into space, has made its debut test flight from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Rough Cut (no reporter narration).

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Star Trek-style replicator serves up meals in 30 seconds

Israeli entrepreneurs develop a culinary Genie, that uses tiny pods to create gourmet meals in 30 seconds, similar to those that contain coffee for espresso machines. Sharon Reich reports.

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Pocket-sized fingerprint scanner could solve healthcare bottleneck

Pocket-sized fingerprint scanner could solve the bottleneck in treating patients in developing countries, say inventors. Jim Drury reports.

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New self-cleaning paint offers stain and damage-free future

A new water-resistant paint which can withstand exposure to oil and damage caused by scratching and scuffing has been developed by British and Chinese scientists. Matthew Stock reports.

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Humanoid robot unveiled at Beijing conference

"Yangyang," a humanoid robot with a variety of realistic expressions, goes on display at an internet conference in Beijing. Sharon Reich reports.

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