We’ve always wanted body armor to look less like a chunky Kevlar vest and more like a sleek superhero suit. The Army wants that too, enough so that it just awarded a $100,000 contract to a company to see if its genetically engineered spider silk can be used for body armor.
This test of homemade body armor by Demolition Ranch reads like the old fable of the Three Little Pigs. This little piggy made body armor out of T-Shirts. This little piggy used duct tape. And this one used a stack of printer paper. Which homemade body armor can withstand the big bad wolf bullet? Well, they each sort…
Can body armor stand up to an assault rifle? Can a ceramic plate not shatter against the bullets of an AR-15 and AK-47 hybrid weapon? Demolition Ranch investigated by shooting the crap out of the body armor to see how long it takes for a bullet to pierce and penetrate through.
Paparazzi have snagged the first images of the cyborg enforcer from the upcoming RoboCop remake, giving us a peek at the reborn Alex Murphy. But the all-black body armor looks a bit familiar.
If you need any further proof that handguns should be illegal or that the human race doesn't deserve to exist, watch this intrepid amateur scientist blast himself with a 10mm round at point blank. Why? Fer testin'!
Piranha have a well-earned reputation for being able and willing to eat just about anything in their path. One of the few exceptions is the Arapaima, a six-foot long, 300-pound Amazonian predator with bony scales capable of withstanding the toothy onslaught. Researchers are now working to adapt the Arapaima's defenses…
It's a scary world out there. Fires in London. War overseas. Michele Bachmann. At the end of the day, you need to keep yourself safe. But how do you do that without drawing too much attention to yourself?
When you're in a warzone, it's nice to take the slightest comfort in knowing that someone tested the armor you have strapped to your chest, crotch, and arms. But according to a new Pentagon report, the Army botched it hard.
Boron carbide is one of the hardest materials on Earth, used by the military in body armor. Unfortunately it's too heavy for daily wear. Until now. Chemists discovered how to turn cotton fibers to boron carbide, creating armor from t-shirts.
Future comic book heroes may be referred to as Men of Spongy Steel if one researcher's experimental metal makes it out of the lab and into real-world applications.
This bad-boy-in-a-shell could be used as inspiration for body armor, according to scientists. Meet the Crysomallon Squamiferum, or 'scaly-foot gastropod.' He could end up saving your life.
Believe it or not, IBM has filed for a patent on tech that heightens our reflexes so that we could, theoretically, dodge bullets like Neo in The Matrix.
A team of MIT engineers is hoping to develop tomorrow's body armor today with a fish whose family tree stretches back 96 million years. Called the Polypterus senegalus, or "dinosaur eel" to layman schlubs like me, this primitive fish still thrives in the muddy rivers of Africa, and has retained a full-body suit of…
With Iron Man getting everybody all hot and bothered, it seems like everybody wants to get their own robotic AI body armor. Even the nerds at Hackaday are getting into it, with a roundup of all the best real-life power suit body armor you can buy (or make). But is Iron Man's body armor really the coolest in fiction?…
Designer Tim Smit had a vision: somehow unite people's need for personal security with fashion. So he created the Urban Security suit concept, a neoprene outfit with carefully placed kevlar panels— the biggest over the heart area. The neoprene lets you move easily, the kevlar shields your internal organs, and there's…
A uniform maker in Japan has developed a lightweight polyethylene fiber t-shirt that helps keep people protected from knife attacks. The machine-washable material has a molecular weight similar to the aramid fiber found in body armor, so its probably safe to assume it's not going to tear easily if you're doing…
It's that time of year again, when basketball, beer and betting join forces to create the most exciting month of sports known to man. You already called in sick, filled out your brackets and took a seat at the bar, but the following Elite Eight (plus one bonus!) are things you'll definitely need to prepare for the Big…
In Tokyo's district for otaku, or mega-fans, two bars will soon be recreating the Gundam anime universe. Featured in countless animated series, Gundam is a world where people wear sentient body armor, or "mobile suits," for fighting. Also, sometimes, for loving. Patrons of the Gundam bars will be served by waitresses…
