The whole world waiting for the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, and water sports will be one of the most spectacular. Instead of just sitting at the TV in the middle of summer, why not to set a personal record and not to get in good form? If you have already decided to join the pool, read carefully our recommendations, and your workouts will become much more productive.

How to choose a swimming pool?

Since we take the example of Olympians, and our goal is a serious workout, it is better to delete from the list relaxation options like water parks and bathing complexes.

Stop the choice on either specialized pools or pools at fitness centers. The last option is not always suitable, since bowl pools at gyms often have optional length and width combination and it will be more difficult to follow personal records. Besides, there often come people who manage to occupy the track and not to swim. Read more

Armed with plywood, a glass tube and some empty chip packets, mechanical engineering students from the University of Adelaide have developed a low-cost water purification system capable of killing off harmful bacteria. The solution is designed for remote communities in Papua New Guinea (PNG), an area where water is particularly susceptible to pathogen infestation.

The water treatment system was developed in collaboration with ChildFund Australia, an organization dedicated to promoting children’s rights across the globe. One of the team’s main design focuses was to provide a solution that could easily be adapted by local communities in PNG. As such, it was critical that the materials were both cheap, light and accessible. Read more

Scientists at Stanford have developed a battery that uses nanotechnology to create electricity from the difference in salt content between fresh water and sea water. The researchers hope to use the technology to create power plants where fresh-water rivers flow into the ocean. The new “mixing entropy” battery alternately immerses its electrodes in river water and sea water to produce the electrical power.

Making electricity from the difference in salinity (the amount of salt) in fresh water and sea water is not a new concept. We’ve previously covered salinity power technology, and Norway’s Statkraft has built a working prototype power plant. But the Stanford team, led by associate professor of materials science and engineering Yi Cui, believes their method is more efficient, and can be built more cheaply. Read more

Bulletproof vests are great if you happen to get shot, but what happens if you get shot on a boat and fall overboard or have to dive into choppy waters to escape a fire? Well, hopefully you’re wearing the Flotation Armor Torso System (FATS) from BCB International. Not only does this vest protect you from bullets, it self-inflates to serve as a life vest.

BCB International offers a wide range of tactical, survival and outdoor products for everyone from soldiers to everyday adventurers. Its products run the gamut from fire starters to blast-proof underwear.

The newly updated FATS vest isn’t the first inflatable bulletproof vest on the market, but it offers a clean, multipurpose design that protects both the wearer and self-inflating lifesaver with NIJ 0101.06 IIIA-standard armor. It includes front and rear MOLLE attachments and enough buoyancy to float the person wearing the vest and all their equipment. Read more