Dropping the top on the new Volvo C70 doesn't mean sacrificing safety. Side-curtain airbags, previously found only in fixed-roof vehicles, typically deploy downward from the roof. The C70, available this spring, shoots them upward from the doors, using vertically oriented air chambers like inflatable beams, so it doesn't matter if the roof is up or down. And they stay inflated longer, keeping your head and limbs inside the car during a rollover.
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Science is reinventing play, from extreme sports to gamification to ridiculous roller coasters to the playgrounds of tomorrow, and this issue is chock full of fun. Also, on a less fun note: Did global warming destroy my hometown?