The Score

Here at PopSci, we love when our leading-edge reporting on the seemingly unbelievable, futuristic developments in science and tech end up, well, becoming reality. We reported three and a half years ago on d3o, the elastic polymer that's flexible at rest but stiffens instantly in response to an impact, first found in a soft winter beanie that protects like a helmet. Now, it can be found in 107 products made by 22 different companies, ranging from iPod cases to polo kneepads.

Who doesn’t want firm buttocks and rock hard thighs? That’s the question men everywhere should be asking Reebok after they became the first major shoe manufacturer to bring out their own leg-toning walking shoe, marketed, just like similar shoes before it, only to the ladies. You know the footwear in question--the shoes with the lopsided soles, which force wearers to work a bit harder to walk, toning all the while.

While men should thank Reebok for helping to further tone the gams of the fairer sex, shouldn't we demand equal access in pursuit of a tighter tush?

As if a night filled with 480-foot home runs wasn’t exciting enough, ESPN introduced its much-hyped Ball Tracker technology during Monday's Home Run Derby, giving balls a digital comet trail that indicated whether or not it could clear the fences.

While superimposing graphics in post-processing has been around longer than steroids, the system unveiled last night has some truly cool tech powering it, relying on Doppler radar to instantly track and predict the ball's path in real time, just 400 milliseconds after it leaves the bat.

As is the case with everything from seat post to spokes, a helmet is never just a helmet in cycling. While football, baseball and hockey focus on comfort and protection, aerodynamic performance is paramount on the bike. High tech helmets promising to cut through the wind a millisecond faster are launched throughout a year, but the best is saved for the Tour de France. Say hello to the Rudy Project Wingspan Time Trial Helmet.
 

Keeping count of repetitions in any sporting endeavor is surprisingly challenging, be it push-ups, wind sprints, or golf shots. Trying to keep count with water between your ears leaves many swimmers pruning in the wet stuff longer than necessary. The brand new Pool-Mate watch is the first automatic lap counter, promising to help the swimming world count to ten.

Thanks to technology, your heart rate, sweat rate, calories burned, stride length, and whether you're wearing boxers or briefs can all be calculated in real time, wirelessly transmitted to a laptop, and posted to Twitter before you return home from your weekend jog. Engineers in Germany are hoping to add blood lactate levels to the abundance of fitness data using a miniature ear clip containing an electrochemical sensor.

Running shoes for real runners are regularly categorized into two types: stability shoes, for those who over-pronate, and cushioning shoes, for those who don't. Nike's LunarGlide+, available July 1 for $100, claims a novel mid-sole architecture described as "Dynamic Support," which eliminates the need to choose between the two types. But more impressive than that assertion is the simplicity of the design by which Nike hopes to revolutionize the industry.

How much is 0.17 cubic inches worth to you? If your name is Carl Long, the answer is: much more than $200,000. That’s the monetary fine (the largest in NASCAR history) that Long received last week for running with an engine that was 358.17 cubic inches in volume, just 0.17 inches above the NASCAR limit. For Long, who was in 63rd place before the suspension, the fine is just the beginning.

How fast does Michael Phelps’ heart beat under water? In the past, Phelps would have had to check by stopping mid-stroke and checking a small screen on his wristwatch. But with the launch of the AquaPulse from Finis, Phelps can receive real-time audible heart rate updates, without coming up for air.

An investigative report, dramatically titled “Danger in the Air,” by the ESPN news program E:60 suggests that exhaust from ice resurfacing machines is putting skaters around the country at serious risk. The report faults improper ventilation or unmaintained resurfacing machines, which often run on propane or natural gas, for the hazards to skaters.

Read more, and check out the video, after the jump!