Elizabeth Svoboda

Youre a ball of anxiety: head pounding, jaw clenched. And you could feel worse down the line, since on-going stress can wreak havoc on your health. But new devices help you stop tension by picking up on early warning signs. They precisely monitor a bevy of biological stats, wirelessly deliver the data to your computer or phone in real time, and guide you in calming exercises that help you chill out instead of losing your cool.

In the international alliance to fight climate change, the United States is considered the sullen loner. But in the seven years since we rejected Kyoto, changes have begun. Not at the federal level, however. Its the locals who are making it happen.

Every single American bank note is printed at Bureau of Engraving and Printing facilities, with ink and on paper each made, separately, in only one factory in the world. And yet at any given time, there is at least $70 million worth of fake U.S. currency floating around, 75 percent of which is in $100 bills. In large part because of the advent of inexpensive scanners and printers, more and more fake bills are entering circulation: From 1997 to 2007, the amount of passed counterfeit bills nearly doubled, to $64.9 million.

Eric Clapton wannabes have strummed the classic riff from â€Layla†on imaginary Fenders for decades. Now, thanks to a virtual-reality rig developed at the Helsinki University of Technology in Finland, air guitarists can finally hear themselves jamming. The best part is that the machine can actually make them sound good.
To play, you simply put on a pair of bright orange gloves and start strumming. A webcam records your hand motions and relays the data to a PC.