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About to chuck that busted CD? Not so fast, young grasshopper. Web editor Megan Miller demonstrates three ways to resurrect those scratched discs using stuff you probably already have sitting on your shelf.

Back in 1946, Mechanix Illustrated writer "Uncle" Tom McCahill began measuring cars' performance by how quickly he could launch them from a standing start to 60 miles per hour. That measure, evocative in its simplicity, quickly became the standard for judging a passenger car's performance, and a perfect proxy for advertisers to capture the excitement of driving in a single phrase. Zero to 60 in a scorching 5.5 seconds!

Scientists surveying the submerged Macquarie Ridge, which stretches from New Zealand almost to the Antarctic Circle, have discovered a water world teeming with life. Tens of millions of starfish-like creatures live on an underwater mountain dubbed "Brittlestar City," whose unique shape and location make it possible for these animals to survive in such crowded conditions.

Our own Theodore Gray (the man behind Gray Matter's mad science) is currently in China, and he's taken the opportunity to put his new Casio EX-F1 high-speed camera to excellent use at the Beijing Zoo. And when we say excellent we mean the majestic hawk at the Beijing zoo defecating and flapping its wings at 300 frames per second kind of excellent. And if that's not enough, he's got a dolphin leaping from beneath the water and a sparrow taking flight to boot.

The Kanzius RF Field Generator
Cost to Develop: $1 million+Time: 5 yearsPrototype | | | | | Product

When a man with no medical degree and a diagnosis of fatal leukemia builds a cancer-curing machine in his garage, you might think it merely the desperate attempt of a dying man to escape his fate. And youd be right. The weird thing is, it just might work.

K3 Promoter
Cost to Develop: $100,000
Time: 8 years
Prototype | | | | | Product
Gordon Link, a diabetic and foot amputee, is not looking to climb Mount Everest, run a marathon, or snowboard off a cliff. I just want to walk without stumbling like Im a drunk, he says. It may not sound like a tall order, but until he was fitted with a prototype prosthetic foot that simulates the bodys natural movements, walking on uneven ground was like navigating an obstacle course. Hitting a low spot of even one inch with my old foot was like a non-amputee stepping into a four-inch hole, he adds. Not good.

Viper
Cost to Develop: $250,000Time: 2 yearsPrototype | | | | | Product
If were ever going to see a true era of commercial space travel—a day when Virgin Galactic is just another spaceline—Tim Bendel believes we need a better rocket engine. Specifically, something that is to the space industry what the internal combustion engine was to the nascent car industry a century ago: a standard, off-the-shelf option that can power any manner of vehicle, from tourist ship to lunar lander. And it has to be affordable to companies not owned by billionaire Richard Branson.

The Cyclone
Cost to Develop: $2 million
Time: 8 yearsPrototype | | | | | Product
As long as the internal combustion engine has been around, garage tinkerers have been trying—in vain—to best it. But Florida boat engineer Harry Schoell, a lifelong inventor with a portfolio of patents, thinks hes got the answer, in the form of a reinvented steam engine.

When you're vacationing on a beach, nothing beats an underwater camera; but watertight cases are pricey and disposables have lousy quality. Lucky for you, the editors of PopSci have come up with an easy workaround using something there's probably already plenty of in your suitcase (hint: not socks). That's right, thanks to the magic of unlubricated condoms, you too can transform your point-and-shoot into an waterproof wonder. The set-up is easy enough, but as John and Doug demonstrate, it really does help to have a partner lend a hand.

You never know when the level of festiveness in your home might suddenly become critically, even dangerously low. Thankfully, one vigilant soul has put such concerns to rest by creating the Emergency Party Button, a DIY system that with one press transforms a seemingly ordinary apartment into something resembling Rick Jamess rumpus room.

We've told you all about the Raytheon Sarcos XOS exoskeleton, the smart suit of armor that endows its wearer with super-human strength. Now see it in action, and meet the minds behind both Iron Men—real, and imaginary.

Sure, external hard drives aren't exactly scarce these days, but while the price point has come down a lot, they're still not cheap. Enter the hard drive case. For just a fistful of dollars, you can pick up a case that (almost) instantly transforms your old internal hard drive into a new storage unit. As Deputy Editor Jake Ward demonstrates here, putting it together is a piece of cake. In the end, you'll have a great-working hard drive, not to mention a few dollars more. Just, keep an eye out for the tiny screws.

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You're unique. Aren't you? One of the more creative hypotheses surrounding quantum mechanics posits the exact opposite. Though we can readily see only one world, quantum mechanics says that when were not observing the particles that make up that world, those particles exist in multiple places at once. There are many theories that attempt to grasp what this means, but one of the most tantalizing is Hugh Everett's multiverse concept.

Two years ago we showed you Boston Dynamics' incredible BigDog—one of the world's most ambitious legged robots—being developed for DARPA and the U.S. Army. With its advanced system of hyper-responsive hydraulic joints and a suite of sensors, accelerometers and gyroscopes, the BigDog's most stunning achievement is it's ability to walk, climb and maintain its balance on diverse terrain, even after slipping on ice or receiving a kick to one side. All while carrying several hundreds of pounds of supplies on its "back."

What do you get when you cross stitch taxidermy with the mug of a dead robot? Well, if youre the artist/robot teacher France Cadet, you get a wall full of interactive robo-trophies programmed to react to their environment.