sports science

Using the same set of data--an analysis of double-amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius and his carbon fiber Cheetah prosthetic legs--two teams of researchers have come to very different conclusions on whether his prostheses give him an advantage over sprinters with both of their legs.

The future of modern prostheses' usage in sports hangs in the balance, and the fight is getting ugly.

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In an earlier column, I suggested that shoe reviews are often not worth much, since everyone is so different. Well, that’s exactly the logic behind the Somnio shoe I’m about to give a positive review. Somnio is the brainchild of Sean Sullivan, a long-time gear designer who created a shoe with modular parts, so you (or rather, the trained guy at the shoe store) can dial in just the right arch support and cushioning for your stride.

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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.

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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?

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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.

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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.
 

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Check out this demo reel of Levi Meeuwenberg doing some jaw-dropping "free running". Free running is very similar to Parkour in the athleticism required and specific techniques and movements used, but while Parkour is about getting from one place to another in as efficient a manner as possible, free running is less directed and more creative in nature.

As mentioned in that ancient post, when performing either of these activities, in addition to spending years developing a formidable set of technical skills, balance, physical strength, and kamikaze attitude, it's important to be cognizant of some basic physics.

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There’s an old fashioned brawl brewing in the sports drink industry. The undisputed champion, Gatorade, has filed a lawsuit accusing its perennial challenger, Powerade, of “knowingly misleading consumers and deceptively overstating the product benefits of its sports drink Powerade ION4.” The lawsuit is in response to a rash of bold Powerade ads which claim ION4 is an “upgrade” from Gatorade because the Powerade drink contains four electrolytic ingredients, whereas Gatorade contains only two, thus making Powerade a more “complete” drink.

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