Environment

This 3D-Printed Clay Humidifier Works Without Electricity: Inside the Design

From burdock burrs and Velcro to shark skin and airplane coatings, nature has inspired some of the world’s most interesting innovations. Now, an industrial designer has created a 3D-printed clay humidifier that absorbs and evaporates water without electricity, just like trees. Jiaming Liu crafted the eco-friendly Print Clay Humidifier as his master’s graduation project at […]

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an image of the clay humidifier sketches and parts of the pieces

Tiny Solar Panels Embedded in Clothing Can Charge a Phone or Smartwatch

Environment, Tech / 2 min. read

Many people don’t think about their clothing being anything more than a fashion statement, uniform, or necessity — but the clothes you put on could one day power up some popular handheld products. Researchers at Nottingham Trent University have created a new type of fabric that can charge simple electronic devices via solar energy: an

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Young African American woman commuting in the city, using a smart phone and texting. She is wearing casual clothes on a sunny day.

Chirps and Trills: Birdsong Can Help Reduce Anxiety and Paranoia, Study Shows

Environment, Health / 2 min. read

Listening to the chirps and trills of birds can decrease anxiety and paranoia, according to a new study out of Germany. The study, published October 13, tested the effects of traffic noise and birdsong on 295 randomly selected participants, who listened to a few minutes of typical city traffic noise and bird choruses at low

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A yellow-throated robin perched on a branch singing birdsong

Meet ART: The Amphibious Robotic Turtle With Limbs That Morph Into Flippers

Environment, Tech / 2 min. read

A team at Yale University took inspiration from turtles and tortoises to develop an innovative amphibious robot that can walk on land and swim — and could potentially help researchers monitor ocean ecosystems. Called ART, or Amphibious Robotic Turtle, it’s a shape-shifting robot with legs that can morph into flippers once introduced to water, a

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The Tegel Projekt: Berlin to Transform Abandoned Airport Into Eco-Friendly Metropolis

Environment / 3 min. read

Berlin, Germany, is transforming a disused airport into an über-modern, green metropolis. After the Tegel international airport saw its final plane take off in 2020, the 1,235-acre site sat unoccupied, and air traffic transferred over to the newer and nearby Berlin Brandenburg Airport. But the space wouldn’t be abandoned for long. By 2021, plans for

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How Mexico’s Locals Are Trying to Save Its Historic “Mexican Caviar”

Culture, Environment / 3 min. read

Eggs have been a healthy breakfast staple for thousands of years. Even the Aztec emperor Montezuma is said to have eaten them with his morning summer meals, according to the BBC — though his weren’t from a chicken, but an insect, the Axayácatl fly. Ahuautle, also known as “Mexican caviar,” was considered a food of

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Nonprofit Makes Whirlpools to Remove Microplastics From Water Supply

Environment, Tech / 3 min. read

Scientists estimate there are at least 14 million metric tons of microplastics on the ocean floor, but these pollutants are everywhere — from the snow on Mount Everest to the bodies of honeybees. Due to their minuscule size, microplastics can also easily infiltrate the human body, and traces have been found in breast milk, blood,

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Young woman cleaning microplastics from sand on the beach - Focus on hand

Scientists Develop Affordable Device That Can Convert a Light Breeze Into Electricity

Environment, Tech / 2 min. read

Using the wind as a means of harnessing energy is not a newfound concept — turbines have been cropping up for decades now, and wind generates nearly 10% of U.S. electricity. But scientists at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University have developed an innovative new technology that can harness energy from the gentlest of breezes. At just

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Professor Yang Yaowen stands wearing a white coat in a lab and points to a small wind harvesting device that can turn a gentle breeze into electricity

Award-Winning Photographer Laurent Ballesta Showcases Diverse Sea Life Under Antarctic Ice: Photos

Environment / 3 min. read

Laurent Ballesta has been exploring and documenting the underwater world for decades. Born and based in France, he’s the author of 13 books, a marine biologist, and a filmmaker, to name just a few of his titles. This week, he took home the Natural History Museum’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year portfolio prize for a

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French biologist Laurent Ballesta poses on February 16, 2015 in Carnon, southern France, in front of his underwater pictures.

Formerly Toxic Wasteland Transforms Into a National Park After Decades-Long Effort

Environment / 3 min. read

When the National Park Service (NPS) acquired the Krejci Dump in 1985, it was a toxic wasteland — filled with rusty metal and contaminated with chemicals. Today, after a decades-long effort, it is part of Ohio’s Cuyahoga Valley National Park and home to flourishing wildflowers, salamanders, toads, bald eagles, and more. On 45 acres of

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