Cleaning And Splitting Water
Researchers at EPFL in Lausanne, Switzerland, have developed a photocatalytic system that can be used to degrade pollutants present in water while simultaneously producing hydrogen that can be captured and put to use.
Extreme Botany
The threat of extinction of many animal species is something that makes headlines. But there are also thousands of critically endangered plants in the world and that situation has not generated nearly the same sense of urgency. Some biologists have used the term “plant blindness” to describe humanity’s inability to appreciate the ecological and economic importance of plants.
The Cockroaches Of The Ocean
The coast of Northern California is home to underwater forests – huge, sprawling tangles of brown seaweed. Kelp forests play a similar role in the oceans as the one that ordinary tree forests play on land. Like trees, kelp absorbs carbon emissions and provides critical habitat and food for a wide range of species.
A Supermaterial From Plastic Waste
Researchers at the National University of Singapore have created a way to convert plastic bottle waste into an ultralight aerogel material that has multiple potential applications.
A Plane With No Moving Parts
Airplanes have been with us for more than a century and they fly with the help of propellers, turbine blades or fans that noisily move them through the air. Recently, MIT engineers have built and flown a plane with no moving parts.
A Prize For Water From The Air
The XPrize competitions provide monetary incentives to crowdsource solutions to the world’s grand challenges. Originally started in 1994 to spur the development of private spaceflight, the XPrize program now offers prizes for diverse fields including Oceans, Learning, Health, Energy, Environment, Transportation, Safety and Robotics.
The Global Vertebrate Population Is Struggling
According to a new report by the World Wildlife Fund, the planet’s populations of vertebrates have dropped an average of 60% since 1970.
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