This has to be the most sustainable bicycle on Earth
A bicycle shop in London is offering customers the opportunity to build their own bicycle out of bamboo sticks. While building a bike out of bamboo sounds strange, bamboo is actually a terrific material for building bikes because it’s so light and shock absorbent, which helps to provide a smooth Read More...
You could soon carry a heart-attack detector in your pocket
Developers have created a novel smartphone app that works similarly to a traditional electrocardiogram (ECG) and can accurately tell whether the pain in your chest is actually an oncoming heart attack. The app is designed to detect very particular, deadly forms of heart attacks. In tests so far, Read More...
Purple bacteria can turn human waste into clean hydrogen energy
A significant downside to wastewater treatment plants is their carbon footprint. Now, researchers have found a way to reduce carbon emissions from sewage and produce hydrogen energy at the same Read More...
Research: probiotics increase bone volume
A widely-used probiotic stimulates bone formation in young female mice, according to a study published November 13th in the journal Immunity. In response to treatment with Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG), other intestinal microbes produced a metabolite called butyrate, which in turn activated Read More...
New exercise guidelines: move more, sit less, start younger
Move more, sit less and get kids active as young as age 3, say new federal guidelines that stress that any amount and any type of exercise helps health. The advice is the first update since the government’s physical activity guidelines came out a decade Read More...
Airbnb is donating $5 million toward helping the homeless in San Francisco
Airbnb is making its biggest donation yet in its hometown — $5 million — toward helping address the homelessness crisis in San Francisco. The announcement comes at a time when politicians and social justice organizations are increasingly calling upon tech companies to give more to the city Read More...
How farms can benefit from the presence of solar panels
After observing solar farms for the past couple of decades, researchers have found that solar farms have an incredible ability to alter the microclimate under them. In fact, scientists in Oregon found that 90 percent more biomass flourished in areas partly or fully covered by solar panels. This was Read More...
Coconut oil is better than the common repellent at keeping mosquitos away
Researchers have found another benefit of coconut oil: the oil performs better at protecting against malaria-carrying mosquitos than the active chemical ingredient in most insect repellents. Not only is the oil healthier, but it can also provide protection for up to two weeks while working against Read More...
London schools want to cover their walls with plants to fight air pollution
Schools in London are attempting to raise thousands of pounds to help pay for an initiative that aims to cover school walls with plants to protect children from air pollution. “Living walls” can be an effective strategy for cleaning heavily polluted air while providing calming benefits as Read More...
Rooftop solar panels could soon work as air conditioners too
All objects lose heat in the form of infrared radiation, which is invisible to the human eye. This means that materials that emit this wavelength become cooler than the temperature of surrounding air. With this in mind, scientists have created a new rooftop solar panel that captures sunlight while Read More...