Massachusetts wants to fight traffic congestion with a tax credit
Massachusetts is said to have some of the worst vehicular traffic on Earth, with many workers commuting at least 90 minutes one way to work. The state wants to fix this badly, which is why they are getting set to offer what is likely the first of its kind in the nation: a tax credit for employers Read More...
This is what happened when Madrid’s new government tried repealing the car ban
When Madrid’s new administration came to power this past May, it seemed European city car bans were in peril. It’s become somewhat of a trend to ban cars from major city centers in Europe, but the city’s new government promised to scrap the law that had seen almost all private cars disappear Read More...
The alt-milk family now has a new member: banana milk
First there was cow’s milk. Then soy milk, nut milk, pea milk, and oat milk—and the dairy industry’s war over alternatives even using the term “milk” to begin with. Depending on your worldview, all of these might have some ethical, environmental, dietary, or pricing drawbacks. So in Read More...
New Zealand’s rarest bird is having its best breeding season in decades
The kākāriki karaka, also known as the orange-fronted parakeet, is New Zealand’s rarest mainland forest bird. Around the world, it was estimated that the population of this critically endangered species ranged between 100-300. But this breeding season has apparently been the most the fruitful Read More...
Sri Lanka becomes measles-free after successful immunization scheme
The comeback of measles in recent years has become a significant threat to global health. The highly contagious viral disease has made its way across the globe fueled in part by a lack of access to vaccines, and complacency. In a landmark achievement, Sri Lanka defied the world trend in the Read More...
Japanese scientists develop concept tire that generates electricity as it rolls
Imagine you could recapture some of the energy lost through your tires whenever you drive, with that energy being reused to power your car. Well, that could soon become reality as Japanese scientists have come up with a tire design that would leverage friction down below to produce electricity for Read More...
MIT researchers have created a sensor that could detect deadly sepsis in minutes
Sepsis (where your immune system starts a chain of inflammation reactions) is potentially deadly, especially if septic shock leads your organs to fail, but diagnosing that in a timely fashion is still difficult or requires an unwieldy device. Thankfully, MIT researchers might have a way to Read More...
Berkeley becomes the first city in America to ban natural gas in new buildings
For decades, natural gas was considered among the preferred energy sources for buildings and embraced as a bridge from dirtier fossil fuels to a green energy future. Now it seems that the transition period is coming to a close after the city of Berkeley passed a landmark ordinance that will ban Read More...
These 50 photos brilliantly captured humanity’s deep space fantasies
They say all of us humans are essentially made up of stardust. Perhaps that explains why us Earthlings are so fascinated by space travel. Its traces can be found in all areas of culture, from urban design and art to music and movies. In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, Read More...
How a bra-maker wound up designing the Apollo spacesuits
If there’s anything to take away from Space Week, it’s an appreciation for the dizzying complexity that comes with sending humans into outer space. Exact precision must be taken every step of the way, from the endless calculations that are needed to design flight trajectory to the spacesuits Read More...