California city takes lead in ruling out disposable coffee cups
As it becomes increasingly important to change our consumer practices to fight the plastic crisis, Berkeley, California, has started the year off with the right environmental footprint by declaring war on disposable coffee cups. On January 1, the city rolled out the nation’s most comprehensive Read More...
New study finds raising minimum wage just $1 would cause suicide rates to drop
Though the federal minimum wage has stayed stagnant for a decade, there has been a push to increase the minimum wage in certain cities and states, and the benefits of doing so go beyond merely enabling people to afford their rent. A higher minimum wage could keep people out of prison and has Read More...
IBM has developed a sustainable successor to the dirty lithium-ion battery
Yesterday we published a story (emissary section) about a new lithium-sulfur battery that has a capacity five times higher than that of lithium-ion batteries, which means it can keep a phone charged for five days. Today, we bring you another major advancement in batteries: a battery-free of cobalt, Read More...
Pilot study finds people heal faster at home than in hospitals
People check into the hospital expecting to get better, but there are risks — and some even wind up getting sicker. You can face the danger of complications, like bleeding or infection. There are also the constant check-ins from nurses or physicians that can disrupt sleep. And none of that Read More...
This winery used rusty oil drilling pipes to create a solar-powered barn
Winemakers in California have given unexpected new life to old oil field drill stem pipes, using them to create an equipment barn covered in solar panels. The use of the rusty oil pipes gives the barn a bit of steampunk vibe, fitting in nicely amongst the rolling vineyard-lined hills. But beyond Read More...
Wildlife is flourishing at Fukushima’s human-devoid evacuation areas
The Chernobyl nuclear disaster was obviously a terrible event, but because the area has been free of humans for decades, wildlife in the region has been thriving. Now it seems the same is happening in Japan where a nuclear disaster took place on March 11, 2011. Documented by researchers from Read More...
Impossible Foods is expanding their faux food empire with Impossible Pork
Last year, the Impossible Burger made its way into fast food, grocery stores, and even high-end restaurants. This year, they are building upon their highly convincing fake meat with their new product: Impossible Pork. Like the Impossible Burger, Impossible Pork has a texture and taste that Read More...
AI can diagnose brain tumours faster and more accurately than human experts
More than 15 million people worldwide are diagnosed with cancer every year, and 80 percent of those will undergo surgery. In the US alone more than one million cancer samples are biopsied annually, and each one must be analyzed and diagnosed by a pathologist, putting enormous strain on health Read More...
Research shows societal openness and tolerance makes for happier citizens
How do a society’s policies about openness, equality, and privacy affect the citizens who live in it? New research published in the Journal of Positive Psychology found that citizens living in more open and tolerant countries are significantly happier. Researchers from Kyoto University in Read More...
Vital Farms gives you a 360-degree view of where your eggs really come from
As sustainability and ethical farming become more of a driving force for consumers, it becomes ever more important to know where the food on your plate comes from. While you might have seen terms such as cage-free, free-range, and pasture-raised turn up a lot when you’re shopping for eggs, the Read More...