Why seaweed is the future of meatless burgers and renewable energy
Amanda Stiles and Beth Zotter, founders of the startup Trophic, are on a mission to develop the most sustainable supply chain for alternative protein in the world! Their key ingredient? Seaweed. Seaweed has been a staple in Asian diets for centuries because of its high quantities of protein and Read More...
German city builds sleeping pods to shelter homeless people from the cold
In the German city of Ulm, 75 miles west of Munich, people who don’t have a roof over their head can now benefit from a thoughtful initiative — the installation of a series of pods around the city for homeless people to be able to sleep in. Called Ulmer Nests, the sleeping pods are made of Read More...
Renewables surpassed fossil fuels in Europe for the first time in 2020
If you would have told us back in 2015 that Europeans would get more of their electricity from renewable sources rather than fossil fuels in five years' time, we wouldn’t have believed you. Sure, we are optimistic, but such growth in the renewable energy sector seemed unprecedented at that point Read More...
Moderna is using mRNA technology to develop an HIV vaccine
mRNA vaccine technology provided a breakthrough in the search for a covid-19 vaccine, and researchers are hopeful it could offer a solution for treating other diseases as well. Pharmaceutical company Moderna has announced plans to use this mRNA technique to attempt to create the first vaccine for Read More...
Study: Exercise prompts muscles to fight inflammation on their own
That exercise is good for the body in all kinds of ways is a given, but researchers are only just uncovering a rather surprising effect that exercise has on muscles. Apparently, exercise prompts muscle cells to fight off inflammation on their own. Scientists at Duke University have been Read More...
Is it possible to make up for lost sleep on the weekend?
When you go through a night or several nights of little to no sleep, a common tactic is to use the weekend to catch up on all those lost zzz’s. The question is: Does this strategy actually work? According to Fiona Barwick, director of the Cognitive Behavioral Sleep Medicine Program at Stanford Read More...
How the kulhad, a relic of India’s past, can help eliminate single-use plastic
Traditional clay teacups called kulhads will be making an impactful comeback in 7,000 railway stations across India. Kulhads are 100 percent environment-friendly, unpainted, and unglazed. The clay’s natural, earthy fragrance is said to enhance the flavor of the tea, while evoking memories of Read More...
Scientists develop AI that detects prostate cancer with near 100% accuracy
The current method doctors use to screen for prostate cancer involves looking at the levels of a protein called prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in a patient's blood. The problem with a PSA test, however, is that it’s not very accurate. In fact, 70 percent of the people it flags as having prostate Read More...
Shrub species thought extinct for almost 100 years rediscovered in Japan
While out to study the growth of plants in an evergreen forest on the Japanese island of Amami-Oshima, a team of researchers has come across a colony of an unfamiliar plant species. Not long after — after taking a sample to the lab — the researchers realized that what they had recently Read More...
The public now has a direct say on climate matters in Washington state
Oftentimes it feels like regular citizens have little to no say in national or state-level politics. That’s why we’re excited to share news out of Washington state where a new assembly is being formed that will allow 80 randomly-selected members of the public to have a direct say on climate Read More...