Energy efficient homes
If you live a green life, but haven't maximized the energy efficiency of your home, you're in for a big surprise. The carbon footprint of an average American household is 48 tons of carbon dioxide per year, which is far above the global average. Housing is the second largest source of carbon Read More...
Junking jet lag
It sounds like the lowest setting on a Star Trek phaser, but a photon shower (shown above) is a real device, more akin in appearance to a space-age photo booth, developed by Delta Airlines in the hopes of reducing jet lag. Introduced this spring, the photon shower bathes the weary traveler in blue Read More...
Omega-3s linked to improved sleep
Researchers at Oxford University are proposing that the omega-3 fatty acid DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) may be important for healthy sleep patterns, after children in their recent study who took DHA supplements for 16 weeks began waking up fewer times and sleeping for almost an hour longer each Read More...
Five-second rule confirmed
New findings out this week give messy eaters cause to celebrate. Researchers have confirmed the common lore that food dropped on the floor is less likely to pick up bacteria if it’s picked up quickly, giving credence to the “5-second rule.” In a survey conducted alongside the experiments, Read More...
Masterpeace– makers
Forty peacemakers from all over the world came together in Hilvarenbeek, The Netherlands to share their experience and knowledge about peace building and conflict prevention. They are participants of Masterpeace, one of the fastest growing international peace movements around. For participants from Read More...
Ancient virus unearthed
At about the size of small bacteria, the Pithovirus is the largest virus ever discovered, and represents a new family of “giant” viruses. Pithovirus poses no direct threat to humans; it only infects amoebas. But this big virus still has big implications for public health. Writing in the Read More...
Seven memory tricks
Let them play Video games are no longer the exclusive domain of teenagers who shoot, fly and punch their way through complex and hostile terrain. Serious games are a tremendous growth market, because they offer the player a safe environment in which to train all sorts of abilities, whether that’s Read More...
Better than the landfill: Pyrolysis turns plastic bags into crude oil
Walk down any city street and you’ll undoubtedly see an underlying commonality: plastic bags. Either littered about the gutter or being used by a passer–by, plastic bags are everywhere. Plastic bags are inexpensive to produce, easy to transport, and take about half a millennia to biodegrade. Read More...
Customer, king and keeper
The management at the British company Standing on Giants knows how to prevent customer service frustration: Build your company’s core around your clients. “There are always people who are passionate about your product, whether you’re selling telephones, insurance or cosmetics,” says Vincent Read More...
Painkillers prescribed to pregnant women despite risks
Around one in seven pregnant women in the United States is prescribed a narcotic painkiller with documented risks of causing birth defects. According to the CDC, opioid painkillers including codeine, hydrocodone and oxycodone are linked to birth defects including incomplete development of the Read More...