Microbes, new weapon against agricultural pests in Africa
Microscopic soil organisms could be an environmentally friendly way to control crop pests and diseases and even protect agriculture against the impacts of climate change, a leading researcher says. Africa is battling an outbreak of trans-boundary pests and diseases like the invasive South America Read More...
Do digital currencies spell the end of capitalism?
It started with the best of intentions: in 2015 a group of programmers inspired by the success of Bitcoin launched a new software platform called Ethereum that allowed users to conduct transactions without a central bank or currency authority using “tokens” called Ether instead of Read More...
How Rotterdam became a world leader in sustainable urban design
When Helly Scholten makes dinner, if she needs a tomato or squash or an onion, she heads upstairs–the top floor of her house is a 440-square-foot indoor vegetable garden. She starts cooking before the sun goes down, while warmth is still flooding through the glass walls of the kitchen Read More...
$5,700 electric micro-car seats 3, or carries 360 lbs of cargo
Take a mini-van and squish it to about a quarter size - that's roughly what you're looking at with the ZEV T3-1 Micro. This quirky, fully-enclosed, electric three-wheeler seats three if they're skinny, but we see it being much more of a hit as a cargo carrier. West Virginia's ZEV continues to push Read More...
These 8 big corporations are role models when it comes to animal welfare
As more and more customers demand that animals be treated humanely, a remarkable number of big corporations are changing their habits for the better. One of those companies is McDonald’s. The fast-food giant switched to 100 percent sustainable fish in 2013, and is now sourcing their beef as Read More...
Forget the next gadget: Technological progress makes us more vulnerable
For the most part, technological improvements have made our lives safer: Life expectancy has nearly doubled since 1850, and it’s increased worldwide by six years since 1990 alone. The development of vaccines and antibacterial drugs have also cut infant and childhood mortality dramatically. But Read More...
This wearable air purifier quietly cleans the air around you all day long
The Airvida may look like a sleek pair of headphones, but its actually a wearable air purifier designed to comfortably fit around a wearer’s neck. The device works by providing a high concentration of healthy negative ions that attract and attach to airborne pollutants such as dust and pollen. Read More...
California gets so much solar power that electricity prices are turning negative
Last month California showed that the state is capable of producing more than half of its power needs with solar energy. As a result, wholesale energy price of solar temporarily dipped into negative territory on March 11. Such a drastic drop in prices isn’t common, but it does display how Read More...
Daydreaming is good for you, new study shows
Good news daydreamers! In a new study, researchers confirmed that daydreaming can be a positive thing—depending on the context and content of our fantasies. The researchers found that people whose minds wander frequently in real life tend to have good cognitive control and are able to adapt their Read More...
The classical music concert is a vital workout for our sagging attention spans
In the age of hyper-connectivity and multi-tasking, staying focused during a two or three hour classical music performance can feel like a workout. At a Kennedy Center concert in Washington, DC last week, I sat next to a woman who popped some gummy vitamins as Russian virtuoso Daniil Trifonov Read More...