5 easy ways to avoid pesky mosquitos
As we approach another weekend, chances are you’ll be spending some time outside to enjoy the late August weather. It’s high barbecue season, which also means it’s mosquito season. If you’ve been keeping up with the news, you’ll know that this year is as important as any for avoiding Read More...
These vegan dairy products are made from milk
The milk aisle at the supermarket is a dizzying array of choices, with soy, almond, hemp, and other plant alternatives more popular than ever. But many customers buy these substitute products—whether for health, allergy, or environmental reasons—only to turn around and head straight back for Read More...
Natural scale caterpillar soft robot is powered and controlled with light
Researchers, using the liquid crystal elastomer technology have demonstrated a bioinspired micro-robot capable of mimicking caterpillar gaits in natural scale. The 15-millimeter long soft robot harvests energy from green light and is controlled by spatially modulated laser beam. Apart from Read More...
Why you want your cotton bedsheets to be organic and fair trade
In July, when the U.S. hit peak heat and humidity levels, Cotton Incorporated, the national trade association for cotton importers and producers, launched a campaign called #CoolerInCotton with a video about how the textile can alleviate sweaty summer woes. A young woman prances around on an Read More...
Blockchain grid to let neighbours trade solar power in Australia
The blockchain is coming to Australia’s electricity grid. On 25 August, a group of neighbours will test a system to trade excess energy from solar panels between themselves using a blockchain to record the transactions. Run by local start-up PowerLedger, the trial at a retirement village in the Read More...
Uber 'to introduce self-driving cars within weeks'
The ride-sharing firm Uber will, for the first time, allow users to hail self-driving cars later this month, it has been reported. According to Bloomberg Businessweek, Uber's chief executive Travis Kalanick said the launch would take place in Pittsburgh, in Pennsylvania. At first, the vehicles will Read More...
Electric cars: Fierce competition between Detroit and Silicon Valley
Competition is a key feature of the market economy. It doesn’t always lead to the greatest and most beneficial results for society, but here’s a good example. Detroit has been the center for America’s automotive technology for a century. Now the car companies of Detroit are competing against Read More...
Heavy duty trucks face cleaner standards under new U.S. rule
Medium- to heavy-duty trucks make up only four percent of road traffic in the U.S, but they gulp 22 percent of oil transport demand. That’s why the Obama administration has implemented a new rule that will require U.S trucks to produce ten percent less carbon dioxide and consume ten percent less Read More...
No rooftop, no problem as solar gardens pop up in communities
Not all homes are fit for solar panels, but that isn’t stopping communities from producing their own solar energy. More and more consumers are buying into community solar farms that allow renters and apartment dwellers to access renewable energy from small plots, modestly referred to as “solar Read More...
Scientists discover an alternative to addictive painkillers
Addiction to opioid painkillers is a major public health issue, killing—for example—close to 19,000 people in the U.S. in 2014. Now scientists report an alternative to help those patients that suffer from severe pain. The team has identified a compound that appears to works as a painkiller Read More...