Design
This new protective coating comes from an unlikely seafood source
Chitin is found in the cellular walls of many organisms, but it is most famous for making up the exoskeletons of arthropods like crustaceans and insects. It is incredibly effective in protecting these species, so researchers are diving deeper into how it could be adapted to protect humans as Read More...
Irish beekeeper constructs colorful LEGO hive in his backyard
From cleaning out the basement to taking up bread making, people around the world have taken up new hobbies to fill their quarantined time. One creative bee-lover in Ireland decided to use the time to create an elaborate home for bees out of LEGO blocks. Ruari O Leocháin, a school teacher and Read More...
Engineers have designed a filter that could make N95 masks safe to reuse
Due to a worldwide shortage of medical masks, especially the N95 ones, healthcare workers around the world have been caring for COVID-19 patients without adequate supplies, and reusing masks that were designed to be disposable. In a bid to come up with a quick and viable solution to this problem, a Read More...
Missing being touched? This phone turns speech into physical sensations
One thing a phone or video call can’t make up for is the physical feeling of touch that comes with being close to someone. In an experimental attempt to bring physical sensations into phone calls, two students at the Royal College of Art in London have designed a pair of devices that translate Read More...
Crayola releases more diverse “Colors of the World” crayon line
Racial bias is ingrained in many of our everyday products. Items ranging from band-aids to facial recognition software were not developed with the full range of the world’s racial diversity in mind. When Crayola Crayons first released their “flesh tint” in 1903, it only applied to a narrow Read More...
Scientists created a rubber material that can be recycled over and over
Big news from the building industry. Scientists in Australia have created a new kind of rubber material that can be recycled in an almost endless loop, which could lead to a whole array of new sustainable building materials. The rubber polymer is made of sulfur and canola oil, and it has a unique Read More...
Designers retrofit old buses to bring testing to underserved communities
In the upcoming months, as lockdown measures are slowly easing, extensive COVID-19 testing will be essential to evaluate and control the spread of the virus. But how to make it possible that everyone gets tested, especially those from lower-income and underserved communities who have been Read More...
Canva's virtual backgrounds will spice up your meeting or happy hour
If your workplace does any graphic design work, chances are you have heard of Canva. We at the Optimist Daily use Canva every day to bring our stories to life with graphics and images, so we were excited to learn about their new customizable video chat backgrounds that are making socially distanced Read More...
This new office complex is literally the greenest building in Europe
Now more than ever, cities around the world are starting to recognize the importance of green spaces within their urban environments. And in some cities, this sort of development is embodied directly in the buildings themselves. Düsseldorf, for example, has recently unveiled a new office Read More...
Forget dressers, IKEA wants you to build a bee house
The task of building IKEA furniture has been challenging newlyweds and college students for years. In 2020, the company started offering a new challenge to customers: building bee habitats. IKEA’s research and design lab, SPACE10, has partnered with European design studio Bakken & Bæck, Read More...