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Total number of posts: 23758
This incredible building material reflects heat back into space, keeping you cool
What if instead of spending vast amounts of electricity to keep our buildings cool from the inside, we just bounced the heat where it came from? Allow us to explain. Aaswath Raman, a researcher at Stanford University, is working on building a material that is ultra-reflective to the sun’s rays Read More...
Plastic-bottle homes are popping up to shelter the homeless
Water bottles are a major pollutant of our world, but communities around the world are finding ways to put discarded bottles to good use. Throughout Africa and Latin America, communities are repurposing these bottles to provide shelter for the homeless. People collect discarded bottles, fill them Read More...
“Resurrection plants” offer hope as climate change threatens crops
As climate change continues to turn what were once fertile lands into dusty, arid fields, scientists and farmers alike are searching for ways to adapt. One answer may lie in a unique group of flora called “resurrection plants,” which can go dormant and appear dead for years, only to return when Read More...
Standing desks in schools boost engagement in classrooms
At some point in history, sitting down in the school classroom became the norm. And even though researchers already proved that children learn much better if they have a chance to move around, in practice, in the classroom nothing much has changed. Up until now, it seems, because several schools Read More...
New style of police training aims to produce "guardians," not "warriors"
So far this year, police in the U.S. have fatally shot over 900 people—more than twice the number recorded in any previous year by federal officials. Anti-brutality activists and some law enforcement leaders argue that if police were better trained to de-escalate conflict, some of those people Read More...
Moderate drinking associated with lower risk of death for people with Alzheimer's
A new Danish study shows that for people with early Alzheimer's, moderate drinking is linked to a stunning 77% lower risk of dying. The results came as a surprise to the researchers, who already knew that moderate drinking leads to a reduced risk of death from coronary disease. However, they did Read More...
Tetris House takes modular homes to a different level
Have you ever wanted to change the layout of your house? Well, a new concept from Universe Architecture will let you do so simply and with relative ease. Tetris House is a modular system of blocks that can slot together in a number of different arrangements. Residents can also attach accessories to Read More...
Latinos live longer, despite poverty. Here's their secret.
Celia Aguilar visits with her mother and grandmother in El Paso, Texas. Aguilar’s mother practiced the tradition of cuarentena for her five children. This form of mother care provides 40 days of rest and bonding while relatives or friends cook and run the household. Aguilar plans to do the Read More...
How eating insects could help climate change
As the global climate change talks in Paris come to an end, one issue that has been raised - most notably by Arnold Schwarzenegger - is the amount of meat people eat. The body-builder-turned-politician said people should go vegetarian for a couple of days a week to reduce the damage farming does to Read More...
Modoc sucker recovers, leaves Endangered Species list
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced this week that the Modoc sucker (Catostomus microps), a rare fish from California and Oregon, has recovered and will now leave the protection of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). This is actually the second attempt to delist the fish. It almost Read More...