Design
Robots are coming for your recycling (and that's a good thing)
Robots are starting to take the dirtiest and most dangerous jobs away from humans—and that's why we built them. Working in a recycling facility is dangerous. Recent figures from the University of Illinois's School of Public Health show that workers in a recycling plant are more than twice as Read More...
Researchers develop new bandages that heal wounds faster
Bandages used by battlefield medics and paramedics often have chemicals to help treat wounds and stop blood loss. But often, blood itself takes those chemicals away from where they’re needed. Researchers now have developed bandages to fix that problem, potentially saving countless lives. The Read More...
MacArthur 'genius' grant winner creates artificial leaves that photosynthesize
It took nature millions of years to figure out how to turn energy from the sun into chemical energy that can be stored for a cloudy day - a process known as photosynthesis. It took Peidong Yang, a chemist at UC Berkeley, about 10 years to accomplish a similar feat with the help of Read More...
Tanzania: the smartphone apps putting Africa's fastest-growing city on the map
In Dar es Salaam, many people without formal addresses are denied access to services and a legal identity. But technology is set to change that Tuesday 22 September 2015 08.14 EDT Last modified on Tuesday 22 September 2015 09.36 EDT Johan Knols is used to getting unusual directions as he travels Read More...
Weird microscopic animal inspires new kind of glass
A really weird, really tiny animal — the microscopic tardigrade — is the inspiration behind a new material that could improve the efficiency of things like LED lights and solar cells. The material under investigation is glass, and tardigrades (sometimes known as "water bears" or "moss Read More...
Cities made of salt may hold the key to sustainable urban planning
As climate change wreaks havoc on our eco-system, many drought-prone regions have been left wondering how to deal with issues like urban planning and global desertification. The latter is an increasingly dire issue that has caused those in the architecture community to look for innovative Read More...
Los Angeles plan to reshape the streetscape in favor of bikes, buses and pedestrians
This city of fast cars and endless freeways is preparing to do what not long ago would have been unthinkable: sacrificing car lanes to make way for bikes and buses. The City Council has approved a far-reaching transportation plan that would reshape the streetscape over the next 20 years, adding Read More...
Should you hope your child never has to drive a car?
In its most recent monthly self-driving car report, Google notes that it hasn't set a timeline for rolling autonomous vehicles out to the public in any real way — there are still plenty of kinks to iron out — but it does say that "project lead Chris Urmson's goal is to make sure Read More...
These prize-winning, game-changing designs tackle some of our toughest global challenges
“Design’s purpose is to improve lives,” explained this year’s jury chair Mikal Hallstrup of the design industry’s Index Awards. “It’s not about tea cups or fancy chairs.” Organized by a non-profit organization based in Copenhagen, Denmark, a city looking to its architects and Read More...
The newest proposed hotspot for micro-housing: parking lots
Elevate Structure, a Hawaiian tiny house company, envisions adding compact and affordable housing in cities around the U.S. — without sacrificing parking. The firm’s pre-fab design props the small dwellings on top of a trunk-like base so they float over the asphalt. Add “tree Read More...