Design
Architecture: Why old is the new green
When it comes to sustainable architecture, the focus has historically been on designing buildings to reduce emissions. In recent years though, this focus has expanded to take into account the full life-cycle impact of a building and its components. But is this enough? In this article from Read More...
A new recycling venture aims to eliminate virgin plastic
EDTA recent list of 100 of the world’s most compassionate business leaders was topped by the usual suspects: Paul Polman, Richard Branson, Muhammad Yunus and Elon Musk. And then there’s David Katz. Katz is an entrepreneur based in Vancouver, British Columbia, who for years ran a company Read More...
RunZoo game aims to foster Mideast peace through kids
RunZoo might turn out to be more than just a game. Bandura GamesThe high-stakes Middle East peace process has a long, complex history of starts, stops and frustrations. A young American game maker named Justin Hefter believes one possible solution could lie in the simple act of playing games. Read More...
Robots could make recycling cheaper and safer
It makes sense to be wary of technologies designed to eliminate human labor. We’re humans ourselves, after all, and we can imagine how devastating it would be if bots could take over our jobs — if HAL or Siri or some other thing could saddle up to our standing desks and compose in-depth Read More...
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...