Camel fur inspires an electricity-free cooling material
The system, which can be replenished by adding water, could help preserve food and pharmaceuticals especially in underdeveloped places.
Nov 2020 19
Prachi Patel
Prachi Patel is a Pittsburgh-based freelance journalist who writes about energy, materials science, nanotechnology, biotechnology, and computing. Writes for Scientific American, IEEE Spectrum, Chemical & Engineering News, and MRS Bulletin. Find her at www.lekh.org.
Nov 2020 12
Microwave magic can help provide clean hydrogen fuel
Zapping catalysts with microwaves help them extract hydrogen from plastic waste and from water
Nov 2020 5
Windows just keep getting smarter. These darken in the sun and generate electricity
Dynamic windows could do double duty in sustainable building design, cooling and powering at the same time.
Oct 2020 29
Using seawater for cooling could be a sustainable option
Researchers found that just one cubic meter of seawater has the same cooling energy as a solar farm the size of 68 football fields—or 21 wind turbines.
Oct 2020 22
Paper recycling isn’t necessarily good for the climate
Global paper consumption is rising, and recycling paper uses more fossil fuels than virgin paper. But a switch to renewable energy and better wastepaper disposal practices could drastically cut carbon emissions.
Oct 2020 15
Wheat gluten could be key ingredient for sustainable diapers
By chemically tweaking it with a natural plant extract, scientists have boosted the liquid-sopping ability of wheat gluten by over 10 times, making it a perfect sustainable absorbent material for diapers.
Oct 2020 8
The immense potential of solar panels floating on dams
Putting solar farms on water has benefits, but coupling them with hydropower amps them up and could provide almost half of the world's electricity.
Oct 2020 1
An inexpensive plant-based device for storing energy
A supercapacitor made partly from from the plant polymer lignin is a step towards sustainable energy storage.
Sep 2020 24
New, inexpensive device turns waste heat into electricity
Thermocells are a low-cost technology to convert heat to electricity without moving parts, noise, or greenhouse gas emissions. Now researchers have found a way to make them efficient.
Sep 2020 17
Bacteria hint at a fossil fuel-free route to making plastics
An ancient enzyme helps some land and freshwater bacteria produce a building block of plastic when they metabolize sulfur
