Tag: #144

Edible drones would be a lifesaver. Meanwhile, a Japanese team is testing whether drones can protect against lightning. A drone was placed in a Faraday cage with additional lightning conductors. As thunder clouds gathered, the drone was sent 300m skywards attached to a wire cable, which had a ground connection. The difference in the electric field strength at the...

A mobile box turns any space into a classroom. Now a Nigerian-based firm is concentrating on providing IT training to the country’s deaf and hearing-impaired community. A new digital platform will help students with programming or data analysis. All in sign language. With extra video courses teaching Java, SQL and C++. Personalised mentoring programmes ease the transition into professional...

Paper from banana plant waste protects potatoes from parasites. Whereas fresh fruits with low pH value are susceptible to fungal contamination. But a Brazilian research team has found a way to keep fungi away longer using antioxidants from pomegranate peel and chitosan, extracted from the inner shell of squid. The two substances were mixed with gelatine, creating a film...

Newborns’ hearing can be tested using a smartphone. If a congenital heart defect is detected then a pacemaker is necessary. After around a week, the heart usually beats independently. To avoid surgical procedures, a US research team has built on an earlier project to develop a miniature pacemaker. Almost as small as a sesame seed, it can be injected...

Folded cardboard paper protects objects during transit. Meanwhile, in Singapore a research team has taken its inspiration from the folds in elephants’ skin, features which prevent the endangered mammals from overheating. The idea? To use a similarly uneven surface to create sustainable, ‘cooling’ tiles. The team mixed mycelium with bamboo shavings, oats and water and shaped the mix into...

Groundnut shells can help cultivate saplings sustainably. Now, a Japan-based research team has been investigating how cashew nuts can break down fatty tissue in the body. The nut itself grows in a shell, the shell in a kind of fleshy apple. The latter is rich in ascorbic acid, fibre and polyphenols, which have anti-inflammatory properties. An extract taken from...