Tag: #170

In future, edible drones could be used to reach inaccessible locations. Now a Danish research team wants to equip large sea vessels with fully autonomous drones. If someone falls overboard, the drone is immediately dispatched complete with an inflatable life jacket that sends a GPS signal. This improves the person’s survival chances and enables lifeboats to locate them quickly....

A pillow jacket warns deaf people of dangers at night. Meanwhile in Toronto a research team has combined with international partners to develop a vest that could enable a deaf-blind woman from London to safely scale Mount Everest. The vest translates her guide’s hand gestures into vibration signals. These are created through the presence of four motors, one on...

Foliage can be used to make sustainable paper and packaging material. Similarly, a Swedish startup is using seagrass that has been washed ashore to manufacture environmentally-friendly yarn. Until now the plant, which is present in large quantities on beaches, has simply been discarded. A recent feasibility study has shown it can be made into yarn without the addition of...

In the absence of DNA, hair molecules could hold the key to criminal cases thanks to a special protein fragment (peptide). Now, research conducted by a California-based team has highlighted how a different peptide could be crucial in the fight against skin cancer. Dangerously advanced melanoma cause the body’s catestatin levels to drop. In normal circumstances, catestatin promotes immune,...

Hemispherical solar cells produce more electricity. Solar modules installed on facades or outside windows also allow for increased energy generation, albeit their weight is a drawback. The gossamer thin, translucent perovskite solar cells made by a Singapore research team, however, could generate hundreds of megawatt hours per year on large buildings. The fineness of the parts was achieved through...

Pancreatic cancer can be arrested by vitamin D, which is also vital for the function of human immune systems, as well as for bone, muscle and gum development. Yet one in six are vitamin D deficient. To cover the growing demand for additional vitamin D supplements, a French startup is using biosynthesis to produce vitamin D3-oil from mealworms. The...