Tag: #172

Some vehicles move easily between road and rail. Meanwhile, a Portuguese startup has developed a light EV for on- and off-road driving. The reason? Its founder, the owner of an upmarket country hotel, deemed golf-carts too uncomfortable for his guests. With its aluminium frame, polymer body and waterproof soft-top, the four-seater weighs only 450kg. A low centre of gravity...

Nosy smart home devices can be controlled. Free browsers and search engines collect huge amounts of data and create detailed profiles in order to benefit from targeted advertising. Which is why a California-based startup has developed alternatives for protecting users’ private spheres. Their software neither saves search queries nor connects them to the user account. Search results are free...

CO2 can be stored in construction waste. Now, a female-founded Bristol startup is lowering emissions by transforming biological waste from industry and agriculture into building materials. Key here: a pilot factory in Lisbon, where the waste is mixed with adapted fungus cells and sustainable chemicals, before being processed in closed-loop and automatised systems. After four weeks, the material is...

An innovative powder staunches heavy bleeding. Meanwhile, a British research team has developed a double-impact dressing from plant-based polymers to reduce wound infections. To do so, they created two very similar nanofibres from furan polyamide. One fibre received two additional carbon atoms to make it water-repellent, while an antibiotic was incorporated into the second fibre. Both were woven into...

Some cosmetic containers can be composted at home. Following a similar idea, a Spanish startup has developed an ultra-thin, biodegradable packaging film from plant-based starch, which is certified for home composting. Despite being only 7 micrometres thick, the thermoplastic substitute for fossil-based film is mechanically tearproof at 114N/mm2 and manufacturing costs are comparable to traditional polyethylene products. A patent...

A smart vice is making laptops safe from theft. In Spain, meanwhile, a startup has developed a flexible bike lock comprising three cables, which help secure both saddle and wheels. All three cables are connected to a central, mechanised lock. The core consists of a braided steel cable, which is enclosed by short, hardened, interlocking steel sleeves. Those, again,...