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HomeTags#42

Tag: #42

Targeted attraction

Some things try to resist detection. Like uranium residue in water. Now, a chemistry student from Ireland has developed a system that removes microplastic from water. At 12 years old, he discovered that oil could be used to attract plastic. Mixing plant oil with iron oxide powder he created a magnetic liquid. After blending with microplastics and water, the...

Instructive connection

Children can make fantastic constructions from building blocks. The first 3D printed school is already on the way. Now, thanks to a Finnish company, schools can be built inside six days using special blocks made from recycled plastic and timber waste. Meaning the construction of a single classroom transforms three tons of plastic waste into something useful. The blocks...

Lightening the load

Repetitive, monotonous work is tiring. In test labs a quarter of the working day can be lost to such tasks. When handling liquids, precision is important. Which is why a Danish company has invented a robot to ease the burden of lab workers across Europe. The pipetting machine can process several samples at once and be paired with a...

Precisely mastered

We know that games are an effective way to learn. Now a Danish-American creative studio is using the entertainment factor to help people learn the sign language alphabet. Their interactive PC app communicates with learners via webcam. The system’s algorithm was trained on images and can recognise the correct hand positions. The app gives users a series of words...

Structural imitation

We’ve seen "chicken" from hemp and burgers from beetles. Now, here comes a plant-based alternative to ice cream. A startup from San Francisco spent a whole year experimenting to find the perfect, creamy consistency and dairy taste. And, with their mix of oats, potatoes and corn, they think they’ve cracked it. The secret? They mimicked the molecular structure of...

Food for thought

It’s not always possible to leave a clean plate. Chitin from crustacean shells, for example, can be used in many ways. A girl from Malaysia is ensuring that waste from fish restaurants is meaningfully re-used. Fish waste is also an important ingredient in animal feed. The 11-year-old collected 30 kg of shrimp and sea snail shells from seafood restaurants...

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