Tag: Animals

Wind turbines warn birds about deadly collisions. Lions, meanwhile, are often shot to protect farm animals, and ensure smallholders have food on their plates. In the last 20 years, however, the lion population in Africa has reduced by half. Now a resourceful Maasai founder and his startup are looking to arrest this decline through a solar electricity-powered light system....

Powder made from pineapple waste is a superfood for fish. Forget salmon or beef tenderloin: pets can get all the nutrients they need from soldier fly larvae. And so can livestock. Up until now soldier fly larvae have been predominantly reared on starchy chicken feed. Still, thought a Danish research team, why not experiment with an organic waste product...

Volunteer test subjects for mosquito repellents can breathe easy. And testing new medication on animals could also be old news thanks to an important development made by an Australian-led research team. Instead of cultivating human cell samples in a Petri dish statically, the team has successfully replicated conditions like air and blood flow in the human lung, creating advanced...

Building elements filled with seeds and surfboards containing straw are allowing nature to grow. Now, a Hong Kong-based startup is 3D printing hexagonal tiles from clay which are installed on the seafloor and planted with young coral. A coral-specific algorithm tells a robotic arm how to print the tiles' labyrinthine structure. This not only promotes growth but enables corals...

Human urine could help build astronauts’ sleeping quarters on the moon, or supply fertiliser for farming. Cattle, however, are a major contributor to greenhouse gases by passing methane front and back. According to a study by a Washington State University research team, help might come from an unlikely source: the faeces of baby kangaroos. For, in contrast to their...

Pineapple peel is good for fish health, while domestic food waste can be made into chicken feed. Now, a food science research team from Cornell has discovered that an apple a day not only keeps doctors away from humans, but also benefits chickens. Their focus is on pomace, the fibrous waste produced when apples are pressed. It contains enough...

A natural alternative to single-use plastic was inspired by spiders. Now, an international research team from India and the US has turned its attentions to the animal kingdom to generate sustainable electricity for domestic use. The team struck lucky while experimenting with silkworm cocoons. When dry, the protein membrane is insulating. But with the help of water vapour it...

A natural film keeps food fresh for longer and reduces waste. Now, a startup from San Francisco has developed a private home service-system which converts food waste into nutrient-rich chicken feed. Using an electrically-operated steel container with a charcoal odour filter, kitchen scraps are dried overnight. Once the bin is full after a few weeks, users decant it into...