Tag: Environment

Probiotics can strengthen coral's immune system. But suncream worn by swimmers often damages it. Enter a research team in Singapore and its coral-friendly UV protection agent made from camellia and sunflower pollen. Their shells, after all, are not only extremely tough biopolymers but also naturally UV-resistant. The team removed the inner contents of the flower’s pollen and made their...

Lunar micturition comes with unexpected benefits. The role human excretions play on earth has recently preoccupied an American-based research team. More specifically, the biochar made from solid human excrement, which has proved ideal as fertiliser once microplastics and chemicals have been removed from it. Mixing the biochar with nutrients from urine could provide 15% of the phosphorus needed to...

Rare components in batteries can be sustainably recovered. Recycling long-life materials such as PTFE still represents a challenge. But a research team in Japan has found a way to convert PTFE into reusable, organic fluorine compounds. The team exposed the material to a 5 Mega Gray dose of electron beams in a heated environment of 370°C. Treatment that caused...

Fish waste can be used to manufacture sustainable packaging. Though water hyacinth protects fish, the proliferous plant harms biodiversity and destroys fishing nets. Enter a Kenyan founder' startup with a sustainable solution. Fishermen collect the weed, earning money for each dried kilo. Fibres are then extracted and, in a patented process, turned into a plastic alternative using an organic...

Cow dung has a lot to offer. Finnish research on the impact of penguins on the climate is no sailor’s yarn either. The flightless birds’ excrement secretes ammonia into the atmosphere, a fact confirmed by studies undertaken on a colony of 60,000 in the Antarctic. The concentration of ammonia was 1,000 times higher than it was without the birds....

Blood sugar levels can be tested using the magnetometer in smartphones. Permanent magnets, however, are needed for EVs and wind turbines. The rare earths they contain are particularly valuable. Now, a Northern Irish startup is using a patented method to recycle magnets sustainably. The magnets are crushed before being mined for base metals like iron, aluminium or copper using...

Oil slicks could be removed using sunflowers. As for potholes… In the world devised by a new British research team, they wouldn’t exist in the first place - because road surfaces would be able to mend cracks that appeared themselves. Reducing CO2 emissions generated through repair work. Using AI, the team studied the organic molecules contained in petroleum component...

Adding algae to food reduces emissions in livestock. Cultivating rice also generates methane, a fact that prompted a Swedish-based research team to take action. The source lies in substances secreted by rice roots and metabolised by microorganisms. Studies involving a bioengineered rice strain with low methane emission showed that two substances in particular had a decisive influence. Secreted salts...