Secret sustainability: Why many businesses hide their green credentials
You would imagine any company that figures out how to do something more sustainably than other businesses would make it known to the public. That, however, is far from the truth. Cassandra Coburn unveils the unseen world of secret sustainability, whereby innovations are silently enacted and kept from the rest
Researchers turn single-use plastics into kayaks and canoes
Today the world produces over 300 million tons of plastics every year. That’s almost equivalent to the weight of the entire human population. The vast majority of this is single-use and not designed to be recycled, ending up in landfills or sloughing off in the natural environment as litter.
People consume less meat and bottled drinks over growing environmental concerns
It’s no secret that public awareness about plastic pollution and global warming has been on the rise recently, but have people actually started embracing the green cause and doing their bit about these dire challenges? Well, data analytics firm Kantar may have recently found the answer. The company conducted
New ‘super-cool’ storing method triples the life of donor organs
After organs are harvested following a donor’s death, there’s a very short window of time in which the transplant can be made. Livers, for example, can only be kept outside of the body for nine hours before irreparable damage is done, and the organ must be discarded. This
High schoolers are learning to 3D-print prosthetic hands for people in need
When does a school science project become especially worthy of attention? When it actually makes an impact outside the school. At West Leyden High School, just outside Chicago, some students are part of a science program called e-NABLE that teaches students how to use engineering software and 3D printers to
What do cities look like when they are built for people, not cars?
It turns out cities focused on people, rather than vehicles, are cleaner, quieter, have more public space, and even help you live longer. One city in Spain is showing the rest of the world how this might be done. Barcelona is revolutionizing city planning by taking areas equal to nine
How to control the flood of information during a natural disaster
In a 21st century crisis, information is dissipated in mass through social media channels. But when the communication stakes are high, such as relaying evacuation notices, bridge collapses, and road closures, how do we decipher what is accurate in the virtual flood of information? Shannon Bowen, a professor of Journalism
Scientists just discovered the world’s most powerful electric eel in the Amazon
As a testament to the incredible biodiversity of the Amazon Rainforest, scientists have discovered two entirely new species of electric eel in the Amazon basin—with one of them capable of delivering a record-breaking electrical jolt. For centuries, it was believed that a single species existed throughout the region known
Telemedicine is improving mental health treatment in America’s most remote corners
Mental health care can be difficult to access due to costs and stigma. It is even harder to reach if you live in a rural area. Meridian Health Services in Indiana is using technology to tackle mental health treatment via online remote psychiatry. An NPR article on Meridian Health’s