Terra-Identifies-Backyard-Bird

Although many people enjoy tracking which types of birds come through their backyards, they can’t be watching their yards all the time. Terra is designed to help, by continuously identifying birds via their songs. Created by New Jersey-based naturalists Scott Whittle, Mike Lanzone and Casey Halverson, Terra consists of both a weatherproof device and a planned global system. The Bluetooth- […]

Harvested Plastic 

Pro skater Lucas Puig spends a lot of time at the beach. And while he’s there, he often sees plastic waste on the sand and floating in the waves. Bottles, bags, containers, lids…if you try to count all the pieces of plastic in your home, it might take you hours. Seeing all this junk floating in the oceans is upsetting. […]

Smart Pen Could Monitor Anesthetic Levels

Everyone responds to general anesthetics differently, which can make administering the correct dose tricky. A new device is designed to help, by continuously monitoring anesthetic levels in patients’ bloodstreams during surgical procedures. Ordinarily, anesthesiologists base initial dosages on factors such as age, weight and gender. One thing that they don’t know ahead of time, however, is how much of the […]

Raising Huts To Prevent Mosquito Bites 

There are already places where homes are built on stilts, to avoid seasonal floods. A new study, however, suggests that doing so may also significantly reduce the risk of being bitten by malaria-carrying mosquitos. According to Britain’s Durham University, approximately 80 percent of malaria-causing mosquito bites within Africa occur indoors at night. Additionally, although mosquitos are known to fly up […]

Tinted Stickers Turn Eyeglasses Into Sunglasses

There are plenty of options out there for adding some sunglass-grade tint to a pair of prescription eyeglasses, from clip-on shades, to clear-to-dark electrochromic glasses. Colorado startup EyKuver has a different idea that’s lighter, simpler, quite affordable and rather intuitive: easily removable tinted film patches that slap onto the individual eyeglass lenses and create temporary sunglasses to block UV light. […]

Transplanted Coral Retains Heat Resistance

The threat of climate change and warming oceans looms large over the world’s coral reefs, which are struggling to adapt to increasingly inhospitable waters. Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania have demonstrated a new way we may be able to limit the damage, by taking coral species that have already survived severe heat stress and transplanting them to degraded reefs […]

Silca Cyclometer

Ordinarily, bicycle computer mounts are aluminum things that clamp onto the handlebars, and that cost about $20 to $40. Silca’s new stem-mounted Mensola, however, is 3D-printed out of titanium, and will set you back a cool US$175. So first of all, what’s the point? Besides being able to say “Look at my cool 3D-printed titanium cyclometer mount,” that is? Well, […]

Beer Waste Helps Kill Crop Parasites

Although the use of conventional pesticides is harmful to the environment, farmers still need a way of keeping crop-damaging organisms at bay. According to a new study, an eco-friendly combination of agricultural and beer brewing waste products may be able to help. When the oil is extracted from harvested rapeseed plants (aka canola), a solid byproduct known as rapeseed cake […]

Hybrid Catamaran Collects Floating Plastic 

Recently unveiled by SeaCleaners, the Manta hybrid catamaran is designed to combat the oceans’ plastic pollution in a brand new way. Using a biomimetic design, a hybrid propulsion system and a power supply from renewable energy sources, the high-tech boat will not only collect ocean waste but process it as well. Poised for launch in 2024, the Manta will operate […]