Surfactants have a wide range of applications within households, such as soap, dishwashing liquid and cosmetics. But the current production process is carbon-intensive and waste water flows containing surfactant can be harmful to the environment. But recently a student team from France has been developing a greener alternative that could replace current surfactant chemicals. Made…
Increasing electricity prices and fluctuations in the availability of renewable energy inspired some creative thinking around alternative ways to generate power. Now a pioneering company in sustainable energy solutions, is finding its feet with a growing fanbase and a bunch of new installations at universities and innovation centres globally. Can footstep generated energy light up…
Development of fusion energy has been frustratingly just over the horizon for decades. But a New Zealand physics engineering research company delivered on its promise this week by creating first plasma with an edgy reactor design. Now the challenge is to scale the technology. OpenStar Technologies joins the ranks of stellar ventures mythically founded in…
With an estimated 1 million plant and animal species currently facing extinction, member countries of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) devised a framework with 23 targets aimed at stemming the loss of nature by 2030. That was two years ago. This week representatives from 196 nations will reconvene in Cali, Colombia at…
Metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOS-FETs) form the basis of modern integrated circuits due to their versatility and high density. The foundational technology dates back a century, but it was not until the early 1960s when breakthroughs in semiconductor chemistry allowed the development of the first working transistors, which subsequently evolved into the silicon micro-circuitry that we…
For over 250 years, a trade route has existed spanning Europe, The Middle East, South Asia and Australasia. Explorers, navigators, scientists and entrepreneurs first set out in earnest from Europe in the latter part of the 18th Century, informed only by sketchy maps drawn up by their predecessors over one hundred years beforehand. Now as…
The notion of metal-organic frameworks conjures up visions of cybernetic organisms self-described as “living tissue over a metal endoskeleton” from a certain well known science fiction franchise. But there’s nothing fictitious about this astounding field of materials science. For Professor Ed Lester from the University of Nottingham, the carbon transition has delivered renewed interest in…
Ramin Hasani, the astute CEO and co-founder of Liquid AI wants artificial intelligence to “solve actual problems for us”. To achieve that goal he completely re-imagined how neural networks operate, with the help of “liquid neural networks” and a small invertebrate you might find in the topsoil of your garden. So what are liquid neural…
The concept of sequestering carbon dioxide underground is not a new one but it may play a much bigger role in the future. According to the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), carbon capture will almost certainly be needed as part of a swathe of strategies aimed at reducing environmental CO2 and hence limiting…
Circularity and sustainability are at the heart of the ethos behind Italian biomaterials innovator SQIM. Using only mycelium and fermentation the company creates low environmental impact, high value products for the interior design, fashion and automotive manufacturing sectors. Using a proprietary process developed in-house, the company creates fashionable and high quality interior surface panels for the…
