Turning wood into plastic
Efforts to shift from petrochemical plastics to renewable and biodegradable plastics have proven tricky—the production process can require toxic chemicals and is expensive, and the mechanical strength and water stability is often insufficient. But.....»»
Vertically stacked skin-like active-matrix display with ultrahigh aperture ratio
Skin-like displays are critical components of information output in next-generation portable and wearable electronics. Currently, all such displays are fabricated on glass or thick plastic substrates, limiting the inherent mechanical flexibility of o.....»»
Data protection is poor for African farmers who use digital services: Kenya and Ghana cases highlight gaps
Across Africa, agricultural producers are turning to digital solutions to get information about farming methods, market access or financial services. By 2022, there were 666 of these solutions operating on the continent, the highest number among all.....»»
Ancient poppy seeds and willow wood offer clues to the Greenland ice sheet"s last meltdown
As we focused our microscope on the soil sample for the first time, bits of organic material came into view: a tiny poppy seed, the compound eye of an insect, broken willow twigs and spikemoss spores. Dark-colored spheres produced by soil fungi domin.....»»
Could a colorful Apple Watch SE make it the iPhone 5c of watches?
Mark Gurman this weekend doubled down on his view that the new Apple Watch SE is likely to made from plastic rather than aluminum. That raises the prospect of the company either reducing the price, or adding in new features at the same price – b.....»»
The next Apple Watch SE might be plastic, but is that worth the tradeoff?
Last month, reports started to emerge that Apple is testing a new “rigid plastic” body for the next generation Apple Watch SE. While this would undoubtedly reduce costs, it begs the question – will this tradeoff be worth it for customers? m.....»»
How to turn off Home Switching in the iOS 17.6 Home app
Apple's update to iOS 17.6 is turning Home Switching on, when it was previously off, for some users. Here's how to turn that Home setting back off.The Home Switching option in the Home appSmart home owners may have discovered a problem with their Hom.....»»
FLUX: This new AI image generator is eerily good at creating human hands
FLUX.1 is the open-weights heir apparent to Stable Diffusion, turning text into images. Enlarge / AI-generated image by FLUX.1 dev: "A beautiful queen of the universe holding up her hands, face in the background." (credit: FLUX.1.....»»
More pets relinquished to shelters due to housing insecurity
Housing policies may be becoming more pet inclusive, but housing insecurity is getting worse, finds a new study that examined the housing issues that led to owners turning their pets over to an animal shelter......»»
White ants: The Earth"s backboneless backbone
The first thoughts that probably come to mind when you read the words "white ant" are images of house destruction, wood damage, pest control, and spending money! While white ants are in fact a major structural and agricultural pest, they are among th.....»»
The Cure for Disposable Plastic Crap Is Here—and It’s Loony
Stretchy seaweed, reverse vending machines, QR-coded take-out boxes: They’re how we can break society’s absurd addiction to single-use plastics......»»
Scientists discover entirely new wood type that could be highly efficient at carbon storage
Researchers undertaking an evolutionary survey of the microscopic structure of wood from some of the world's most iconic trees and shrubs have discovered an entirely new type of wood......»»
Newly created super-black wood can improve telescopes, optical devices and consumer goods
Thanks to an accidental discovery, researchers at the University of British Columbia have created a new super-black material that absorbs almost all light, opening potential applications in fine jewelry, solar cells and precision optical devices......»»
Is that glass bottle of orange juice better for the planet than a plastic container?
Which packaging type for a 12-ounce, single-serve container of orange juice would you choose as the most sustainable option:.....»»
What did Bronze Age people do with all that bronze? New research revives old arguments about the nature of money
We have no written evidence about how people lived in Europe during the Bronze Age (2300–800 BCE), so archaeologists piece together their world from the artifacts and materials they left behind. Unlike perishable materials such as wool or wood, it'.....»»
Bike lanes and narrowed streets don’t slow emergency vehicles
People love to complain about traffic calming, but it makes roads safer. Enlarge / Converting this street from two lanes in either direction to one lane in each direction with a turning lane in-between would make it much safer. (.....»»
Q&A: Why wildfires don"t just burn, but can also pollute aquatic ecosystems
Last week, wildfires blazed across western Canada, turning the town of Jasper, located near Alberta's Jasper National Park, into ashes. The local government estimated that the fire damaged or destroyed up to half of the town's structures......»»
Mongolians fight plastic pollution in vast steppe
Mongolian herder Purev Batmunkh sighs as he picks through waste strewn across a field—the refuse of an unsightly and deadly waste pollution problem affecting swathes of the steppe......»»
Researchers discover faster, more energy-efficient way to manufacture industrially important propylene
Polypropylene is a common type of plastic found in many essential products used today, such as food containers and medical devices. Because polypropylene is so popular, demand is surging for a chemical used to make it. That chemical, propylene, can b.....»»
Estuaries and coastlines capture most plastic before it gets out to sea, providing a chance to stop ocean pollution
If you ask someone where plastic ends up, they will usually say the ocean. It's not a surprising answer because we have known since the 1970s that plastic is accumulating in the subtropical oceans, far from land......»»
Groundcherry gets genetic upgrades: Turning a garden curiosity into an agricultural powerhouse
Imagine a small fruit that tastes like a cross between a tomato and a pineapple, wrapped in its own natural paper lantern. That's the groundcherry (Physalis grisea)—a little-known relative of tomatoes that's been quietly growing in gardens and smal.....»»