Good News Notes: “Fresh water is scarce in many parts of the world and must be obtained at great expense. Communities near the ocean can desalinate sea water for this purpose, but doing so requires a large amount of energy. Further away from the coast, practically often the only remaining option is to condense atmospheric…
Tag: researchers
This Portable, Solar-Powered Device Purifies Seawater on Demand
Good News Notes: “Imagine having the ability to purify water anywhere, any time, with one solar-powered device. While that may not be of key importance to many in wealthy nations, it is for the 785 million people around the world who, as of 2017, lacked access to clean drinking water. A group of researchers at the…
Failed Clinical Trial Leads to Scientific Breakthrough: Investigating Cancer Drug Toxicity Leads to Critical Discovery
Good News Notes: “It’s not often that a failed clinical trial leads to a scientific breakthrough. When patients in the UK started experiencing negative side effects during a cancer immunotherapy trial, researchers at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) Center for Cancer Immunotherapy and University of Liverpool went back, examined the data, and worked with…
Meat Alternatives Made From Fungi Could Cut Deforestation by 50%
Good News Notes: “Researchers from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) have found that substituting just 20% of beef with a fungi-based meat alternative could decrease deforestation by 50% by 2050. According to the researchers, microbial protein, as the fungi-based “meat” is called, can replicate the taste and texture of real beef. But microbial proteins require far…
First solar canal project is a win for water, energy, air and climate in California
Good News Notes: “Mounting evidence suggests the western United States is now in its worst megadrought in at least 1,200 years. Groundwater supplies are being overpumped in many places, and the dryness, wildfires and shrinking water supplies are making climate change personal for millions of people. As an engineer, I have been working with colleagues on a way to both protect water supplies and…
The urine revolution: how recycling pee could help to save the world
Good News Notes: “On Gotland, the largest island in Sweden, fresh water is scarce. At the same time, residents are battling dangerous amounts of pollution from agriculture and sewer systems that causes harmful algal blooms in the surrounding Baltic Sea. These can kill fish and make people ill. To help solve this set of environmental…
Owl Wing Design With Serrated Edges Reduces Aircraft, Wind Turbine Noise Pollution
Good News Notes: “Trailing-edge noise is the dominant source of sound from aeronautical and turbine engines like those in airplanes, drones, and wind turbines. Suppressing this noise pollution is a major environmental goal for some urban areas. In Physics of Fluids, by AIP Publishing, researchers from Xi’an Jiaotong University used the characteristics of owl wings to inform…
A New Carbon Capture Method Turns CO2 Into Solid Carbon ‘In an Instant’
Good News Notes: “A new decarbonization technology developed by RMIT University researchers in Australia instantaneously turns CO2 into solid carbon, a press statement reveals. The team claims their method is commercially viable and that it could soon be deployed in aid of global efforts to reduce the ongoing effects of the climate crisis. A ‘radically more efficient’ method…
A sweet breakthrough: Scientists develop recyclable plastics based on sugars
Good News Notes: “Researchers from the University of Birmingham, U.K., and Duke University, U.S., have created a new family of polymers from sustainable sources that retain all of the qualities of common plastics, but are also degradable and mechanically recyclable. The scientists used sugar-based starting materials rather than petrochemical derivatives to make two new polymers,…
Enzymes and wood biomolecules, a winning combo for sustainable packaging
Good News Notes: “A biotechnology company hidden among the forests of southern Finland thinks trees can help sustainability in Europe to become deep-rooted. Sustainable multi-purpose products Researchers at Metgen Oy are mixing enzymes and biomolecules from wood and bark to replace raw oil-based materials. Some of these renewable biomaterials have already been developed and used in different…