Suction-cup-equipped robot designed to pick and trim farmed mushrooms

According to Pennsylvania State University’s Asst. Prof. Long He, the mushroom-farming industry is currently experiencing a labor shortage. His team has thus set about addressing that problem, by developing a mushroom-picking robot.Continue ReadingCate… Continue reading Suction-cup-equipped robot designed to pick and trim farmed mushrooms

World’s first commercial hydrogen fuel cell ferry is “98% complete”

Switch Maritime says its Sea Change ferry is nearly built and ready to go to work in the San Francisco Bay in Q3 this year. Powered by compressed hydrogen gas running through a fuel cell, it’ll be the first of its kind, running for two days on a tank.C… Continue reading World’s first commercial hydrogen fuel cell ferry is “98% complete”

Scientists recreate Jupiter’s possible helium rain in the lab

Scientists have recreated in the lab some of the wild weather that might be found on Jupiter and Saturn. Using extremely high pressures and laser shock waves, the researchers produced “helium rain” which has been hypothesized to fall on these planets.C… Continue reading Scientists recreate Jupiter’s possible helium rain in the lab

Google and Harvard map brain connections in unprecedented detail

The human brain is the most ridiculously complex computer that’s ever existed, and mapping this dense tangle of neurons, synapses and other cells is nigh on impossible. But engineers at Google and Harvard have given it the best shot yet, producing a br… Continue reading Google and Harvard map brain connections in unprecedented detail

Plastics with embedded enzymes could self-clean or self-destruct

Scientists at Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute have spent the last few years working on futuristic forms of plastic that do much more than act as take-out containers or straws for your iced latte, and they’re starting to make some exciting inroads. The t… Continue reading Plastics with embedded enzymes could self-clean or self-destruct

Caloric restriction-mimicking gene extends health and lifespan of mice

It’s inevitable that our health declines as we age, but maybe we can slow down that process. A new study led by Bar-Ilan University has found that boosting a certain gene in mice can increase their lifespan and keep them in better health for longer by … Continue reading Caloric restriction-mimicking gene extends health and lifespan of mice

Halo orders 100 Embraer Eve eVTOLs for the UK, and 100 for the US

As eVTOL manufacturers scramble to get next-gen air taxi aircraft certified and into full production, another set of companies are racing to establish themselves as air mobility service providers. These will become the Ubers and Lyfts of the sky, buyin… Continue reading Halo orders 100 Embraer Eve eVTOLs for the UK, and 100 for the US

Ultra-thin lithium offers a solid platform for high-capacity batteries

Scientists in South Korea have made a breakthrough in battery research that could help us bust through a key bottleneck in energy storage. The team’s advance overcomes a technical issue that has held back highly promising lithium-metal battery architec… Continue reading Ultra-thin lithium offers a solid platform for high-capacity batteries

Recycling process pulls “virgin-standard” polypropylene from carpets

Discarded carpets inevitably take up a lot of space in landfills, or create a great deal of smoke when incinerated. Soon, however, it may be possible to recover high-grade polypropylene from synthetic carpets that would otherwise just end up in the dum… Continue reading Recycling process pulls “virgin-standard” polypropylene from carpets

Pollen-sized particles give bees immunity to insecticides

Bees play a critical role in pollinating many of plants that humans eat and are therefore key to food security, but populations continue to decline rapidly around the world. A number of factors are contributing to this, including habitat loss and droug… Continue reading Pollen-sized particles give bees immunity to insecticides