Collaborate Disseminate
Engineers at ETH Zurich have designed a new device that can wring drinking water out of the air. The system works day and night, and doesn’t require any additional energy input, making it suited for use in remote or developing areas.Continue ReadingCat… Continue reading “Reverse solar still” keeps its cool to wring drinking water from air
Solar stills can be a very useful way to produce drinking water from dirty or salty water, but there’s plenty of room for improvements in efficiency. Now, engineers at Virginia Tech have developed a “synthetic tree” inspired by mangroves, that mimics t… Continue reading Mangrove roots inspire efficient “synthetic tree” water purifier
Contrary to popular belief, not all planets orbit stars – some drift freely through the cosmos on their own. These cold, dark worlds don’t make great candidates for hosting life, but a new study suggests that their moons could be more habitable than th… Continue reading “Rogue planet” exomoons could potentially harbor water and life
Most fish utilize a mouthful of water to swallow their prey. According to a new study, however, moray eels are unique in not doing so, allowing them to feed while out of the water … with some help from a second set of jaws in their throat.Continue Read… Continue reading Alien-like extendable secondary jaws allow moray eels to hunt on land
As if Matt Damon’s character in The Martian didn’t have enough to worry about already, his Red Planet potatoes could be contaminated with perchlorates. But new research led by the University of California Riverside has identified a relatively simple ca… Continue reading Simple catalyst could clean contaminated water on Earth and soil on Mars
If you want to know how much water a plant is taking up, one of the best places to look is in its leaves. A new material known as AquaDust could help scientists more easily do so, without harming the plant.Continue ReadingCategory: ScienceTags: Cornell… Continue reading AquaDust gel reveals water levels of plant leaves
The old saying “like water off a duck’s back” is well-earned – the water-loving birds have specialized feathers that keep them from getting too wet. Now, engineers at Virginia Tech have investigated the physics behind how they work and developed synthe… Continue reading Synthetic duck feathers could help ships glide through the water
The phosphate found in the Earth’s crust is a key ingredient for the growth of aquatic plants and animals, but human activity is washing far too much of it into our waterways. One consequence of this is the algae blooms that coat the surface of some la… Continue reading Adaptable sponge soaks up phosphate from polluted waterways for reuse
The Greenland Ice Sheet is associated with a range of environmental issues, but now researchers have discovered a surprising new problem that hadn’t been considered before. Glacial meltwater was found to be unexpectedly high in mercury, which could hav… Continue reading Surprisingly high mercury levels detected in Greenland glacier meltwater
Water scarcity is one of humanity’s most pressing problems. Now engineers at Caltech have developed a new system that can tap into two different sources to produce fresh drinking water, by purifying dirty water during the day and collecting droplets fr… Continue reading “Micro-tree” hybrid harvester purifies water and wrings it out of air