July

Energy Companies Turn to Robots to Install Solar Panels

Energy companies say a labor shortage is one big obstacle to installing more solar power. They’re turning to machines to speed things up.

30/07/2024 New York Times

Reducing CO2 Emissions by Capturing Carbon With Light

Net zero will only be achieved if we capture the excess carbon in the atmosphere. Thanks to new research, capturing carbon with light is now a viable, cost-effective method of carbon capture.

22/07/2024 Reset.org

Could robot weedkillers replace the need for pesticides?

On a sweltering summer day in central Kansas, farm fields shimmer in the heat as Clint Brauer watches a team of bright yellow robots churn up and down the rows, tirelessly slicing away any weeds that stand in their way while avoiding the growing…

20/07/2024 The Guardian

Video shows drug's 'life-changing' effect on man with Parkinson's

A man living with Parkinson's has said a new drug has transformed his life in a matter of days. Damien Gath, 52, has experienced years of daily involuntary shaking and pain caused by the neurological condition, which he said made everyday tasks a…

19/07/2024 BBC

Breakthrough gel offers hope of fridge-free cold storage of key medicines

Special hydrogel could improve accessibility of essential drugs like insulin in places where cold storage infrastructure may be lacking

18/07/2024 The Independent

The enigma of elite HIV controllers: The people with an innate ability to keep the virus at bay

A scientific review unravels the characteristics shared by many of the exceptional patients whose infection remains under control — and who may be able to light the way to a cure

17/07/2024 El País

The simple fix that could reduce bird deaths from wind farms

Painting one blade black, or using contrasting stripes, on wind turbines is proven to dramatically reduce bird strikes. There are also more high-tech solutions working for endangered Tasmanian wedge-tailed eagles.

17/07/2024 Sydney Morning Herald

Cutting-Edge Technology Could Massively Reduce the Amount of Energy Used for Air Conditioning

Roughly 10 percent of the world’s energy is used for cooling, with much of the necessary electricity generated by fossil fuels. Companies need to make AC much more efficient—as soon as possible.

16/07/2024 Wired

Menstrual pads that turn blood solid could reduce the risk of leaks

Adding a polymer-alcohol mixture to menstrual pads causes blood to solidify, rather than being absorbed, which could ward off leaks

11/07/2024 NewScientist

Crushed rocks and fertiliser switches can cut nitrous oxide from farms

Adding crushed basalt rocks and special fertilisers to soils could cut nitrous oxide emissions without harming the ozone layer, but these strategies will cost billions

10/07/2024 NewScientist

When transmission lines fell, 16 electric vehicles fed power into the grid. It showed electric vehicles can provide the backup Australia needs

On the day of a blackout, a trial of vehicle-to-grid technology proved both the capacity of electric vehicles to support grid stability and the importance of exactly when vehicles are charged.

09/07/2024 The Conversation

College credit for working your job? Walmart and McDonald’s are trying it

Imagine a world in which your resume relies less on titles or diplomas and acts more like a passport of skills you’ve proven you have.

08/07/2024 NPR

These plastics were ‘unrecyclable’. An Australian invention is changing that

Groundbreaking technology developed by University of NSW researchers transforms hard plastics from old office equipment into 3D printer feedstock.

06/07/2024 Sydney Morning Herald

A bench and a grandmother's ear: Zimbabwe’s novel mental health therapy spreads overseas

In Zimbabwe, talk therapy involving park benches and a network of grandmothers has become a saving grace for people with mental health issues

05/07/2024 The Independent

World’s biggest sodium-ion battery switches on, able to power 12,000 homes

The world’s largest energy storage facility ising next-generation sodium-ion batteries has begun operations in China. The 100,000 kWh project in the Hubei province is capable of storing enough electricity to power 12,000 homes on a single charge.

03/07/2024 The Independent

From the wheelchair to the bicycle: CAR-Ts achieve spectacular remissions against autoimmune diseases

The case of the first patient to receive immunological therapy against stiff person syndrome opens the door for the treatment to be used against other conditions, such as multiple sclerosis

02/07/2024 El País

Ravaged by civil war, how a national park was restored in Mozambique

Gorongosa National Park was decimated after the war that ended in 1992. But it is a successful conservation story today.

02/07/2024 Al Jazeera