Energy

an overhead shot of land split in three. the left side is dry and dusty. the middle has some vegetation, and the right side has a lot.

Desertification is destroying fertile land. Here’s how we’re fighting it.

a female presenting person in a lab coat holding a solar cell

New “tandem” solar cell breaks world record

A new tandem solar cell containing layers of silicon and perovskite has demonstrated an unprecedented efficiency of 33.7%.

Kristin Houser

Clean Energy

These 4 charts show the unstoppable growth of solar

Solar is growing fast enough to displace fossil fuels from the entire global economy before 2050, but infrastructure needs to keep up.

Andrew Blakers

Animals

Scientists have found the locust swarm pheromone

A locust swarm is flying famine, devouring millions of pounds of crops. Researchers have found the swarming trigger — and perhaps an answer to stopping it.

B. David Zarley

Disaster Response

Google wants to make the world’s largest earthquake detector

Google wants to create the world’s largest earthquake detector by using the accelerometers of Android phones and city-level location data.

B. David Zarley

Animals

These ultra-black deep-sea fish absorb over 99% of light

Researchers have discovered ultra-black deep-sea fish that can absorb over 99% of light. Their skin may hold secrets to creating new ultra-dark materials.

B. David Zarley

Oceans

Divers remove wildlife-killing “ghost nets” from shipwreck

The Healthy Seas initiative removes wildlife-killing “ghost nets” from the ocean so that they can be recycled into useful Econyl yarn.

Kristin Houser

Building trees in the Metaverse might actually save the forest

NatureXR, a new collective, is the first to build 3D model trees, then have scientists certify them as "real” for virtual reality.

Teresa Carey

Clean Energy

New solar cells could be a breakthrough in clean energy

Better solar cells are an objectively good thing. Two new breakthroughs may help us harness more light, more cost effectively.

B. David Zarley

Oceans

This underwater base could become the ISS of the ocean

Aquanaut Fabien Cousteau has announced plans to build Proteus, the world’s biggest underwater base for scientific research.

Kristin Houser

Sustainability

Want to save the planet? start with reinventing the motor

6:00

In partnership with Turntide

This highly efficient switched reluctance motor has the ability to save manufacturers millions of dollars and significantly reduce their carbon emissions.

Doug Dais

Animals

Crowdsourcing ideas for animal conservation technology

The Digital Makerspace looks to an online community of thinkers to identify the most crucial animal conservation problems and solutions.

Teresa Carey

Agriculture

Battling a locust swarm from space

Using data from NASA satellites, researchers are scouring East Africa for areas where a desert locust swarm might be born — so they can destroy the eggs.

Kristin Houser

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