How Twitter is helping to monitor and save forests
To monitor how trees are being affected by changes in their immediate environment, researchers are hooking them up to Twitter using a suite of sensors on and around their trunks. If you’d told me a few years ago that, in 2021, trees would be tweeting, I’d have likely laughed...
Current in Science
Colorado scientists grow first plants from Martian soil
In what’s being described as an extraordinary breakthrough in the aim of eventually colonising Mars, Colorado scientists have grown the first ever plants in Martian soil. We have definitive proof that the clover really is a lucky plant. Inside a research greenhouse at Colorado State University, agricultural biology student Franklin Harris...
Can fungi become a pillar for toxic waste clean ups?
In the last 20 years, mushrooms have proved a natural and cost-effective way of cleaning oil spills, contaminated soil, and toxic metals from lakes. Given our current climate crisis, should we be utilising fungi more? If you’re of the opinion that mushrooms are only good for a tasty risotto or...
Is TikTok to blame for the recent spike in teenage Tourettes?
New research has uncovered a ‘parallel pandemic’ of unexplained tics in young people, the sudden onset of which is likely to do with their social media use. It’s no surprise that the pandemic – bringing global devastation, millions of deaths, economic strife, and unprecedented curbs on social interaction – has...
Major solar storms could cause a global ‘internet apocalypse’
Every 100 years or so, normally harmless electromagnetic particles from the sun conjure a major solar storm. With the potential to damage electrical grids and undersea cables, scientists are concerned the next may cause a global ‘internet apocalypse’. In 2021, seeing Wi-Fi signal drop off in the lower corner of...
Astroscale satellite successfully removes space debris in first demo
Unveiled back in March, Astroscale developed a magnetic satellite capable of removing debris orbiting our planet. This week it has successfully completed its first outer space demo. This week, scientists hit a major milestone in the aim of removing space junk from our atmosphere. Back in March, we covered a story...
New Zealand startup uses microbes to recycle gold from e-waste
Mint Innovation is a New Zealand cleantech company that uses a clever combination of biology and chemistry to extract precious metals from our ever-growing e-waste. Ever stopped to think about e-waste? The likelihood is you have a drawer at home full of old phone chargers, flat batteries, and that one wire with a strange end you’ve forgotten the purpose of but remember is important. I know this because I have a...
NASA trials human expeditions to Mars through 3D printed experiment
The space agency is paying volunteers to spend a year living within a 3D printed Martian habitat in Texas. Here, they will conduct VR spacewalks and simulated problems to test the feasibility of attempting the real thing. Between the chaos caused by Covid-19 and the constant flow of demoralising climate change news, life on Earth over the last year has felt pretty exhausting. If your annual holiday to Tenerife hasn’t recharged...
First human flight for Bezos’ Blue Origin a success
Jeff Bezos was on board the first human flight for his space company Blue Origin today, which reached higher altitudes than Richard Branson’s efforts just last week. I wonder if CEO entrepreneur Jeff Bezos ever envisioned himself being launched into the heavens via a rocket built by his own private company when he founded Amazon all those years ago. That’s exactly what happened today, though, as Blue Origin launched its...
Can chemical upcycling solve the plastic waste crisis?
Scientists have discovered a way to transform plastic bottles into vanillin, the compound which gives vanilla its aroma and taste. Is it an innovative solution to plastic pollution, or just a headline-grabbing experiment? I’m sure you’ve heard about plenty of innovative recycling techniques, from tasteful art displays to quirky paper Coca Cola bottles. One which you probably haven’t heard of, however, is a newly developed process that can turn...
