Light-emitting plants to provide street lighting
Engineers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology created light-emitting plants that can be charged by an LED and used as a source of outdoor lighting.
Thanks to nanoparticles embedded near the surface of leaves, the plants can glow brilliantly for several minutes after receiving just a 10-second charge from an LED light. The nanoparticles, which use materials similar to those that give fireflies their glow, can be charged repeatedly.
The experiment succeeded with various leaf diameters and plant species, including basil, watercress, tobacco, daisy, and the Thailand elephant ear. Additionally, the plants continued to photosynthesize normally.
This research is part of a new field called plant nanobionics, which uses nanoparticles to add extra functions and capabilities to living plants, creating rechargeable glow-in-the-dark plants to provide. For example, street lighting is just one of many applications that now seem completely possible.
What capabilities would you give plants if you had free rein? What powers would your super-plant have? Please comment below.
Passive cooling using only sun and salt
Researchers at Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah University of Science and Technology developed a system that uses only salt and sunlight to cool space or refrigerate food at temperatures of 3.6ºC, without any electricity.
The machine takes advantage of a natural “phase-change” phenomenon that sees energy absorbed when salt crystals dissolve in water. In other words, when salt is added to warm water, the water rapidly cools as the salt dissolves.
The system can be used for cooling rooms as well as for food refrigeration. The salt can be crystallized and reused once again by evaporating the water using solar heat. The water can also be reused via a solar still.
What do you think of the potential for cooling without electricity? Would you want something like this for your home? Please let us know in the comments below.
Vegan leather alternative made from cellulose
A New York-based company Bucha Bio developed a leather alternative from bacterial nanocellulose and 100% plant-based components.
The material is water-resistant, scratch-resistant, sunlight-resistant, and flame-resistant. Its tensile strength and durability is comparable to that of traditional cowhide and superior to that of petrochemical plastic textiles, such as polyurethane.
The production requires little water and emits no greenhouse gases or toxic waste products. It can be grown in just a few weeks, which is faster than a typical run of petrochemical-based textiles and significantly faster than the years it takes to raise an animal to suitable slaughter weight.
It can fully replace all premium applications of animal leather, polyurethane, latex, vinyl, epoxy, and more.
Because the material is made from an infinitely renewable resource, produces zero waste, and needs minimal energy and water input, it can be a game-changer for both the fashion industry, but also for animal husbandry.
In short, we will no longer need to feel guilty about enjoying leather products for their beauty and utility value.
What do you think about this development? Please let us know in the comments below.
Animal feed made from industrial emissions
Chinese scientists developed the technology to turn industrial emissions into animal feed at scale.
The technology involves synthesizing industrial exhaust containing carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and nitrogen into proteins, using a particular bacterium involved in making ethanol.
This development promises to decrease China’s CO2 emissions into the environment, while providing animal feed in the process. The latter has the potential to free up vast amounts of agricultural land, which is currently being used to grow animal feed.
What do you think of the idea to use industrial CO2 to produce food for animals? What kind of impact could this have on the environment? Please let us know in the comments below.
Building material from food waste stronger than concrete
Researchers from The University of Tokyo developed a method to turn food scraps into a building material that is as much as three times stronger than concrete.
They used vacuum-dried, pulverized food scraps such as seaweed, cabbage leaves, orange, onion, pumpkin, and banana peels, mixed them with water and seasonings, and pressed them into a mold at high temperatures, using the “heat pressing” technique that is traditionally used to manufacture construction materials from wood powder.
With the exception of the pumpkin, all of the materials exceeded the bending strength target. Chinese cabbage leaves performed the best, producing a material that is three times stronger than concrete.
Interestingly, the new materials retained their edible nature, and the addition of salt or sugar improved their taste without reducing their strength.
Furthermore, the products resisted rot, fungi, and insects, and experienced no changes in appearance or taste after four months.
This development demonstrates how biomass can be grown sustainably and with no negative impact on the environment and replace highly-polluting materials, such as concrete.
How do you feel about the possibility of growing material for your concrete slab right in your backyard? Please let us know in the comments below.
Human proteins help plants grow 50% bigger
A study from the University of Chicago, Peking University and Guizhou University revealed that inserting a gene linked to human obesity into crops helps them grow bigger, thus dramatically improving plant growth and crop yield.
The researchers first studied how plants react to a foreign protein. When they found it didn’t harm the plants, they then infused rice and potato plants with a gene containing a protein associated with obesity in humans.
The protein chemically altered the genetic composition of the plants, resulting in 50% stronger growth, longer roots, better drought tolerance, and increased photosynthesis rates.
This development offers the possibility to increase yield from plants across the board.
Not only for food production, but also for timber, medicine, flowers, oil, biomass, etc.
As a result, we could get a lot higher yields from bio-engineered plants, but also reduce the strain on ecosystems and the planet, at the same time.
Do you agree that we need to use our knowledge and technology to improve agricultural yields? Or, do you oppose the idea and why? Please let us know in the comments below.
Transparent solar panels replace windows
The US-based Ubiquitous Energy installed 100 square feet of transparent solar glass above an entryway of a Michigan State University campus building.
The installation marks the first deployment of transparent solar panels at any building in the world. It should generate enough electricity to light up the building’s atrium.
Just like traditional solar panels, the transparent panels too convert sunlight into electricity. However, the transparent solar panels are unique in that they let visible light pass through while picking up just the invisible wavelengths of sunlight in the ultraviolet and the near-infrared ranges. The panels are visibly indistinguishable from traditional windows.
If all goes according to plan, all greenhouses will double as solar farms one day. Likewise, every surface currently covered by solar farms could soon double as productive agricultural land.
Not only will there be enough light under the panels to grow vegetables and other crops. The transparent solar panels will also reduce evaporation and conserve water while providing clean energy, at the same time.
What other applications do you see for see-through solar panels? How significant is this development? Please let us know in the comments below.
Smartphone screen that repairs itself
Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology in Kharagpur developed a material that could repair cracked mobile phone screens in less than a second.
The material converts mechanical energy to electrical energy and vice versa, which produces needle-shaped crystals of less than 2 by 0.2 millimeters. Their specific molecular arrangement generates a strong attractive force that binds the crystals together.
Every time a fracture occurs, the attractive force joins the pieces back again, without needing any external stimulus or energy.
Additionally, the self-healing material is 10 times harder than others, and it has an internal structure that is suitable for most electronics and optical applications.
For example, the material could be used for mobile phone screens that will repair themselves almost instantly if they fall and develop cracks.
How would you like a mobile phone or a watch that self-repairs its own screen in a matter of seconds and without you needing to do anything? What other devices could benefit from this material? Please let us know in the comments below.
Miniature living robots that can reproduce
Scientists from the University of Vermont created computer-designed organisms that can reproduce.
In this form of replication, the microscopic robots ingest single-cell organisms and after a few days release baby robots that look and move like their parents.
The newly-created organisms can be programmed to perform certain tasks, which can be extremely useful in many applications.
For example, in the future, we may have millions of completely natural and biodegradable nanobots roaming our bloodstream, searching for and eliminating diseases.
Because these nanobots can also reproduce themselves, it means they will be able to regulate their own levels depending on need and assignment.
What do you think of this development? What other possible application do you see for these new life forms? Please let us know in the comments below.
New solar cell is 1,000 times more efficient
Researchers from Martin Luther University in Halle-Wittenberg, Germany found a way to increase the photovoltaic effect of ferroelectric crystals 1,000 times by arranging three different materials periodically in a lattice.
The effect was achieved by creating crystalline layers of barium titanate, strontium titanate and calcium titanate which were alternately placed on top of one another.
Unlike silicon, ferroelectric crystals do not require a so-called pn junction to create the photovoltaic effect. This makes the ferroelectric-based solar panels much easier to produce.
While it is still too early for commercial application, this discovery could lead to a substantial increase in the efficiency of solar panels and further lower the cost of solar energy.
As a result, we could get a lot more electricity from the same panel area cheaper, and the panels might continue producing electricity even in sub-optimal conditions, possibly including darkness.
Under those circumstances, it is not difficult to imagine a world where everything is electrified without the need to rely on batteries for energy storage. In such a world, our cars for example could run completely on solar power generated from the vehicle surface area, giving them unlimited range with zero charging.
What other opportunities do you see that super-efficient solar panels could provide? Please let us know in the comments below.