Much of history have yet to be uncovered. Many are found underneath the ground surface or hiding in plain sight. So, what happens when builders come across ruins in an area that was supposed to be an industrial park? Preserve it, of course.

Ruins have a way of sharing the secrets of the past. They tell you how ancient man lived and what they used. The Mayans play an important role in history, and while experts have uncovered many of their secrets, there is much that still have to be discovered.

Mauricio Montalvo is the property owner of industrial park that was supposed to be developed. However, they have halted their efforts for now. “It is more important to preserve the Maya legacy,” Montalvo said. The efforts needed to be delayed when they came across a large Mayan settlement that had been estimated to come around 600 CE.

The site is filled with structures such as plazas, pyramids, and a natural sinkhole that us called a cenote. The latter is oftentimes a mainstay feature in Mayan settlements. They also estimated that there may have been around 4,000 people living in the area back then.

The city remained unknown until around 2015. The construction workers were simply there to prepare for the industrial park when they stumbled upon the ancient city. They then gave the temporary Maya name of “Xiol,” in the municipality of Kanasín. This is close to Yucatan’s capital of Merida. Upon its uncovering, work stopped to give a chance to archeologists to study the new findings.

Some newspapers labeled it as “lost city,” but it wasn’t the case. In fact, it was in plain view of the highway, as stated in Yucatan Magazine. However, it has new been dubbed as a historic site after it will be unveiled in the latter part of this year. They are going about with the excavations and restoration as of right now.

The site is around 51 acres now and excavators have also uncovered a large central plaza that’s in the middle of 12 restored buildings of living areas and workshops. It also has foundations of another 76 under the area’s vegetation. As for both the big buildings found on either side of the plaza, archeologists assume that these were the elite residencies at that time.

Aside from the buildings, they also discovered a burial that had the remains of 15 people. They saw different kinds of grave goods and an altar. These may have been used as part of a ritual in the burial ceremony they practiced.

Carlos Rosado van der Gracht, writing for Yucatan Magazine, said that there may be a possibility that were Maya, but also not Maya (which is a genetically-Maya subjugated city state).

In the months to come, the cavers start to explore the cenote. They still are unsure about the the remnants that they are about to find.

In the past discoveries, Maya settlements had been typically built around natural sinkholes. Thus, they have been considered one of the few sources of freshwater on the Yucatan. These have the tendency to be labeled as wells of discovery as well as water wells.

They have also recovered precious items such as jape, copper, marble, obsidian, human remains, beads, and several others that were found at the bottoms of the many eroded limestone features.

Now, the Yucatan Peninsula is known to the rest of the world as the Riviera Maya. The once richly populated centers in the territory of surrounding countries such as Guatemala and Belize have begun to decline at a fast pace. However, the populations on the peninsula have grown.

Why were these Maya habitation sites abandoned? The answers have eluded the experts to this very day. However, there may be several possibilities, according to historians, some of which would be extreme drought, warfare, or events that less disastrous such as changing trade patterns.

While there may still be unanswered questions, they hope that the discovery of the ruins will provide them with some answers that will help them further unlock the mysteries of the past. Whatever the outcome may be, these historic sites need to be preserved.

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Environmentalists have been scrambling to work on saving a variety of land and sea creatures. Many species have already been added to the list of endangered animals, and if nothing will be done about it, the world will have to pay the ultimate price.

Sea turtles, in particular, have been slowly disappearing. Groups have come together to create an environment that’s safe enough to lay their eggs on. Their efforts haven’t been futile because now, they have seen the fruits of their labor for the first time in ten years.

In fact, Galveston Island State Park became the site of one breakthrough. A routine survey was made and the people have uncovered a nest of 107 extremely precious turtle eggs that belonged to a Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle, a species listed as Critically Endangered. In reality, this is actually the most at-risk sea turtle on the planet.

According to experts, Kemp’s ridley is the smallest of all sea turtle species. They reach maturity at 58 to 70 cm (23 to 28 in) carapace length, and they weigh a mere 36 to 45 kg (79 to 99 lb). The typical sea turtles that you have come across has a dorsoventrally depressed body. They also have a specially adapted flipper-like front limbs as well as a beak.

As for the Kemp’s ridley turtle, the adults are about 75 cm (30 in) in carapace length and weigh 50 kg (110 lb) at their biggest. Its oval carapace is long and is olive-gray in color. This also has five pairs of costal scutes. As for their head, it comes with four prefrontal scales. These rare turtles change color as they get older and they only nest during the day.

For the last decade, it has been fruitless and lonely for Texas A&M’s Sea Turtle Patrol. They searched high and low for a find and they often found themselves disappointed. They haven’t come across a Lone Star State turtle nest. Last sighting was 2012 for them. However, they finally came across what they were looking for. The exhilarating discovery ended in mid-May when the eggs were brought to a safe incubation center. They needed to raise these the chances of survival for these babies to a near-certainty in order to take them out of the endangered list.

As said, Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle is a smoother, smaller turtle when compared to the more popular species such as the Green, Loggerhead, or Hawksbill sea turtles. They belong to one of just two members of the genus Lepidochelys and has been around for 160 million years in their present form.

These turtles are also widely dispersed around areas such as Mexico and in the U.S. But they were just recently discovered in Texas. In 1947, aerial surveys recorded around the beaches of Rancho Nuevo, Mexico, saw how this type would come ashore by the tens of thousands. Unfortunately, they have seen a catastrophic population disappearance.

“A lot of nesting habitat for the Kemp’s Ridley has been lost to storms, high tide and predation, which is why it is important to transport these nests to an environment where they have the best chance for survival into adulthood,” said Christopher Marshall He is a professor of Marine Biology at Texas A&M University at Galveston and Director for the Gulf Center for Sea Turtle Research.

“We almost lost the species to extinction,” Marshall told the Washington Post just recently. “This species has been with us for 140 [million], 160 million years, and we’re the ones responsible for almost sending it to extinction in the 1980s,” he added. “So it’s up to us to intervene and help bring this species back to a viable population level.”

Conservation efforts honed in on restoring and saving this marine reptile to its former hordes by 1980. By the early aughts, 10,000 of them were recorded nesting on Padre Island National Seashore. Then, two major declines followed, and by 2014, and the number of nests discovered on Padre Island went down by a whopping 45 percent. And on Galveston Island, they completely vanished in the blink of an eye.

Right now, they plan to continue the conservation efforts. They, along with the people of Smithsonian, had reported how about 5,500 individuals nest on the beaches of Mexico, and 55 nest in Texas. They plan to bring back the former breeding grounds and the fact that they see it has become a good sign of their recovery. They hope that A&M’s Turtle Patrol won’t have to wait decades to find another nest.

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There are tons of animal lovers out there that adopt as many puppies as they can. There are also those that search for a certain breed. Whatever the case may be, dogs deserve all our love because they make the most loyal of companions.

In the last few years, many have preached about adopting a puppy instead of shopping for one. Puppy mills don’t always come with equipment that give our canine friends enough room to move comfortably. Hence, they have been calling to shut down these mills.

Animal welfare groups have hoped that someone would actually listen to their battle cries, and they now have hope for the people of New York. They recently commended Legislature for the state because they have recently passed the Puppy Mill Pipeline Bill. For those who don’t know about this, this is the latest novel legislation that has been set to end the retail sale of dogs, cats, and rabbits that are kept in in pet stores all across the state.

The efforts have been advocated by Assembly member Linda B. Rosenthal and Senate Deputy Majority Leader Michael Gianaris. They have empathized with the pets sold in the store and have passed a bill that’s set to arrive at the desk of Gov. Kathy Hochul. If this bill is signed and turned into law, it would halt the flow of cruelly bred puppies to the state. No more prisons inside stores for our furry friends

“Over the years we have tried to regulate pet stores, but the industry continues to prioritize profits over the welfare of animals. My legislation will finally shut down the pet store-to-puppy mill pipeline once and for all,”  Linda B. Rosenthal said.

“With so many good animals in need of rescue, there is no need for abusive puppy mills to supply pet stores. Our four-legged companions should be treated with respect, not like commodities,” Senate Deputy Leader Michael Gianaris also stated.

The Puppy Mill Pipeline Bill comes with a lot of support, and some of whom is leading animal welfare groups SUCH AS the ASPCA (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), and several others. They are also backed by millions of New York animal lovers whose main goal is to provide support that ends selling puppies in several pet stores.

Puppies that come from these pet stores come from commercial breeding operations. The problem with the industry is that their priority is to mainly make profit. Unfortunately, these  puppies need love more than anything else. When dogs are bred in these facilities are mostly kept in areas that don’t have enough shelter, veterinary care, food, or socialization.

As a result, they may come out with severe health and behavioral issues. The families that buy them often find themselves unprepared and in shock for the financial loss and heartbreak that come with buying a less than healthy pup.

The system is extremely broken but they have been around for years now because selling dogs in pet shops is still considered legal in New York. Hence, the state has become one of the puppy mill industry’s largest markets. Once the Puppy Mill Pipeline Bill is signed and becomes law, New York will shut down their pipelines and deny cruel mills access the many communities in the area.

The news is hopeful to all the animal lovers out there.

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People make use of Styrofoam, or what is otherwise known as polystyrene, to package products and to keep fragile materials safe from the outside elements. No one really thought about how these are actually very detrimental to the environment.

Polystyrenes don’t dissolve quickly. When these are discarded, it takes decades before they fully decompose. However, there may be a worm that may just have a taste for them, which gives researchers hope when it comes to recycling.

They have called this decomposer a ‘superworm’ and they have an appetite for polystyrene. The research had been done and they hypothesized how this could be the answer to plastic recycling on a mass scale. This was according to a new study made on the worms and the polystyrene they consumed.

This specific species of worms is capable of munching through plastic waste because of a bacterial enzyme found in their gut, as according to the Australian scientists involved in the study. Dr. Chris Rinke and his team from the University of Queensland’s School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences made some remarkable observations. They fed these ‘superworms’ different diets in a three-week span of time. Some were even provided with polystyrene foam, others were given bran, and the rest were placed on a fasting diet.

They found out that the common Zophobas morio ‘superworms’ are able to eat their way through polystyrene. “We found the superworms fed a diet of just polystyrene not only survived, but even had marginal weight gains,” Dr Riske said. “This suggests the worms can derive energy from the polystyrene, most likely with the help of their gut microbes.”

The research team utilized a technique that’s known as metagenomics in order to find several encoded enzymes that have the ability to degrade polystyrene and styrene. Dr Riske says that the team has a long-term goal and that is to be able to engineer enzymes that are able to break down plastic waste in recycling plants via mechanical shredding, after which comes enzymatic biodegradation.

“Superworms are like mini recycling plants, shredding the polystyrene with their mouths and then feeding it to the bacteria in their gut,” he said. “The breakdown products from this reaction can then be used by other microbes to create high-value compounds such as bioplastics,” he also added.

The team has hopes that this new method of ‘bio-upcycling’ will incentivize plastic waste recycling and reduce landfills that have accumulated over the past several decades. Study co-author Jiarui Sun said that their goal is to grow the gut bacteria in the lab and do more tests in order to see the worm’s ability to degrade polystyrene.

“We can then look into how we can upscale this process to a level required for an entire recycling plant,” PhD candidate Ms. Sun explained.

Dr. Rinke also said there are several available opportunities for the biodegradation of plastic waste. “Our team is very excited to push the science to make it happen,” he added.

The findings of the study had been published in the journal Microbial Genomics.

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Plastics have become a problem in today’s world. Products are sold in plastic containers that most people don’t recycle. These end up in landfills, staying stagnant for decades. Breaking down the material isn’t as easy as biodegradable products.

Hence, scientists have been searching for ways to break down plastic, to ease the pile that’s been filling the landfills. They may have discovered the perfect compost for this – something that’s meant to answer the problem of waste accumulation.

Products such as PET plastic bottles, food containers, and lightweight wrap have been used for packaging. They do serve their purpose, but in the past few decades, these have also become a problem that the world has to deal with. When these aren’t recycled, these pile up and end up as unused trash. This is why scientists have searched high and low and rummaged through compost piles. With time and research, they finally discovered an enzyme that degrades the plastic quickly. Something that the world needs at this point in time.

The said enzyme is called PHL7. The German researchers found this in in Leipzig, in a heap of compost. This could make bio-PET recycling possible. More importantly, it could make it much faster than they once assumed. They recorded their findings and captured photos of it. The results are in a scientific journal made, and these have been an interesting find.

Enzymes are used in many ways. In nature, this is when bacteria decompose plant parts. It has been known that there are enzymes, the ones they call polyester-cleaving hydrolases, are also able to break down and degrade PET. For instance, the enzyme LCC was discovered in Japan in 2012. They saw that this was actually a very effective “plastic eater”.

The team that discovered enzyme PHL7 was led by Leipzig University researcher Dr. Christian Sonnendecker. They have been searching for previously undiscovered examples of these biological helpers. This was a part of the EU-funded projects called MIPLACE and ENZYCLE. They finally discovered the very enzyme they were searching for in the Südfriedhof cemetery hidden inside their compost sample.

They found a total of seven different enzymes. Out of all, PHL7 achieved results in the lab. The findings were above the average. In fact, it was twice as active as the former frontrunner in PET decomposition, which is LCC.

PET is the most widely produced plastic. They put this inside containers that were filled with an aqueous solution that was either PHL7 or LCC. They then measured the amount of plastic that was degraded after a specified amount of time so that they would be able to compare the both values.

The results of the study were published in ChemSusChem. The findings showed that within just 16 hours, PHL7 caused the PET to decompose by almost 90 percent. In the same amount of time given,  LCC was able to achieve a mere 45 percent degradation. “So our enzyme is twice as active as the gold standard among polyester-cleaving hydrolases,” Sonnendecker shared.

Another example was when PHL7 broke down a plastic clam-shell container (punnet). This is oftentimes utilized for selling ready-to-eat food in supermarkets. The punnet degraded in under 24 hours. The researchers behind it also discovered that a single building block in the enzyme is the very thing behind this superior activity.

At the site where other previously known polyester-cleaving hydrolases had what was known as phenylalanine residue, PHL7 had a leucine.

Biological PET recycling comes with perks as well when compared to the traditional recycling methods. The latter relied mainly on thermal processes. This is the process of melting plastic waste using high temperatures. This requires a lot of energy. Plus, the plastic’s quality decreases every single time it goes through the process of recycling.

But when using enzymes, they only require an aqueous environment and a temperature of 65 to 70 degrees Celsius (140-160 F.) in order to break down PET. It also comes with another benefit. The process is able to break down the PET into its components—terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol. The components can then be reused to produce new PET. This brings about a closed cycle. Right now, unfortunately, biological PET recycling has only been tested by a pilot plant in France by Carbios.

A Process for Reusing Plastic that’s Environmentally-Friendly

Professor Wolfgang Zimmermann had played a key role in establishing research activity into enzyme-based technologies at Leipzig University. He says that enzyme will one day make an important contribution to the environment. “The biocatalyst now developed in Leipzig has been shown to be highly effective in the rapid decomposition of used PET food packaging and is suitable for use in an environmentally-friendly recycling process in which new plastic can be produced from the decomposition products,” he said in a statement.

Biological Recycling Should Not Be Costly

At this point in time, the researchers from Leipzig are searching for ideal industrial partners when it comes to the use PHL7 in advancing biological recycling. They are all convinced that the higher speed will be able to lower the expenses that often come with traditional recycling. Their goal in the next two to three years is to create a prototype that will be able to quantify the economic benefits of their rapid biological recycling process in a more precise fashion.

The scientists on Professor Jörg Matysik’s team at the Institute of Analytical Chemistry also want to clarify and further illuminate the structure and function of the enzymes with the use of NMR spectroscopy.

They are currently working on a new pretreatment method to solve a problem in biological recycling as well: PET decomposition with the use of enzymes just worked for so-called amorphous PET. These have been primary used in items such as fruit packaging. However, this hasn’t been used for plastic bottles made of PET with higher crystallinity just yet.

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In yet another bid to help make the world greener, researchers have found that they can use a widespread species of blue-green algae to power a microprocessor continuously for an entire year, and still counting. And incredibly, all they’re using is ambient light and water. Moreover, their system has potential to be an incredibly renewable and reliable way to power small devices.

About the size of an AA battery, the system has a type of non-toxic algae named Synechocystis that can naturally harvest energy from the sun through the natural process of photosynthesis. This generates a tiny electrical current that interacts with an aluminum electrode, which is what powers the microprocessor.

The system uses inexpensive, common, and mostly recyclable materials overall. What this means is that it can be replicated easily hundreds of thousands of times in order to power big numbers of small devices, such as those that can be categorized under the Internet of Things.

The researchers share that it is more likely to be useful in off-grid situations or in otherwise remote areas – like when camping or hiking – where small amounts of power are beneficial to the user.

Professor Christopher Howe, from the University of Cambridge’s Department of Biochemistry, who was also co-senior author of the paper, said, “The growing Internet of Things needs an increasing amount of power, and we think this will have to come from systems that can generate energy, rather than simply store it like batteries.”

“Our photosynthetic device doesn’t run down the way a battery does because it’s continually using light as the energy source,” he added.

During experimentation, the device was used to power a microprocessor that’s widely used in Internet of Things devices called Arm Cortex M0+. During operation, it was in a domestic environment with semi-outdoor conditions beneath natural light and associated temperature fluctuations. After six months of continuous power production, the results were presented for publication.

First author of the paper, Dr. Paolo Bombelli of the University of Cambridge’s Department of Biochemistry, shared, “We were impressed by how consistently the system worked over a long period of time—we thought it might stop after a few weeks but it just kept going.”

Notably, the algae doesn’t need feeding either since it creates its own food as it photosynthesizes. And even though photosynthesis requires light, the device can still produce power during any periods of darkness. The scientists believe that it’s because the algae has the ability to process some of its own food despite the lack of light, which continues to generate an electrical current.

The Internet of Things is a huge and growing network of electronic devices, with each one using just a small amount of power, which collects and shares real-time data through the internet. By using low-cost computer chips and wireless networks, hundreds of thousands, if not billions of devices are part of this network, such as smartwatches to temperature sensors in power stations. This figure is even expected to grow to one trillion devices by the year 2035, which means they’ll require an even bigger number of portable energy sources.

The researchers also claim that powering trillions of Internet of Things devices using lithium-ion batteries is entirely impractical since it requires three times more lithium than what’s already produced annually throughout the world. Moreover, common photovoltaic devices are made using hazardous materials which have negative environmental effects.

You can see the study published in the Energy & Environmental Science journal.

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Backpackers, campers, RVers, wilderness researchers, and anyone in between who needs a bit of USB power in the great outdoors are going to be incredibly happy after they hear about this incredible new product.

This portable turbine named ‘Shine Turbine’ weighs just three pounds, or a little less than 1.5 kilos, and can charge your gadgets with the wind. Launched on Kickstarter just last year, and then on Indiegogo recently, this tiny powerhouse has already made over $400,000 in its latest round of crowdfunding.

Weighing just 3 pounds and having 30 watts of power, you can set it up in just two minutes where it need around 8 to 28 mph wind speed range to get it working at 12,000 mAh, which makes up its internal battery.

It’s so small, that it can fit into anyone’s backpack, plus it’s more than easy to set up. Just set up the tripod and stick in into the ground using the tensioning cables, then mount the turbine on top and plug your device into the button section where it will get up to 40 watts.

It just takes the force of the wind to make the turbine spin, and it doesn’t even matter from which direction the wind is coming from, it will always produce power for as long as there’s enough required wind.

The Shine Turbine is manufactured by Aurea Technologies, a company based in Nova Scotia. They made sure to pay extreme attention to the design and materials that they used to design the device to make sure that both the weight and size of the device were as low as possible. Any backpacker or camper will tell you that the least weight you carry, as well as the smallest space it has to use, is always going to be two key factors to the items they’re willing to bring along during their treks in the great outdoors.

By creating a battery that only takes up a third of the weight of the entire product, all the other parts were precisely developed to be incredibly light. This includes the turbine blades used, which are made from polycarbonate reinforced plastic that happen to fold out of the body of the product, as well as a tripod made from aluminum, which is very light too.

Originally, Aurea’s first plans were to make miniature turbines that could be built into building facades, but they chose to take a different turn. Now, campers and all types of outdoorsmen can preorder their very own Shines at a huge 40% off retail, making it just $324 for one, or approximately $418 Canadian dollars. The estimated shipping date as of now is October 2022, so order one soon if you plan to do any hiking or camping closer to the end of the year.

Check out the video below to see more on this amazing product.

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Stars in the solar system eventually use up all of their fuel, and when that happens, they end up shrinking to form what’s called white dwarfs. But there are times when these dead stars flare back up to life in an extremely hot explosion, which produces a fireball of X-ray radiation.

Incredibly, a research team managed to observe one of these explosions of X-ray lights for the first time in history.

According to astrophysicist, Ole König, from the Astronomical Institute at FAU, “It was to some extent a fortunate coincidence, really. These X-ray flashes last only a few hours and are almost impossible to predict, but the observational instrument must be pointed directly at the explosion at exactly the right time.”

The instrument used for this particular case is the eROSITA X-ray telescope, which is currently located one and half million kilometers from Earth – approximately 932000 miles – as it surveys the sky for soft X-rays, something it has been doing since 2019.

On July 7, 2020, it managed to measure a strong X-ray radiation in an area of the sky that was completely unobtrusive just four hours before that. Four hours later, when the X-ray telescope surveyed the same area in the sky, the radiation had disappeared. What follows is that ‘the X-ray flash that had previously completely overexposed the center of the detector must have lasted less than eight hours.’

Theoretical research done more than 30 years ago predicted that X-ray explosions such as this, but they have actually never been observed directly, until this time. These fireballs of X-rays happen on the stars’ surface which were originally comparable in size to the sun before they used up most of their fuel, which is made of hydrogen and later on helium deep within their cores.

These ‘stellar corpses’ shrivel up until all that remains are “white dwarfs,” which are usually similar in size to the Earth but have a mass that can be similar to that of the sun.

Explained by Jörn Wilms, “One way to picture these proportions is to think of the Sun being the same size as an apple, which means Earth would be the same size as a pin head orbiting around the apple at a distance of 10 meters.”

These Stellar Corpses Look Like Gemstones

The scientists also explained that on the other hand, if you shrink an apple to the same size of a pin head, this small particle would still keep it’s comparatively large weight of the apple. Wilms shares, “A teaspoon of matter from the inside of a white dwarf easily has the same mass as a large truck.”

They also explain that since these burnt out stars are mostly made up of oxygen and carbon, which can be compared to gigantic diamonds that are the same size as Earth as they float around in space. These objects, which are in the form of precious gems, are so hot that they actually glow white. Yet, the radiation is so weak, making it hard to detect from Earth.

That is, unless the white dwarf is accompanied by a star that happens to still be burning, or when the massive gravitational pull of the white dwarf draws hydrogen from the shell of the accompanying star.

FAU astrophysicist Wilms says, “It time, this hydrogen can collect to form a layer only a few meters thick on the surface of the white dwarf.” At this layer, the massive gravitational pull produces such huge pressure that’s so great, it makes the star reignite. In a chain reaction, it eventually becomes a major explosion where the layer of hydrogen is blown off. The X-ray radiation of an explosion this huge is what managed to hit the eROSITA detectors on July 7, 2020, which produced the overexposed image.

“Using the model calculations we originally drew up while supporting the development of the X-ray instrument, we were able to analyze the overexposed image in more detail during a complex process to gain a behind the scenes view of an explosion of a white dwarf, or nova,” explains Wilms.

The results, which were published in the Nature journal, the white dwarf has around the same mass as the sun, making it relatively large. The explosion produced a fireball with a temperature of around 327,000 degrees, which makes it almost sixty times hotter than the sun.

These novae tend to run out of fuel quite fast, and they also cool rapidly, which makes the X-ray radiation becomes weaker until it becomes visible light eventually. This is what reached Earth half a day after the detection was made by the eROSITA which was seen by the optical telescopes.

Ole König said, “A seemingly bright star then appeared, which was actually the visible light from the explosion, and so bright that it could be seen on the night sky by the bare eye.”

Apparently “new stars” such as this one have been observed in the past, and they were named “nova stella” or “new star” precisely because of their unpredictable appearance. But because these novae are only visible after the X-ray flash, it’s quite hard to predict such outbreaks, left mostly to chance when these flashes hit the X-ray detectors.

König said, “We were really lucky.”

Take a look at the video below to see more on this amazing discovery.

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For some people, hearing and seeing are luxuries that they don’t possess, yet this doesn’t mean that they can’t communicate. In fact, there’s a special community in Washington State that have created their own human language known as pro-tactile ASL, which has gained recognition in recent years.

Reportedly birthed from the spirit of human connection, people that cannot see nor hear actually use another person’s body as their canvas, and there they communicate an innumerable amount of feelings, ideas, or just the usual speech that two or more people may have with one another.

While humans that speak verbally tend to use different kinds of additional sensory signals to help those with hearing or listening disabilities – like making hand gestures or faces – touching to communicate, especially on the face or thigh, is usually reserved for those with incredibly close human connections.

For those speaking in American Sign Language, or ASL, it can be weird to see “the literalness” of certain signs come to life. For example, while the speaker may be saying the word “jolly” as a way to describe someone’s waist size – like with Santa Claus – ASL doesn’t have that luxury and normally have to call the word they are signing as the actual word.

But when it comes to people that cannot hear nor see, language is even more ‘stripped of its societal layers,’ becoming even way more human.

According to Katherina Ellen Foley, who wrote an article in Quartz, she shared that during a first-hand encounter with a DeafBlind American, she shared how the gentleman using pro-tactile ASL shared through an ASL interpreter that “it’s the same concept as learning any other language, it’s just connecting with the group of people whose language you want to learn.”

Foley gave the example, “I climb a tree” where the singer takes someone’s arm and does the sign for walking up the arm as if the arm was a tree. When it comes to “lollipop,” it’s almost the same, except that the signer uses a closed fist for the candy portion. Although this may seem hard to interpret, a deaf ASL interpreter shared that “context is key” in all languages.

Notably, while a closed fist at the end of a forearm could mean a number of things, such as a hammer or a lollipop or many others, but the it’s the context of the actual sentence that will help both the speakers and signers to the correct inference. Much like the English language, people can detect certain words that are used depending on the focus of the sentence, such as “fair” or “fare” or “bear” or “bare.”

In America, the possible number of people that are blind and deaf is around 50,000, and this new type of language is becoming increasingly popular. Tactile Communications happens to be the business that provides the needed training in a culturally and linguistically appropriate setting in order to properly promote the autonomy of the DeafBlind community. And back in 2016, this special language which grew within their own group, was even showcased in the White House.

It’s important to understand that communication is not defined simply by a domain of words and mouth sounds, but it’s a way of understanding between individuals. By going back to this core principle was what pushed this pro-tactile system to grow.

An article in OPB shared that Tactile Communications founder, Jelica Nuccio, ‘set up communication environments without the crutch of interpreters to help ensure the skill was born of a symbiosis between necessity and invention.’ Incredibly, it has been making a very big difference in the lives of those all around the country.

To see more about this story, take a look at the video below.

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Water and electronics don’t usually mix well together. When a gadget falls into the water, this oftentimes elicits a panic from the person. This means that the item that fell into the water is forever destroyed. This can be such an inconvenience.

The good news is that some scientists have spent time for research and may have come across a method of making electronics from H₂O. This could bring about big changes in the field, one that the consumers can look forward to in the future.

Yes, water has become the secret ingredient to create electronics. They use this compound in a straightforward fashion to come up with key components for products such as solar cells, X-ray detectors, and other optoelectronics devices.

Here comes what may be the next generation of photovoltaics, semiconductors, and LEDs. These could be created with the use of perovskites, which is an exciting and versatile nanomaterial with a crystal structure.

It has been discovered that perovskites actually show the same kind of efficiency to silicon. These are a lot more affordable to make as well as feature a tuneable bandgap. The latter simply implies that the energy they are able to absorb, reflect, or conduct can be altered to adapt to the different purposes it may serve.

As mentioned previously, water is often kept as far away as possible when they create perovskites. That’s because the moisture that comes from it can bring about defects that may appear eventually, causing the materials to crumble or disintegrate more quickly when these are used in a device.

Because they need to keep water away, perovskites utilized for scientific research are often created using spin coating in a sealed environment of what they call a nitrogen glove box. However, members of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Exciton Science have discovered a very simple way to control the growth of phase-pure perovskite crystals by using H₂O as its positive factor. The best part is that this liquid-based mechanism will work at room temperature, which means that the new method will be cost-effective as well.

The project is led by the researchers who work at Monash University. The team discovered that by changing the ratio of water to solvent during the young stages of the entire process, they would have the choice of growing a variety of perovskite crystals that come with structures that can adapt to different purposes.

“By carefully tuning the concentration of water in the precursor solution, we realized the precise control of particular perovskite phases,” corresponding author, Dr. Wenxin Mao of Monash University, explained.

The computational and thermodynamic analysis that was done by colleagues at the University of Sydney were able to identify and point out that the coordination of lead and bromide ions in the precursor solution. This was crucial for them when it came to determining which kinds of crystals could be formed by the process.

“We now understand the internal mechanics and function of water inside the precursor solution. By doing that we can further use water to control the crystallization process,” lead author Qingdong Lin, a PhD student at Monash University, also said.

They also needed to test quality of the final product, and to demonstrate how well it worked, crystals produced through this process were coupled with back-contact electrodes via nanofabrication in order for them to make X-ray detection devices.

This test sample worked well and performed just like the commercial X-ray detectors that have been used in the real-world. The same goes for the medical imaging and Geiger counters. These actually performed better than the prototype perovskite X-ray detectors that were made and developed with the use of the slower, more complex fabrication methods.

Wenxin shared, “We compared them with commercial X-ray detectors as well as other types of perovskites and we do have a very good responsivity and sensitivity to X-rays. Overall this project shows that we have found a smart way to control inorganic perovskite single crystals. The methodology is flexible and feasible and doesn’t require a very unique environment or technique to apply it.”

Aside from solar cells, X-ray detectors, and LEDs, these perovskites made using the H₂O method could also come in handy with the creation of UV light detection, lasers, and solar concentrators.

This work made had been recently published in Advanced Functional Materials.

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Lake Tahoe has become a popular vacation destination. The surroundings are beautiful and people have gone there to get some rest and respite from their very busy lives. Unfortunately, tourism comes with a very high price.

People have gone to the lake to swim, but there some that unwittingly or purposefully left their trash behind. What was once a clear and pristine body of water is now home to tons of garbage that may eventually pollute the lake.

Something needed to be done about this, and fortunately, a group of divers have dedicated much of their time to clean the area.

Recently, a scuba dive team was able to finish an amazing cleanup effort for Lake Tahoe. It took them one whole year to do this and by then, they had been able to successfully pull up more than 12 tons of trash that have managed to submerged to the bottom of the lake.

The effort was organized by a nonprofit organization that called themselves Clean Up The Lake. The team involved had restored every inch of 72 miles of the crystal blue lake’s shoreline and sub-shore. They collected a total of 24,797 pieces of litter, and these weighed a whopping 25,281 pounds all in all.

In order to pull this off, the divers circumnavigated the lake. It wasn’t surprising that they collected the typical plastic and glass litter. Along with the usual trash, they also found lost wallets and engagement rings that must have been precious to the previous owners.

“Over the past year, despite winter weather, COVID, and wildfire related challenges, our dive team has been in the water at every opportunity to complete this unforgettable effort,” said Colin West. He is the founder and executive director of Clean Up The Lake.

As for the organization, that say that their “mission is to fight back against plastic and all forms of pollution in our global environment, both on land and under the surface, starting with Lake Tahoe and the Cayes in Belize.”

“Ultimately what we hope people remember is the length that one group of individuals was willing to go to in order to protect their home and their planet, and in turn people should ask themselves how they are choosing to contribute to preserving our environment today,” added West.

The project had become a reality with the help of a $100,000 matching donation from Tahoe Blue Vodka, The Tahoe Fund, and Nevada’s Lake Tahoe License Plate program, others organizations.

“I still can’t quite grasp what our team has accomplished,” said West. “Completing this 72-mile clean-up is a testament to what our team is capable of, and we are just getting started.”

The divers had also been able to collect vintage Nikon film cameras, lamp posts, massive pieces of broken down boats, engine blocks, and even cordless telephones.

The project has become a success and Clean Up The Lake plans to go further. They said that they will be performing cleanups across three other lakes this year: Donner Lake, Fallen Leaf Lake in the Tahoe basin, and the June Lake.

These 2022 projects don’t come cheap. Any additional funding will help. For those interested to do so, they can provide donations to the CleanUpTheLake.org site.

Furthermore, Tahoe Fund has commissioned the help of different artists so that they may be able to fashion a sculpture with the use of the recovered items they have with them.

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Humans are big into self-care. They have daily routines to keep their skin soft and smooth. They say that there are many characteristics that set people apart from the rest of the members in the animal kingdom, but there may be another creature that comes close to their intelligence.

Dolphins, like humans, are social creatures. They enjoy swimming in groups and have been known to communicate with each other in unique ways. Now, it’s been discovered that they also have their own self-care routine, and it has many fascinated.

A shocking footage was caught and this showed how dolphins rubbed their bodies against a particular coral. The researchers had come up with several theories regarding this and one possibility is that they do this to extract the healing elements within the coral, ones that help keep their skin healthy.

The researchers that observed them say that this is their version of taking a shower after they sleep. For people, when they see a rash appear on their skin, they might go to the nearest pharmacy and purchase an ointment for this. Like people, these Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins aren’t immune to suffering from a few skin conditions. The latest study shows how these mammals have come up with their own method of self-medication. They do this by lining up (nose-to-tail) and rub themselves against the corals found on the seafloor.

Researchers looked into this and discovered that some corals have medicinal properties. Hence, these dolphins make use of the invertebrates as medication for the skin condition they may have.

Co-lead author and a wildlife biologist at the University of Zurich in Switzerland, Dr. Angela Ziltener, first noticed how these dolphins rubbed against coral in the Northern Red Sea, off the coast of Egypt. She had began her observations 13 years ago. She and her team of researchers took note of how they had carefully selected the corals from which they rubbed against. They wanted to understand the reasons behind this.

“I hadn’t seen this coral rubbing behavior described before, and it was clear that the dolphins knew exactly which coral they wanted to use,” Dr. Ziltener said. “I thought, ‘There must be a reason.’”

Most dolphin research that were made in the past had been conducted above the water. Luckily, Dr. Ziltener is a certified diver. She made the decision to study the dolphins from up close and underneath the ocean where much of the activity took place.

She didn’t jump into the research very quickly, First, she needed to earn their trust. She did this slowly and she eventually succeeded because she saw that the dolphins weren’t frightened by the large bubbles produced by the tank of air she used. The pod had eventually gotten used to her and welcomed her into the fold. She was able to visit them regularly. As they took a closer look at the corals, they were able to identify what these were from the samples they collected.

Dr. Ziltener and her team tested the samples of the corals and discovered that by repeatedly rubbing themselves against these, the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins had managed to agitate the tiny polyps that had been part of the coral community. In response to the rub, the invertebrates released mucus that came into contact with the dolphins’ skin.

The researchers also wanted to understand the properties of the mucus that came from the corals. With the samples that came from gorgonian, leather, and sponge corals, these were carefully studied and analyzed using the latest equipment. The findings they came up with had been published in the journal iScience/Cell Press.

Study lead author Professor Gertrud Morlock and her team discovered that the mucus had 17 active metabolites that exhibited antibacterial, antioxidative, hormonal, and toxic activities. They discovered these bioactive compounds and they were led to believe that the mucus of the corals and sponges have the ability to regulate the skin’s microbiome as well as treat infections.

“Repeated rubbing allows the active metabolites to come into contact with the skin of the dolphins,” Professor Morlock, an analytical chemist and food scientist at Justus Liebig University in Germany, had stated. He added, “These metabolites could help them achieve skin homeostasis and be useful for prophylaxis or auxiliary treatment against microbial infections.”

The corals live in reefs that are considered important places for the local dolphin populations. These are spots for them to rest and enjoy.

He said, “Many people don’t realize that these coral reefs are bedrooms for the dolphins, and playgrounds as well.”

In between naps, Dr. Ziltener noticed how these dolphins wake up to perform the coral rubbing routine that they’ve often observed.

According to the doctor, “It’s almost like they are showering, cleaning themselves before they go to sleep or get up for the day.”

Watch the attached video.

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Can something beautiful come out from something nasty? With time, energy, money, and most importantly, dedication, the answer is a loud, resounding yes. What was once considered a dump has become one of the most beautiful places on earth.

The Cuyahoga National Park didn’t always look like the way it is. It was unsightly and unlivable. The place was ridden with toxic chemicals. It was also where people dumped their old, rusted cars. When you look at it now, you’ll be amazed at the difference.

President Gerald Ford decided to sign a bill that started the creation of Cuyahoga National Recreation Area in Ohio in 1974. Surrounding the site was a local garbage dump. They had assumed that this could easily be cleaned and cleared. They were very much mistaken. The park had been littered with waste and filled with toxic chemicals.

The National Park Service (NPS) had actually found out that it was a disarray because it had become a chemical wasteland. The water and soil there were so polluted that these were flammable. Cleaning it wouldn’t happen overnight. In fact, it took them decades, but the effort clearly paid off because they were able to convert it. The best part was that this was done at the polluters’ expense. Now, the park is a vital marsh ecosystem that is home to some of the highest biodiversity in the region.

Years back, thousands of rusted barrels that was filled with leaking and congealed industrial slime. Around it were a mix of pesticides, arsenic, paint, and heavy metals that were littered on the ground. You could see discarded tires as well, but now, these are gone. On the floor are peaceful forested ponds that are filled with fish, insects, and amphibians. You can also witness black-eyed Susans, New England asters, swamp milkweed, and foxglove, birds, bees, and butterflies that cover the borders of this vibrant ecosystem. It has become so clean that NPS staff, in fact, say you could eat the very dirt on its ground.

“This was a toxic wasteland only a few decades ago. To find this diversity of species there today is remarkable,” said Ecologist for Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Chris Davis.

The tragedy started when the Krejci (krech-ee) family opened up a dump along a river between Akron and Cleveland in 1940. This happened before municipal waste management even became an idea. The people in the area had been left responsible for their own waste disposal, and Krejci family unwittingly offered them a far-off place to do so.

The years had passed and the dumping continued. The 200-acre site, with 50 acres of being used as landfills, had started to accept heavier waste. In fact, most of the manufacturers from the Rust Belt had now depended on Krejci for disposal. Included here were harmful chemicals that no one wanted to touch.

Stuck with the Present Bill

Time had passed and the Cuyahoga had been slowly cleaned. It became a National Recreation Area. Then, eventually a national park. This is the only one of its kind found in the Rust Belt states. Unfortunately, it wasn’t as clean as they thought. Visitors began to get sick. The members of the NPS wanted to look into the situation and see why it had been so severe. They saw the problem and realized that the chemicals that once leaked in the area were still present. They then started a 25-year cleanup program.

As the leader for the cleanup, NPS needed money for this somewhat expensive project. They nominated Shawn Mulligan, a former Assistant Attorney General for Colorado, as an attorney that represented their group. Mulligan would go after big companies such as Chevron, Ford, Federal Metal Co., and Chrysler for the price of $50 million accrued for damages. These conglomerates had to pay for what they destroyed.

“It was unfair to the American public to bear all these costs,” Mulligan said when he spoke to NPS magazine. “The National Park Service should not contain sacrifice zones. Every parcel of property is held in the public trust, and we have a responsibility to do everything we can to protect and preserve that resource.”

The case wasn’t quick. In fact, it dragged on. In the process, a few of the EPA legal staff believed that they’d see good results on their side. Eventually, as the NPS reported in a 2016 magazine issue, the Ford company talked to the NPS legal team. They came up with a solution, and it was to let the Motor City mechanics pay for and organize the entire cleanup process.

And So It Begins

NPS nominated Veronica Dickerson for this. She was the environmental protection and safety manager for Cuyahoga Valley National Park. They wanted her to assist in overseeing the project.

“To get assigned to it, you’re like a little kid getting a Christmas present,” Dickerson said when he spike to ABC news Cleveland the previous year. “It was amazing to… start to work on this project and see it through completion.”

However, it wouldn’t be easy. Burying the toxic waste that had accumulated over time posed a serious hazard to the people involved. The toxic components had already infested the water table, soil, and all the other areas that went beyond the end of the park’s fences.

It was a good thing that Ford had offices and resources to offer. They hired contractors who needed to excavate the contaminated soils. As they dig deeper, they saw an accumulation of sludge and more dangerous carcinogens such as polychlorinated biphenyls, or polyaromatic hydrocarbons.

Still, the pursued and they got rid of the rusted cars and barrels, tires, and other kinds of waste and old machinery. The clearing out took place from 2002 to 2012. They also got rid of 400,000 tons of contaminated dirt. This is actually tantamount to around 20 feet worth of topsoil.

Once the barrels were completely cleared and the soil samples had been devoid of containments, the men contoured the ground in order to match the ecosystem around it. They also built several wetlands on the 50-acre dumping site.

How Krejci Dump is Now

The work had truly paid off because today, they site is filled with indigenous plants. It has become the natural wetlands where a variety of plant and animal species live and thrive.

Park visitors now come to visit the area and take photos of the beautiful surroundings. They get to experience the full-summer landscape in the midst of a growth of native wildflowers and grasses. They can enjoy sites of turtles sunning themselves as they perch on floating logs. And if they listened intently, they could hear birds sing atop of trees.

Ford has done its part as well. The people behind the company have been involved every step of the way. They have paid their debt to society and shelled out a total of $29 million for it. Still, they work to see that the grasses and vegetation grow undisturbed to this very day. They also make sure that soil erosion never takes place in the now pristine lad.

“[The Krejci site] is now as clean as any natural area in the park,” Dickerson said. “That’s something remarkable, considering what it was in 1985.”

He also added, “You can categorize wetlands and these are right up there with a three and a four (the top rating for wetlands). They can sustain high levels of benthic communities and critters and turtles. They can sustain life here. It’s a vibrant resource for them.”

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When it comes to energy use, many have come to realize the need to go green. Solar panels may be the way to go. Getting electricity will be much cheaper because they get their energy from the ultimate source – the sun.

Unfortunately, solar panels aren’t easy to get. These may be available from a variety of suppliers, but these come at a price. While the investment may be worth it, there must be a better way to gain easy access to solar panels.

Yes, solar panels have become extremely popular. Now, IKEA has brought everyone a step closer to getting some of these much-needed energy source. They will make installation so much more doable by selling these in their stores worldwide.

The sale will launch this fall in California. Now, members of the U.S. IKEA Family customer loyalty program will be able to get these home solar solutions, which is available through SunPower. People can now generate and store their own renewable energy in the comforts of their own home. This may be the answer to a more sustainable way of living.

“At IKEA, we’re passionate about helping our customers live a more sustainable life at home. We’re proud to collaborate with SunPower to bring this service to the U.S. and enable our customers to make individual choices aimed at reducing their overall climate footprint,” said Javier Quiñones, CEO & Chief Sustainability Officer, IKEA U.S.

“The launch of Home Solar with IKEA will allow more people to take greater control of their energy needs, and our goal is to offer the clean energy service at additional IKEA locations in the future,” Quiñones also added.

When Home Solar partners with IKEA, their combine strength will be an ideal partnership. IKEA has the knowledge in retail while SunPower has the know-how of life at home. The latter is a trusted brand and they have more than 35 years of experience in the field of solar industry.

SunPower, a company reputed for delivering innovative solar products and making it easy for people to change to renewable energy, has decided to further its reach. This piece of good news is something everyone can look forward to.

“We are thrilled to deliver exceptional solar products to IKEA customers through a unique and simplified buying experience,” said Peter Faricy, CEO of SunPower. “Together with IKEA, we can help introduce the incredible benefits of solar to more people and deliver on our shared value of making a positive impact on the planet.”

Home Solar with IKEA may be the answer to becoming more circular and climate positive by the year 2030. In the U.S., IKEA has a great mass reach and a robust portfolio for renewable energy. They have two wind farms, two solar farms, a couple of geothermal systems, seven biogas-fuel cells, and rooftop solar arrays, all of which are available in 90 percent of IKEA locations.

Moreover, IKEA U.S. also recently launched the Buy Back & Resell service. This national move was made in a total of 37 of their store locations. The allows IKEA Family members the ability to sell back their well-used IKEA furniture in lieu of a store credit. Participants of this service now have the ability to return their used furniture and give it a second life by reselling it in IKEA’s As-Is section. This is a good way to provide a more sustainable and affordable option for those who are living on a tight budget.

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All across Europe, architects, planners, and courageous artists have been transforming boring, flat, and grey rooftops into gorgeous, lively community hubs.

From a variety of places such as art venues, solar farms, public parks, and rainwater catchments, it seems that this idea has been one of the most innovative and interesting ways to utilize tons of otherwise unused space.

The European Creative Rooftop Network (ERCN), which is leading this initiative, describes themselves as ‘a network of organizations working ‘together apart’ to use European rooftops as creatively as possible. Why? Because the future lies in this partially undiscovered layer of urban space. From the generation of new places to meet and the creation of cultural breeding grounds, to innovating living labs exploring sustainability – anything is possible.’ The hope is to connect various organization in different European cities, such as Antwerp and Barcelona, that are working to ‘aim high’ as cultural hotspots, while also creating amazing spaces and living labs that work towards sustainability.

Rotterdam, which is a city in the Netherlands, has at least 150 million square feet of unused rooftop space. The municipality’s program, called Multifunctional Rooftops, has been encouraging the city’s building owners to try and make changes to their rooftops in order to improve their water collection, or at least to “yellow” them by installing solar panels.

Very much like the High Line in New York City, the Luchtpark Hofbogen sits on top of a heritage train station, which has been converted into a rambling rooftop park.

Just this month, Multifunctional Rooftops hosted the Rotterdam Rooftop Days festival, which aims to educate people about the different possible uses for city rooftops. During the festival, they will highlight a pair of exhibits showing off public spaces on a number of different rooftops that are connected via colored bridges.

And it’s not only in areas throughout Amsterdam and nearby cities that are looking into this rooftop initiative, but other ERCN chapters include Gothenburg, Belfast, Nicosia, Faro, Chemnitz, and Antwerp.

Meanwhile in Barcelona, Spain, another group named Coincidencies is also building a network of cultural exhibition areas that will include performances areas and concert venues.

In Cyprus, Nicosia is also seeing major success in transforming their roofs into beautiful attractions. Learning Center, which is on the top of Stelios Ioannou Learning Center, which is turf roof that provide a 360-degree vision of the city. At the very center, there’s an artificial hill that provides a skylight into the library seen below.

A rooftop cultural space named 1010 Hall, which has a focus on stargazing – not necessarily because of the number of stars in Nicosia, but due to the huge telescope on the roof that highlights stargazing. There are also a number of talks on stargazing and astronomy that are hosted within the small theater located there.

A New Hope

For individuals that would like to know where they see these revamped rooftops, all they need to do is look at ERCN’s “Rooftopedia,” which is a link that puts them all together to help customers decide where they should go.

When it comes to Rotterdam, the decision to convert rooftops into community hubs is also a conscious effort to keep the city “above water,” as around 90% of the municipality is basically below sea level. This is also the reason why there is a strong emphasis on water collection. This actually began back in 2008 when it became the first city to offer subsidies to those building owners willing to construct green roofs on their locations.

One year later, the roof of the 1960’s concert hall called The De Doelen, was finished being installed with a gorgeous roof upgrade that included hidden water tanks beneath stones, which paved a walkway that managed to collect at least 2,000 bathtubs of water.

People may not realize just how much of a large role these bare roofs of dark-grey concrete play in the “heat island” effect of cities. And the more things they place up there to absorb the heat also means less energy that the building will need to cool itself down. This whole “rooftop community hubs” can truly be called the next revolution when it comes to urban planning.

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Once again, MIT researchers are doing their part to come up with incredible solutions to flight climate change. They have managed to create a dirt-cheap solution that helps lessen methane emissions in the air, which is one of the leading causes of global warming. And even more amazing, they’re using minerals that are normally found in regular cat litter.

Methane happens to be the most potent of all greenhouse gases, more than carbon dioxide for that matter. And it is also the most emitted by such origins as mining, dairy farming, and slash-and-burn agriculture.

Doctoral student Rebecca Brenneis, who wrote the paper where the findings were published in the ACS Environment Au journal, says “A lot of the methane is from distributed and diffuse sources, so we started to think about how you could take that out of the atmosphere.”

The MIT team of scientists, including Associate Professor Desiree Plata, joined together to develop this new approach that utilizes the overly abundant and low-cost type of “dirt” or clay named zeolite.

In fact, zeolite clays are so inexpensive that these days, they are actually used to make cat litter. The team found that the manufacturers treat the zeolite with small portions of copper, which makes the material quite effective at absorbing methane from the air, even if they are in very low concentrations at that.

When they did their lab tests, the packed miniscule particles of the copper-enhanced zeolite material into a reaction tube, then heated from the outside as the stream of gas, keeping methane levels kept in between the ranges from just 2 parts per million up to 2 percent concentration, which flowed through the tube. They also explained that ‘that range covers everything that might exist in the atmosphere, down to subflammable levels that cannot be burned or flared directly.’

Piata shared that the process has a number of advantages over the other approaches to eliminating the methane from air. Other types of methods normally use pricey catalysts, like palladium or platinum, which need extreme temperatures of at least 600 degrees Celsius, while also normally needing risky and complex processes involving oxygen, which is a known combustible, as well as methane.

According to Brenneis, “The 600 degrees where they run these reactors makes it almost dangerous to be around the methane.”

Shared in the MIT News, Plata shared, “I think we’re still surprised at how well it works.”

Moreover, MIT uses a process that can work at methane concentrations that are lower than other methods, by even small fractions of 1 percent, which most methods fail to remove. In addition, they can do this in air instead of pure oxygen, which is a major advantage for real-world deployment, they explain.

This method also converts the methane into carbon dioxide, and while that may seem like a bad thing due to the continuous worldwide efforts to combat the carbon dioxide emissions, Plata explains that carbon dioxide is much less impactful in the atmosphere as compared to methane, which happens to be around ‘80 times stronger as a greenhouse gas over the first 20 years, and about 25 times stronger for the first century.’

The scientists also share that ‘even converting half of the atmosphere’s methane to carbon dioxide would increase CO2 levels by less than 1 part per million (about 0.2 percent of today’s atmospheric carbon dioxide) while saving about 16 percent of total radiative warming.’

The most ideal locations to collect the gases would be at coal mines and dairy barns. Most of the time, these areas have incredibly strong air-handling systems in use, mostly because methane buildup has a tendency to be a health, fire, and explosion hazard otherwise.

The U.S. Department of Energy recently awarded the team a $2 million grant in order to continue doing their research and developing particular equipment for the removal of methane in these types of locations and areas. For the next phase of their research, the team will focus on ways to mold and structure the clay material so that it will help with the flow of bigger volumes of gas.

The scientists cite one possible major advantage that this new system has, which is that the chemical process used releases heat. As the methane is oxidized, the process outcome is a flame-free form of combustion. When then methane concentration sits above 0.5 percent, the released heat is bigger than the heat that’s used to get the process started, and the heat that is released can be used to create excess electricity.

According to Plata, the team’s calculations show that “at coal mines, you could potentially generate enough heat to generate electricity at the power plant scale, which is remarkable because it means that the device could pay for itself.”

Within the next 18 months, the team aims to show the conception under more challenging conditions other than what they’ve done in their lab. In the end, the hope is that they’ll be able to create devices that would be compatible with air-handling systems that are already in existence and simply just become an added component to what’s already in place.

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Hundreds of years ago, alchemists believed that they would be able to turn lead into gold. And today, the idea of generating valuable materials from majorly abundant resources is also what leads scientists in their continued pursuit of golden opportunities.

In fact, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is working hand in hand with other companies in order to test the possibility of using magnetic nanoparticles to capture critical materials, like lithium, from a variety of wastewater sources.

Currently, lithium has become one of the most essential ingredients in a number of energy and electronic technologies, which includes the lightweight lithium-ion batteries that power everything these days, from smartphones to tablets to electric vehicles.

This also means that the global market for lithium is monstrous, yet only very little lithium happens to be produced within the United States.

Currently, there is a patent-pending technology that is being developed in a lab in Richland, Washington, which can provide the opportunity to produce not just lithium, but other critical materials as well. It will also do the job at a lower cost, while being quicker as well.

The main function of this process are the magnetic nanoparticles that are surrounded by an absorbent shell which latch onto the lithium and other types of material that are found in water and used in a variety of industrial processes. This includes water that’s used in geothermal power plants – also known as geothermal brines – or the water that’s pulled out from the subsurface during the production of oil and gas.

Moreover, lithium is present in most of the water that gets pumped during the gas and oil extractions across the United States and Canada. The PNNL scientists also estimate that ‘if just 25 percent of the lithium in such water were collected today, it would equal the current annual worldwide production.’

There is ongoing testing, which involves PNNL, Conoco Phillips, Moselle Technologies, and Natural Resources Canada. According to PNNL, the team is also stress-testing the technology by “subjecting it to extended cycle testing with the magnetic separator system, a needed step for full-scale industrial production.”

CEO of Texas company Moselle, Jerry Mills, which has licensed the technology and hopes to pilot it in a number of locations said, “By using the magnetic nanoparticles to attach to the lithium particles in solution, we expect the resulting concentrate to be in a purer form, thereby reducing the cost of further processing, and this will take out more than half the cost.”

When the tiny, iron-based particles are added to the water, the lithium is pulled out of the water and binds to them. After which, using the help of a magnet, the nanoparticles can then be collected in just a few minutes with the lithium going along for the ride, no longer being suspended in the liquid but rather quite ready for easy extraction.

Even better, once the lithium is extracted completely, the recharged nanoparticles can be used once more. The process could also be used in effluents from desalination plants, or even taken directly from seawater supposedly.

In addition, the PNNL process goes to work right away. As compared to the conventional lithium extraction techniques that work usually by pumping groundwater into big and expensive evaporating ponds – many of which take months or even years to evaporate enough to even access the lithium – while also impacting groundwater management in dry regions where they are usually placed, such as Australia, China, and Chile.

Could Cause a Geothermal Boost and More

Should this technology be deployed at geothermal plants, it’s believed that that value of the lithium that’s recovered could possibly increase the cost-effectiveness of this type of clean renewable energy, which ‘uses water to capture the heat deep below the earth’s surface and then converts it into green electricity.’

Aside from Moselle, they are also joining forces with other commercial partners to study the use of this technology for their lithium resources in both Nevada and Canada.

Moreover, looking at different types of applications, the researchers at PNNL are looking to customize the shell of the nanoparticle to specifically target other commercially valuable elements and minerals that are used in everyday energy technologies, such as medical imaging devices, and more.

One example of this is their collaboration with Moselle and Geo40 to look into the possibility of extracting cesium and antimony from geothermal brines at the geothermal plant located in New Zealand.

Director of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Steven Ashby, said, “PNNL’s novel approach is truly remarkable. It offers the promise of extracting critical minerals in a quick, cost-effective manner. And innovation like this just might be worth its weight in gold.”

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The past two decades has proven successful for a secret institution that has gone quite underrated for its achievements in animal conservation.

The “Frozen Zoo” at San Diego has been able to potentially offer the one change for the northern white rhinos to survive. In fact, this institution has managed to give a second chance to other animals that were basically close to extinction as they could possibly be.

While the San Diego Zoo is quite popular for their polar bear and penguin exhibits, they have actually become lead conservationists for their cyrobank of cells of a number of endangered species from all around the globe.

In fact, all the stored genetic material in their frozen bank of cells has managed to bring about new life, such as the cloning of the alarmingly endangered and undomesticated Przewalski’s horse back in 2020, the Banteng, which is a species of cattle that was found in Southeast Asia back in 2003, a black-footed ferret back in 2020 as well, and an Indian Guar, which is a species of humpbacked wild ox in 2013.

Incredibly, the Frozen Zoo has already been around for 50 years, having started in 1972 by a biologist Kurt Benirschke. In a report from CNN, they shared that there was even a sign above the door to his laboratory that said, “you must collect things for reasons you don’t yet understand,” all in reference to skin cells that were stored at the zoo at -320°F.

According to some scientists, they believe that the biodiversity of life on the planet could possibly drop to around one million species by the next century. This is also why the efforts of institutions just like Frozen Zoo have become even more important. Moreover, CNN has also shared that they have begun saving eggs and sperm of animals such as cheetahs, despite not being considered endangered just yet, but are actually said to be at high risk.

So far, there is a total of 10,500 individual animals from at least 1,220 species. Among this number is the only frozen material that’s available from the male northern white rhinos, 12 of them exactly, from which scientists have managed to make stem cells. From this, they could be used to create sperm to fertilize an egg that would need to be carried by the closely related southern white rhino subspecies.

In addition, the all black-footed ferrets happen to be descended from seven individuals, which has resulted in the unique yet genetically difficult ways to recover their species. Cloning could possible help deal with these issues of genetic diversity and disease resilience among the wild populations. When there is a lack of the right amount of genetic diversity, the species tends to become more susceptible to diseases and other genetic abnormalities, while also having limited ability to adapt to the conditions in the wild, as well as a decreased fertility rate.

Meanwhile, Frozen Zoo is not the only organization that does cryobanks for endangered animals. There is also Nature’s Safe, which was founded by Tullis Matson, who collects cells of these same types precisely for the same purpose.

Unfortunately, cryobanking doesn’t get much funding, and most people working in these facilities don’t get much. But Matson explained in a report to CNN that while this is a challenge, they do get private donations, but he believes that the main challenge is really the inter-program coordination.

Matson shared, “The task is enormous, nobody can do this on their own. There’s a million species at risk. We need 50 different genetic samples from each, so that means 50 million samples; for each of those, we need five vials for each sample, so that’s hundreds of millions of samples that need to be stored.”

While cryobanking the cells of endangered species tends to have the qualities of a “bigger than you, bigger than me” kind of challenge, there hasn’t been a lack of talented individuals wanting to join in to help keep endangered species alive. That’s why if and when the conservation efforts to keep the white rhino around for generations to come, these facilities such as Frozen Zoo and Nature’s Safe should hopefully get the praise they truly deserve.

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Students in America have a collective amount of $1.75 trillion in student loan debt and it’s proven to be quite the crutch once they graduate from school.

Lucky for the graduating seniors at the LA arts school, Otis College of Art and Design, they were given the best surprise when they heard that they weren’t going to be going home with just a diploma that showed off their hard work. While getting ready to make their graduation walk in their cap and gown, they would find out that they were to receive an undisclosed record-breaking gift.

The class of 2022, which consists of 284 students, was given over $10 million to pay off their debt by the Spiegel Family Fund owned by Snapchat co-creator, Evan Spiegel, who also happens to be the most successful alumni of the school. Plus, his wife, Australian former model and ex-wife of Orland Bloom, Miranda Kerr, who is also a partner for the foundation, even added to the gift through her own company, Kora Beauty.

Spiegel, who happened to take summer classes at the Otis school during his high school days, shared with the graduating class, “It changed my life and made me feel at home. I felt pushed and challenged to grow surrounded by super talented artists and designers, and we were all in it together.”

After the federal government decided to begin guaranteeing student loans back in 1965, universities also realized that it was not the teenager attending college that was paying for school, but in fact all the taxpayer base of the United States, which is why tuition costs have risen so quickly, supposedly growing faster than any other means of inflation across the country.

For students at Otis, their education can cost them up to $50,000 for a liberal arts degree. But there are those who have loans of $70,000 or even more. Thankfully, Spiegel’s incredible generosity will erase this burden from these graduate’s lives, more so now that the pandemic has added further strain on graduates looking for new jobs.

In fact, some of these seniors explained exactly how his very generous graduate gift was a ‘huge weight off their shoulders.’

According to the president of Otis College of Art and Design, Charles Hirschhorn, in an article with Business Wire,  “Student debt weighs heavily on our diverse and talented graduates. We hope this donation will provide much-deserved relief and empower them to pursue their aspirations and careers, pay this generosity forward, and become the next leaders of our community.”

In an interview with the LA Times, one of the 2022 graduates, Farhan Fallahifiroozi, said, “My mom was crying. They were so worried about it for me. I had so much debt. If it’s really all gone, it puts me so much ahead.”

Here is a video of the graduating students when they found out the incredible news. The hope is that other students struggling to pay their student loans off will somehow also receive a miracle just like this. Who knows, maybe Spiegel’s foundation isn’t completely done making students’ dreams come true.

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With the amount of carbon emissions the world puts out daily, it’s no wonder why we’ve come across a variety of environmental problems. Many have become aware of this, which is why people are jumping on the green movement bandwagon.

Both individuals and corporations are trying to do their best to save the planet. One such example is a hotel that’s underway. People might also notice its unique architecture, one that may remind them of a tree that grows abundantly in Colorado.

The designers of the hotel took inspiration from the aspen tree the state of Colorado so loves so much. Right now, the people behind it are hoping that this becomes the first-of-its-kind in the U.S. because the entire edifice removes more carbon than it utilizes.

Every building starts out with cement-works, smelting, and heavy machinery. With the environment in mind,  the whole process can be more expensive, but the new Populus Hotel has spared nothing from its operations from being assessed for unnecessary emissions. Yes, they are that dedicated.

The building’s designed was by Studio Gang in Chicago. Right now, it’s already in its finishing stages. What makes this unique as well is that there’s no parking at all. Hence, they didn’t need to dig deep just to provide the clients with an underground concrete lot. Rather, Populus wants to encourage their future guests to take a bus or train to a city transportation hub right across the street if they want to go anywhere to and from the hotel.

As you take a look at the low-carbon concrete façade and skeleton of the hotel, it is inspired by the aspen bark. The structure has been crafted with a well-insulating material that’s set to reduce energy consumption in a significant manner. The deep-set windows there work the same way as well because they will be able to control the amount of sun that directly enters a room. Guests can take comfort of the fact that not much heat will enter their space.

As for the roof, it has been lined with solar panels. For every ton of CO2 produced from energy use within the building, the hotel will purchase what they look to call “carbon offsets.” This means that the trees that will be planted by a third party in another area will absorb CO2 throughout the plant’s life.

The Populus is a wedge-shaped hotel that will be sandwiched between streets on a corner where the first gas station in Colorado once was. “There’s some sort of poetic justice there,” said Jon Buerge. He is the chief development officer at Urban Villages, the sustainability-focused developer behind the project. He also said, “We’re building the greenest building in Denver, and it has no parking.”

“Internally, we often say if we can show people how to make money doing the right thing to change the world, it can be replicated,” Buerge explained when he talked to Fast Company. “And so our projects are very profitable. We don’t ever come in saying, you know, well, if we use this material, and we reduce our return on investment, is that okay? It’s more saying, we’ve got to justify it. We have to make sure that the decisions we’re making are good for the planet and good for the business.”

The design choices they made was meant to lower the building’s carbon footprint. However, they also won’t be able to totally eliminate it. So, they made plans to invest in reforesting more than 5,000 acres of land just so they can match the 4,397 metric tons of carbon that’s being produced. “We’re going to be planting enough trees to offset that,” he says. “And what we’re now focused on is where can we do that with the greatest impact that also relates to ecological preservation.”

The company has been inspired and now wants to make all of its new projects carbon positive. “If we’re going to address climate change in any sort of meaningful way, we need to figure out how to build buildings that are responsible and that are giving back more than we’re taking,” Buerge stated. “So our goal is to make not only every project we do, but our company itself, carbon positive moving forward. And we want to talk about it because our metric for success is not the handful of projects we build. Our metric for success is in trying to help push the industry in a certain direction.”

The Populus is expected to open next year. The hotel will have 265 rooms, a rooftop terrace garden as well as a dining area that have views out across to the State Capitol building and towards the Rocky Mountains that lie beyond.

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