Nature

AIR-igator: Collects AC Water For Your Garden

by Gloria Campos

In some places (like where I live) it's too hot to turn off the AC unit and open up the windows. On some days temperatures can reach over 100 degrees, that's why our AC stays on all the time. Asking us to take off more clothes to cool off and conserve energy would leave us naked, so how do we, the consumers, stay cool and cut down on our carbon footprint? We could try an AIR-igator.

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Locust Experiments May Lead To New Treatments For Strokes, Migraines, & Epilepsy

by Boomer Babe

Scientists at Queen's University in Canada have discovered a link betwen locust comas and human strokes, migraines and epilepsy. This is not only an interesting scientific finding, but it may lead to new drugs to prevent or alleviate the occurances of brain disturbances in humans.

Researchers Discover Fountain Of Youth In Bats

by Boomer Babe

I know the title seems like it's right out of one of those hokey ads from a vitamin company, but what I'm about to share are the results of a real scientific finding by a group of researchers in San Antonio, Texas -- reported in the July issue of the Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology. (FASEB Journal).

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Human-Powered Walkie Talkies Keep You In Touch

by Chris Weiss

An eco-friendly, reliable communication device for the backcountry, the Wind Up Walkie Talkies keep you in touch with those traveling with you. Don't get burned by dead batteries, always maintain a communication line.

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New Concepts in Water Conservation: the Reduce-Your-Use Bathmat

by Sarah O

This year's finalists for INDEX: AIGA Aspen Design Challenge conceptualized a bathmat that inuits when you need water and when you to cut you off.

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Give Your Dogs Barf On The Barf Diet

by Lady Bee

The Barf Diet. It makes me want to barf just thinking about it, never mind writing about it. Yes, there really is such a diet and it's even supposed to be good for dogs: Barf World says so!

Feeling Blue? Japan's Got a Beer for That

by Steve Levenstein

Feeling blue? Japan's got a beer for that: Okhotsk Blue to be exact, a foamy brew made with water sourced from icebergs, tinted icy blue with seaweed.

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Indoor Gardening Flipped: The Sky Planter

by Sarah O

Patrick Morris has turned indoor gardening on its head with his revolutionary Sky Planter design, which allows plants to literally grow upside down.

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Solar-powered Tent

by Chris Weiss

The Orange Concept Solar Tent uses photovoltaic fabric to capture the energy of the sun. A wireless hub with touchscreen LCD allows you to manage your energy consumption.

Furniture that Eats Itself: The Auto-Cannibalistic Table

by Sarah O

Who knew inanimate pieces of furniture could turn into savage cannibals? The Auto-Cannibalistic Table is a table designed to gradually eat itself.

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New Artificial Heart Biomimics The Heart Of A Cockroach

by T Goodman

Did you ever wonder what makes the cockroach so resilient? Maybe it's the cockroach heart that has as many as 13 pumping chambers, as opposed to human and animal hearts that only have four pumping chambers.

Wood Biomimics Bone For More Functional Prosthetics

by T Goodman

For the first time, inspired by a tree's hierarchial structure of growth, Italian scientists have created bone prostheses from wood.

New York Yankee Sod: Create A Lawn Fit For Baseball Pros

by Beth Hodgson

Every time you turn on the TV or walk into Yankee Stadium to watch the professionals hit it out of the ballpark, you can't help but admire A-Rod's steroid enhanced biceps, but another thing catches your eye; just how damn green that stadium grass is. A company makes sure you get one of the best parts of Yankee Stadium at home; no, I don't mean the procession of hot female celebs trailing in to watch Rodriguez play, I mean that luscious green grass.

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What Can A Maple Seed Teach A Helicopter About Flying?

by T Goodman

Perhaps you've never noticed this, or you don't live near maple trees, but the seeds of maple trees fall ever so slowly and, depending on the impact of the breeze or wind force, can be carried for miles before they land. A recently published study in the journal Science shows us why this happens and the significance it might have for future aerospace technology.

Man Made Trees Invite Natural Species To Return Home

by T Goodman

Once an agricultural area, the commercial/industrial city of Leeds, England has displaced millions of birds, bats, and small animals and hundreds of individual species have disappeared completely from the urban landscape. But Leeds has decided to bring its wildlife back.

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Bad Memory? Go Take A Prevagen®!

by Boomer Babe

The 'brain pill' is called Prevagen® and it can improve your memory within within 8 to 30 days.... I don't know about you, but I'm trying it! As a matter of fact I just ordered a bottle for me and sent one to my Dad for Father's Day!

You know how scary it is to lose your memory. Imagine what a great gift it would be if you could help a loved one improve his or hers.

Nature's Manifesto and the Growing Chair from Michel Bussien

by Sarah O

Stockholm's Konstfack University College of Arts and Design recently exhibited their 2009 graduates, and from this pool comes the Growing Chair from Michel Bussien.

Breakthrough Research: Chinese Convert Pig Cells Into Embryonic Stem Cells

by Boomer Babe

The first successful conversion of pig cells into universally usable stem cells took place at the Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology under the direction of Dr. Lei Xiao. Dr. Xiao's team extracted the cells from a pig's ear and bone marrow, and found the right chemical cocktail to reprogram the cells into the three layers of cell types that make up embryonic stem cells.

Heliotropic Biomimicry: Solar Panels That Follow The Sun

by T Goodman

Solar panels that track the sun currently involve the use of motors and electronic control systems to move them and convert the power to energy. But a team of engineering students at MIT, inspired by heliotropic plants that move in the direction of the sun all day (like a sunflower), have developed a new method of motivation for the photovoltaic cells to move. Their invention won first place in MIT's Making and Designing Materials Engineering Contest (MADMEC) -- a $100,000 prize!

Heated Itch Relief: The Perfect Companion When Those Pesky Insects Are Out

by Chris Weiss

Just in time for the onslaught of nibbling, flying organisms, Heated Itch Relief is a device that uses heat to eliminate the itching and swelling of those unavoidable bug bites.

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