New Atlas

Science Audio available

"Eco-friendly" neurotoxin may find use in malaria-mosquito-specific insecticide

Ben Coxworth June 28, 2019

An estimated 429,000 people die from malaria annually. And while it's tempting to spray heavily for the mosquitoes that spread the disease, conventional insecticides are also toxic to humans and other animals. Now, however, a neurotoxin has been discovered that only kills the offending mosquitoes.

The bacteria that produce the toxin are believed to have evolved alongside the Anopheles mosquito

Urban Transport Audio available

Transcend Air and Lily Helipads team up to build eco-friendly "vertipads" for air taxis

Ben Coxworth May 17, 2019

It was a year ago that we first heard about Transcend Air Corporation's Vy 400, a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft that will ferry passengers in and out of cities. Now, the Boston-based company has announced plans for floating environmentally-friendly landing pads for the aircraft.

Vertipads are initially being planned for Boston, Manhattan, Montreal and San Francisco

Environment Audio available

Study claims meal kits produce less emissions than grocery shopping, despite more packaging

Rich Haridy April 23, 2019

Do meal kits have a larger carbon footprint than regular grocery store shopping? A team of environmental researchers set out to crunch the numbers discovering that despite the extra plastic waste meal kits may produce less environmental emissions than conventional grocery shopping.

A new study contrasts the excessive packaging found in meal kits against increased transportation and food ...

Good Thinking Audio available

Eco-friendly flame-retardant coating made from plants and clay

Ben Coxworth February 13, 2019

Given that they're applied to items such as furniture and home insulation, it would really be best if flame-retardant coatings didn't emit toxic fumes. That's why scientists from Texas A and M University have developed a non-toxic alternative, made from natural renewable materials.

Flame-retardant coatings exist for a reason, but they may not need to be made from toxic ...

Environment Audio available

Carlsberg crafts new six-pack holders to cut plastic waste

Michael Irving September 10, 2018

The Ocean Cleanup barge is currently on its way to tackle the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, but it never hurts to find ways to reduce plastic before it gets into the sea. In that vein, Danish beermaker Carlsberg has announced the Snap Pack, a simple alternative to plastic six-pack rings.

Danish beermaker Carlsberg's six-packs will now be glued together as the Snap Pack

3D Printing

Inexpensive houses could be 3D-printed from peat

Ben Coxworth July 10, 2018

Some of the earliest houses in Northern Europe were made out of slabs of peat, as it was a cheap and abundant building material. Now, Estonian scientists are revisiting the idea of peat houses, only this time they're looking at 3D-printing the things.

The University of Tartu's Prof. Toomas Tenno, with test pieces of the material

Outdoors

Canada's first public natural swimming pool set to open in Edmonton

Ben Coxworth July 9, 2018

Although chlorine-free public natural swimming pools have become popular in Europe, so far there has only been one in North America – the Webber Park pool in Minneapolis. That's about to change, however, when the Borden Natural Swimming Pool opens in Edmonton, Alberta later this week.

Using the Borden Natural Swimming Pool is said to be like swimming in "a very, very, ...

Materials

Coal plant waste helps build environmentally-friendly, cementless concrete

Michael Irving June 18, 2018

To make concrete more environmentally friendly, the industry has been adding by-products from coal-fired power plants, but doing so had its own problems. Now, Rice researchers have developed a new composite binder that requires no cement, and reduce waste from power plants at the same time.

A scanning electron microscope image of fly ash particles, which have been used to make an ...

Materials

Carrots n' beets used to strengthen concrete

Ben Coxworth June 15, 2018

It was back in April that we heard about how scientists had made concrete stronger and more eco-friendly by adding graphene to it. Now, researchers at Lancaster University are reporting that they've achieved even better results using cheaper "nano platelets" derived from root vegetable fibers.

The enhanced concrete contains nano-platelets derived from carrot and beet root fibers

Environment

A tobacco-derived insect repellent – for crops

Ben Coxworth June 7, 2018

Although it's associated with nasty cigarettes, the tobacco plant is also a potential source of vaccines, biofuel and antibiotics. Now, a chemical from the plant is also being used as a bug repellent for crops, which could replace eco-unfriendly insecticides.

If aphids have the choice between wheat seedlings with (right) and without CBT-ol treatment (left), they ...