Oxygen

In the South China Sea, the aqua-colored waters of an expansive shallow reef platform suddenly gives way to a near vertical shaft of vast darkness – an ocean sinkhole almost entirely devoid of oxygen and, in turn, marine life as we know it.

EPFL engineers have built and tested a solar reactor that generates hydrogen gas from sunlight and water. The system is not only highly efficient at producing hydrogen, it also captures the “waste” products of oxygen and heat to put them to use too.

Leaves are impressive machines, converting sunlight, carbon dioxide and water into energy. Cambridge scientists have now created artificial leaves that can float on water, tapping into sunlight above it and water below to efficiently produce fuels.

Over the last few years humans have tried to mimic nature with artificial leaves, but they’re never quite up to scratch. Now, researchers have designed a new version that could work under real-world conditions, sucking carbon dioxide out of the air and creating oxygen and synthetic fuels.

Metals may seem tough, but given enough time even plain old air can be their undoing. An MIT team has found that aluminum can be protected from oxidation by a thin coating of aluminum oxide, which acts like a liquid, flowing to fill any gaps as they form.

​What initially started out as a MIT research project has now become the Humon Hex, a fitness wearable that can measure how an athlete’s muscles are using oxygen in real time.

Researchers at MIT have developed a new membrane-based system that can convert carbon dioxide emissions into useful alternate fuels. The process has been effectively demonstrated on a small-scale and the researchers hope to ultimately adapt the system to conventional fossil fuel-based power plants.

Imagine having a fridge-sized box in your home that generates and stores electricity, heats and cools the house, provides hot water and churns out oxygen and hydrogen to use or sell. New Atlas spoke to two of the minds behind this potentially game-changing "Swiss army knife" of energy production.

If you like your nights out unusual, then look no farther. Visitors to the Clear Lounge bar in Cozumel, Mexico, are submerged in a 13,000-gal (59,100-l) tank of water while scented oxygen is pumped into their diving helmets. If that sounds mundane, then there's underwater Jenga to keep you occupied.

The stick-on Moxy Monitor is designed to give athletes a window into how their body is performing during a workout by tracking blood oxygen levels in the muscles in real time and displaying this along with other fitness data in third party apps and devices.