Water

Environment Audio available

Earth is "drinking" more seawater through the Mariana Trench than previously thought

Michael Irving November 14, 2018

A new study suggests that the mantle is home to much more water than was previously believed. Seismic activity around the Mariana Trench have revealed that subducting tectonic plates are dragging more water deeper into the Earth, which could change our understanding of the global water cycle.

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Materials Audio available

Nature-inspired membrane filters liquid through liquid

Michael Irving November 12, 2018

Water filters can get dirty and lose their effectiveness quickly. Now researchers have tested a new nature-inspired membrane that filters liquids using other liquids, making for a more efficient and longer-lasting membrane.

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Health & Wellbeing Audio available

Not sleeping enough? You may be dehydrated

Rich Haridy November 6, 2018

A study has revealed a new reason why getting less than eight hours of sleep a night could be damaging to our health. The research found adults who only got around six hours of sleep per night were more likely to be dehydrated, and the cause could be a particular hydration-regulating hormone.

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Energy

Hybrid cell turns sunlight and water into hydrogen and electricity

Michael Irving October 29, 2018

Artificial photosynthesis devices can split water into hydrogen and oxygen, but they still suffer from some efficiency issues. Now a new hybrid device may be able to recover some of the energy that would otherwise go to waste, by producing both hydrogen and electricity.

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Health & Wellbeing

Self-contained station recycles water for hand-washing

Michael Irving October 21, 2018

Water used for hand-washing is relatively easy to treat for reuse, and now engineers at ETH Zurich have built and tested a standalone hand-washing station for use in public places and developing countries that can do just that.

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Environment

Atmospheric water harvester takes out $1.5m XPrize

Nick Lavars October 20, 2018

After revealing the five finalists earlier in the year, the XPrize foundation has today announced the grand prize winner, which outshone almost 100 competitors with its superior ability to harvest fresh water from thin air.

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Space

50-foot ice spikes may dot Europa's surface

Michael Irving October 9, 2018

While NASA has plans to possibly send a lander to Europa in the coming years, a new discovery might make touchdown tricky – there’s a chance that large swathes of Europa’s surface are covered in ice spikes almost 50 ft (15 m) high.

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Science

Portable device gets the drop on toxic algae

Ben Coxworth October 3, 2018

Freshwater and marine algal blooms can be harmful – even fatal – to wildlife and humans alike, so the sooner that authorities can predict them, the better. A cheap and portable new device developed at UCLA could help them do so.

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Science

Manta rays may lead us to better water filtration

Ben Coxworth September 27, 2018

Most water filters work by a sieve principle, in which particles that are too big to pass through a filtration membrane's pores end up collecting on it. The problem is, such filters get clogged with trapped particles. The manta ray, however, has developed a work-around.

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Materials

Cheap metal ribbons strip pollutants from water in minutes

Nick Lavars September 18, 2018

In a potential boon for the mining and textile production industries, scientists in Australia have come up with the new alloy capable of stripping impurities from contaminated water, and say it can do so with greater efficiency and at much lower cost than existing approaches.

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