WikiLeaks has revealed the existence of a blanket gagging order applying to all citizens and news media throughout Australia. Issued on 19 June by the state of Victoria’s supreme court, it cites the need to protect “national security” and “damage to Australia’s international relations” as grounds for banning any form of coverage of an alleged... Continue Reading →

Beijing's vast army of plastic-bottle scavengers will get an automated rival later this month, when the city introduces its first reverse vending machines that pay subway credits in exchange for returned containers. More than 100 recycle-to-ride devices will be installed in an attempt to reduce the environmental impact of the informal bottle collection business and... Continue Reading →

It has been estimated that a third of the world’s population is affected by Toxoplasma gondii, a parasite that prefers living in feline intestines. While it produces no or mild symptoms for most people, it can be fatal for those who are seriously immunocompromised. Scientists have found a way to make the parasite’s actions work... Continue Reading →

A new material, designed and patented by researchers at Berkeley Lab, converts ethane to ethanol with an efficiency that could cut natural-gas refining costs. “Hydrocarbons like ethane and methane could be used as fuel, but they’re hard to store and transport because they’re gases,” says Dianne Xiao, graduate student at the University of California Berkeley.... Continue Reading →

One innovative company has created a vending machine that's dispensing help for both the environment and our furry friends. The Turkish company Pugedon recently introduced a vending machine in Istanbul that releases food and water for the city's stray dogs in exchange for recycled plastic bottles, Big Think reported. Once someone deposits their bottle at... Continue Reading →

In a groundbreaking study, 5,000 honey bees in Australia are set to be fitted with tiny sensors in an effort to better understand Colony Collapse Disorder. The 2.5mm by 2.5mm Radio Frequency Identification sensors work much like a car’s e-tag, and scientists will use a technique called “swarm sensing” to study how changes in the... Continue Reading →

Egyptian teenagers are on a roll lately – if they’re not proposing the next-generation of space propulsion systems, then they’re figuring out how to use the country’s plastic waste for fuel! Sixteen-year-old Azza Abdel Hamid Faiad has found that an inexpensive catalyst could be used to create $78 million worth of biofuel each year. Egypt’s... Continue Reading →

Physicists have identified the "quantum glue" that underlies a promising type of superconductivity—a crucial step towards the creation of energy superhighways that conduct electricity without current loss. The research, published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is a collaboration between theoretical physicists led by Dirk Morr, professor of physics at the... Continue Reading →

MIT is reporting that it has created a new, cheap material — using a microwave, no less — that converts sunlight into steam with an amazing 85% efficiency. This could have major repercussions in the realms of desalination and sterilization, and perhaps for concentrated solar thermal power generation as well. The new material, developed by... Continue Reading →

The tools we currently have to detect cancer, such as colonoscopies and biopsies, are expensive, invasive and painful. So a team of researchers led by Diana Anderson, professor of biomedical science at the University of Bradford’s School of Life Sciences in Yorkshire, is developing a universal blood test that can detect a range of cancers.... Continue Reading →