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Archive for the ‘sustainability’ category: Page 453

Mar 20, 2020

A cyclic phosphate-based electrolyte for safe and high voltage lithium-ion batteries

Posted by in categories: energy, internet, sustainability

In light of the ongoing shift toward renewable energy technologies and the growing number of Internet of Things (IoT) devices, researchers worldwide have been trying to develop batteries that can operate more efficiently and for longer periods of time. Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are currently the preferred energy-storage technology for portable electronics, as they contain organic electrolytes, which typically enable high operating voltages and energy densities.

Despite their widespread use, further increasing the performance of existing LIBs could have a significant impact on their safety. In fact, these batteries contain highly volatile and flammable organic carbonates, which, if ignited, can cause considerable damage.

In recent years, researchers have made significant efforts toward overcoming these safety issues, for instance, by using additional substances or by optimizing the materials separating battery components. While some of these strategies successfully reduced the risk of the battery catching fire, as long as LIBs are made with highly flammable electrolytes, accidents may still occur.

Mar 19, 2020

Musk the Virus Skeptic Makes Reluctant Ventilator Offer After GM

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, sustainability

Tesla Inc. joined General Motors Co. in offering to manufacture hospital ventilators in auto factories shuttered by the coronavirus outbreak, an effort that would echo Detroit’s contribution to Allied powers during World War II.

Mar 19, 2020

This AI system predicts air pollution before it happens

Posted by in categories: robotics/AI, sustainability

Computer scientists from Loughborough University in the UK have developed a new AI system that predicts air pollution levels days in advance.

The system developed analyzes air data through sensors installed in cities to predict the pollution levels.

It could be used to help us understand the environmental factors that affect one of the most dangerous pollutants in the world: PM2.5.

Mar 19, 2020

Antibiotics weaken flu defenses in the lung

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, food, sustainability

Hmm… are people with reduced lung capacity after recovering from the coronavirus more susceptible to getting the flu? Or does taking antibiotics increase one’s risk getting the coronavirus since it attacks the respiratory system?


Antibiotics can leave the lung vulnerable to flu viruses, leading to significantly worse infections and symptoms, finds a new study in mice led by the Francis Crick Institute.

The research, published in Cell Reports, discovered that signals from gut bacteria help to maintain a first line of defence in the lining of the lung. When mice with healthy gut bacteria were infected with the flu, around 80% of them survived. However, only a third survived if they were given antibiotics before being infected.

“We found that antibiotics can wipe out early flu resistance, adding further evidence that they should not be taken or prescribed lightly,” explains Dr Andreas Wack, who led the research at the Francis Crick Institute. “Inappropriate use not only promotes antibiotic resistance and kills helpful gut bacteria, but may also leave us more vulnerable to viruses. This could be relevant not only in humans but also livestock animals, as many farms around the world use antibiotics prophylactically. Further research in these environments is urgently needed to see whether this makes them more susceptible to viral infections.”

Mar 18, 2020

Has Samsung Found The Holy Grail Of Solid State Batteries?

Posted by in categories: sustainability, transportation

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While most electric cars already travel further per charge than most people need them to on a daily basis, there’s still a massive hunt to find the longest-range, cheapest, longest-life battery pack possible for future generations of EVs.

Continue reading “Has Samsung Found The Holy Grail Of Solid State Batteries?” »

Mar 13, 2020

First-time direct proof of chemical reactions in particulates

Posted by in categories: environmental, sustainability

Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI have developed a new method to analyse particulate matter more precisely than ever before. Using it, they disproved an established doctrine: that molecules in aerosols undergo no further chemical transformations because they are enclosed in other suspended particulate matter. In the smog chamber at PSI, they analysed chemical compounds directly in aerosols and observed how molecules dissociated and thus released gaseous formic acid into the atmosphere. These findings will help to improve the understanding of global processes involved in cloud formation and air pollution, and to refine the corresponding models. The results of this investigation are published today in the journal Science Advances.

The familiar scent of a pine forest is caused by α-pinene. This is one of the in the oils of conifer trees, and it also occurs in eucalyptus and rosemary. The smell triggers pleasant feelings in most people. Less pleasant is that under the influence of radicals, the compound changes into other compounds in the atmosphere, so-called highly oxidised . Some of these are reactive and to some extent harmful substances. They have only recently come under scrutiny by atmospheric researchers, and their role in cloud formation is not yet understood.

These highly oxidized organic are less volatile than the starting substance α-pinene and therefore condense easily. Together with and other solid and liquid substances in the air, they form what we call particulate matter or aerosols.

Mar 13, 2020

Transforming Air Into Pure Drinking Water Is Finally Possible, Here’s How

Posted by in category: sustainability

Scientists created a device to make water out of thin air 🤯.

Mar 13, 2020

A design trends forecaster calls the coronavirus “an amazing grace for the planet”

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, health, sustainability

“I think we should be very grateful for the virus because it might be the reason we survive as a species.”

Dutch trends forecaster Li Edelkoort has a provocative outlook on Covid-19, the deadly coronavirus strain that has upended manufacturing cycles, travel plans, and conference schedules around the world. Speaking at Design Indaba, a conference in Cape Town last week, the celebrated 69-year old design industry advisor pictured Covid-19 as a sobering force that will temper our consumerist appetites and jet-setting habits.

Edelkoort, who in recent years has become a fashion sustainability crusader, believes we can emerge from the health crisis as more conscientious humans. “We need to find new values—values of simple experience, of friendship,” she told Quartz. “It might just turn the world around for the better.”

Mar 8, 2020

Lithium-Sulfur Battery Promises to Power a Phone for 5 Days

Posted by in categories: mobile phones, sustainability, transportation

Monash University is claiming its lithium-sulfur battery is the world’s most efficient and capable of allowing an electric car to travel over 600 miles between charges.

Mar 8, 2020

New Battery Technology Could Lead to Self-Powered Devices

Posted by in categories: computing, mobile phones, sustainability, transportation

The advancements that are being made in battery technology are pretty mind boggling. We are seeing devices that are drawing power from just about every source that is imaginable, and now there is battery technology from researchers at Imperial College London that may actually have devices that create their own power. From cell phones to cars and everything in between, there may eventually be nothing more needed that to actually use the device.

This incredible new battery technology works because of the material that is being used in the actual construction of the items. The reason that the new material is making headlines is because of the fact that it can be integrated into the design of an automobile and would make it lighter and more fuel efficient, but could actually supply power to recharge the battery of an electric car.

With the material being able to be strong enough for the construction of a car, there are many other possibilities for its use. Right off the bat, devices such as cell phones, iPods, laptops and anything else that you can think of that would use battery power would be able to benefit from this new battery technology.