Tag innovation

59 min listen

How 82 Million Minutes of Rainforest Audio Could Save Your Life with Bourhan Yassin (Episode #124)

It is possible to save all the remaining rainforests in the world when we connect three things: technology, imagination, and our love for the world. Our guest today, Bourhan Yassin, is CEO of a nonprofit—the Rainforest Connection (RFCx)—that has been working towards doing exactly that since 2014. Their founder discovered that we could use simple cell phone technology to detect and stop illegal logging, and in less than a decade, the RFCx has expanded into using sound and machine learning to protect biodiversity in all kinds of places.

45 min listen

One Eagle Scout’s Hydroponic Gardening Project Tackles Hunger in Five Countries with Christian Heiden (Episode #123)

There’s a generation coming up that could be called the “see it and then solve it” generation. They look at problems like riddles just waiting to be solved, and then they start ingeniously doing what they can with what they’ve got. Today’s guest, Christian Heiden, is an amazing example of this style of innovator. He has taken an Eagle Scout project he started at age 16, and turned it into a solution to malnutrition and food insecurity in 5 countries and the impact of the endeavor is expanding at an extraordinary, inspiring pace.

Image: A girl smelling a rose with deep satisfaction

Walk Through the City You Didn’t Know You Were Smelling Everyday!

Perfume has influenced our lives for more than 4000 years! But did you know many of the perfumes we know best today have their origins in the fields and flowers of one city in France? Let's travel to this city behind some of the most iconic smells in history to learn how perfume has shaped our cultures.

Combing Caves for a Cure to Deadly Bacterial Infections

We've been able to protect ourselves from most bacterial infections for decades now, but that's changing. Deadly bacteria are catching onto our tactics and antibiotic resistance is on the rise. Here's how some scientists are working to stay one step ahead of this problem by exploring the depths of caves and the bacteria that call them home!

Image: A picture of kelp beside a picture of bacon, as a new kind of bacon is being made out of seaweed.

Meet the New Vegan Bacon Made From Seaweed

When it comes to faux bacon, it’s not just about taste. People want the bacon to be as authentic as possible including the sizzling fat. Now a Bay Area California startup has introduced a vegan bacon that is made from seaweed that tastes delicious and has a crispy bacon appearance.

Image: A floating solar farm with two workers walking on top of it.

Floating Solar Farms Are a Game Changer

The sun’s power is virtually infinite — opportunities to collect and make use of it are not. As demand for renewable energy increases, so does the need for places to generate it. Over the last few years, a technological evolution has resulted in solar farms that take up no land at all.

5 min read

Image: The James Webb Space Telescope's "Cosmic Tarantula"

The Most Detailed Look at Space We’ve Ever Seen Begins to Answer Humankind’s Biggest Questions

On Christmas Day 2021, NASA launched a piece of technology into orbit that has gotten us closer than ever before to some of humanity’s deepest questions. This machine is giving us the best look we’ve ever had at the very origins of our universe. Here's a look at the first four images from the James Webb Space Telescope.

Image: Purple, sparkly slime. Not the exact slime that makes up the slime robots, but certainly a more aesthetic version!

These Slime Robots Could Save Your Life!

When I say “robot” what do you think of? I’m guessing it’s something boxy, solid, metal, maybe a little rigid in its movements. So, what if I told you that scientists are working on a liquid robot, or to be more accurate, a slime robot. This strange little guy challenges our understanding of what robots can be capable of, and in the process, has the power to revolutionize medicine!

Image: A wheelchair accessible swing in a park in Malta.

Engineering Students Build a Wheelchair Swing in a Neighborhood Park

Born with spinal muscular atrophy type 2, 20 year old Tristan Lee was never able to ride on a swing as a child due to his wheelchair. But in his community of Waco, Texas, Baylor students collaborated with the locals to raise the funds, design the swings, and install it in a local park. Now everyone can soar, no matter their ability.

Image: Three bins in a row, a green bin labeled compost, a red bin labeled waste, and a yellow bin labeled recycle

Want to Reduce your Waste? Here’s a Guide to Get You Started

If you’ve ever stood in front of an array of waste bins at the airport holding your empty coffee cup wondering “Is this garbage? Is this recycling? What do I do with this stuff?” and you desperately wanted to do the right thing but didn’t know what to do, this is the article for you. We’re going to break down what’s waste, what’s not, and what we can do to make waste a thing of the past.

Image: A woman sitting by the sea, drinking water out of a water bottle.

New Portable Device Makes Seawater Drinkable On The Go

Whether you're in the city or on a mountain, any water can now become drinkable. Using less power than a cell phone charger and powered by a small solar panel, this new portable device can make undrinkable water drinkable on the go!

5 min read

Image: A shark swimming near the surface of the ocean, one of the many sharks who inspired the Sharklet antibacterial pattern.

The World’s First Germ Resistant Material, Inspired by… Sharks?

Taking inspiration from sharks, we now have a technology that can help prevent the spread of Staph infections, E Coli, MRSA, and other superbugs that we don’t even have antibiotics for yet! Engineers have discovered that shark skin has a unique pattern that can be duplicated and applied to everything from door handles to medical equipment to prevent the spread of deadly diseases.

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