University of Massachusetts Worcester campus recently got its greenest academic building which was awarded with LEED Gold certification. Although we can’t say that Albert Sherman Center can be classified among most sustainable architecture projects we previously wrote about, it is still important since it serves as an example how large academic buildings can be built,… »

As you can see from our news and articles about bionspiration coming from spiders, spider silk keeps on intriguing researchers to analyze it and develop new materials. Researchers at the Arizona State University (ASU) have used a non-invasive way to obtain a wide variety of elastic properties of the silk of several intact spider webs… »

Founded by AGORIA, the Belgian technology industry federation, and leading mechatronic companies in Flanders, the Mechatronics Technology Centre (FMTC) presented their badminton playing robot back in 2009. Named Jada, the badminton-playing robot is able to intercept and return a shuttlecock (birdie) over the net. They recently used the robot as a platform for their new… »

NASA decided to make a diversion from designing and operating robots full of scientific gear used to study other worlds, and came up with Regolith Advanced Surface Systems Operations Robot (RASSOR) – a prototype of a robot which is developed for mining in outer space. At the moment,  is far from being space-ready, but the… »

Researchers from IBM and the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN), Singapore, revealed an antimicrobial hydrogel that can break through diseased biofilms and deal with drug-resistant bacteria upon contact. The synthetic hydrogel is the biodegradable, biocompatible and non-toxic, and its ability to form spontaneously when heated to body temperature makes it ideal for combat against… »

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials (Fraunhofer IWM) in Halle have designed organic tiles which are made of renewable raw materials. These bio-based tiles are more environmentally friendly, light-weight, and more resource- and energy-efficient compared to conventional ceramic materials. Aside being more resource-efficient, the new tiles unlock new creative solutions for designers…. »

Italcementi, one of the top five cement manufacturers in the world, wanted to make a statement about their dedication to integrate Sustainable Development with their long-term growth plans and constructed new Italcementi i.lab in Bergamo, Italy. Prominently positioned at the eastern end of the Kilometro Rosso Scientific Technology Park in Bergamo, the new building has… »

While some groups search for ways to lower and store carbon dioxide (CO2) gas emissions, there are efforts worldwide to convert this molecule into a chemical feedstock. Researchers at RIKEN Advanced Science Institute in Wako, Japan, developed the first protocol for attaching both CO2 and boron atoms to unsaturated carbon–carbon triple bonds. This protocol uses… »