First, designers debuted leather made from mushrooms. Now you can sit on furniture made from fungi, too. At first glance, the sturdy white stools and beautiful accent tables look like any other piece of furniture, perhaps crafted from wood or marble. But they are far from ordinary. They are made entirely from ingredients much simpler and squishier than you’d think: the mycelium “roots” of mushrooms, agriculture waste, and microorganisms. The chic new furniture line – a collaboration between Ecovative and bioMASON, two companies __that specialize...
Image copyright Cassini Imaging Team/SSI/JPL/ESA/NASA Image caption The end phases of the mission should yield new information about Saturn's interior The Cassini spacecraft is beginning the end phases of its mission to Saturn. Having spent 12 years flying around the ringed planet and its moons at a relatively safe distance, the probe is now about to undertake a series of daredevil manoeuvres. These will see the satellite repeatedly...
Picture a giant toilet bowl looming larger than life outside the UN headquarters in New York. It sounds like an absurd scene, but the stunt from three years ago was not a childish prank. It was a serious statement to mark the first World Toilet Day and raise awareness of the fact __that one third of the world’s population lacks access to toilets. Addressing the global sanitation crisis is a top priority among the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, and it now has an exciting solution. In fact, science may soon make your toilet bowl a viable alternative...
The mouse didn’t plan to run in circles. It was just moseying about in its mousey little way when, with a flight of a switch, a light went off in its brain. In __that moment, running in circles became the mouse’s sole purpose for being. This was a literal light, surgically installed inside the mouse’s skull. Powered wirelessly by radio waves, the light triggered photosensitive neurons and changed how the little mouse moved. This research comes to us from IEEE Spectrum, in the story A New Kind Of Wireless Mouse. Ada Poon, an associate professor...
Image copyright ESA/Roscosmos/ExoMars/CaSSIS/UniBE Europe's and Russia's new satellite at Mars has sent back its first images of the planet. The Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) arrived on 19 October, putting itself in a highly elliptical parking orbit. This must be circularised over the coming year before the mission can begin full science operations. But scientists have taken the opportunity of some close passes to the planet in recent days to check...
Image copyright NASA Image caption Astronauts Luca Parmitano and Michael Hopkins research vision changes on the International Space Station Scientists might have found the root cause of vision problems __that affect some astronauts. Some spacefarers who stay in orbit for long periods develop blurry vision along with a suite of physical changes. Now, a team of researchers says __that the syndrome might be related to changes in the...
In January of 1919, a tank containing two million gallons of molasses burst open, unleashing a sticky flood onto Boston's North End. The 25-foot high wave of goo oozed over the streets at 35 miles per hour, crushing buildings in its wake and killing 21 people. A number of factors are thought to have contributed to the disaster. The steel of the take, where the Purity Distilling Company was fermenting molasses into alcohol, was only half as thick as it should have been. And __that January's relatively balmy, 40-degree Fahrenheit weather may have...
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Flood water gathers in fields in Somerset following Storm Angus England spends nearly four times more on activities __that may cause flooding than it invests to combat flooding, the Green Alliance think tank has said. It says £1.5bn went on subsidies for farm management __that ignores or increases flood risk, while help from the EU farm policy for land management that reduces flooding totals...
Image copyright NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona Image caption Satellite images: Schiaparelli's crash site (Left), parachute (Top-right) and heatshield (Bottom-right) The European Space Agency has released details from its preliminary report into the Schiaparelli crash on Mars. The investigation confirms the probe misinterpreted sensor data, which made it think it was below ground level, when in reality the module was still...
Image caption Artist's impression: The robot rover will aim to drill below Mars' surface European research ministers will be asked for a little over €400m (£345m; $430m) to put a rover on Mars in 2021 when they meet next week. This is the additional sum needed to finish building the European Space Agency's much-delayed ExoMars robot. A technical review has just concluded __that the project is running true to its latest schedule, but...
It's Black Friday, so you know what __that means. No, not overhyped shopping deals. Well, yes. But also, true to Black Friday tradition, Goose Island is about to release the 2016 varieties of its lusciously dark Bourbon County Stout. Yes, there is a reason you're reading about this in a science publication. Four of the six 2015 varieties of the specially crafted, labor-intensive beer were soured by a strange bacteria __that made the flavors inconsistent. To make sure that doesn't happen again, Goose Island is trying out a new pasteurization system....
Image copyright University of Sydney Image caption Viruses have been infecting invertebrates for possibly billions of years An international research team led from Australia and China has discovered nearly 1,500 new viruses. The scientists looked for evidence of virus infection in a group of animals called invertebrates, which includes insects and spiders. Not only does the study expand the catalogue of known viruses, it also indicates...
There you are, looking down at an 18-pound frozen turkey. Suddenly, you realize you are not equipped to cook something like this. Your kitchen is too small, you didn't budget enough thawing time, and you're emotionally ill-equipped to juggle holiday meal prep. But you feel like you should do something with your frosty bird. Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Here are a few other uses for frozen turkeys. Note: You probably shouldn't do most/any of these things. Deep Fried Explosion Technically, deep frying a frozen turkey still falls within the...
Image copyright Thinkstock Image caption Tropical species are thought to be particularly vulnerable Many species will not be able to adapt fast enough to survive climate change, say scientists. A study of more than 250 plants and animals suggests their ability to adapt to changes in rainfall and temperature will be vastly outpaced by future climate change. Amphibians, reptiles and plants are particularly vulnerable, according to US...
This Thursday, many of us will gather with the people in our lives for whom we're grateful. But as much as we may love each other, sometimes we don't see eye-to-eye on politics, relationships, religion, gender, sexuality, fashion, money, dogs, or even the very nature of reality. So instead of arguing over how the government should spend tax dollars or whether your cousin has too many facial piercings, let's talk about science. We've compiled a list of seven science topics from this year __that (hopefully) won't start an argument. (We make no guarantees,...
Stanford physicist Manu Prakash creates inexpensive versions of high-tech devices in order to make science more accessible. But his most famous invention—a pocket-size microscope made from folded paper and called the Foldscope—has been surprisingly hard to come by. Until now. Prakash and his team just launched a Kickstarter campaign __that allows anyone to reserve a foldable microscope kit of their very own for $15, or to reserve a 20-pack of scopes for $20. Although the components for each device cost only 57 to 97 cents (depending on the magnification...
Image copyright Halfpoint In 1963, Harold Wilson gave a speech at the Labour Party Conference, telling his audience __that if the country was to prosper, a "new Britain" would need to be forged in the "white heat" of a scientific revolution. It was one of the most memorable speeches in British politics. With Theresa May now pledging, at the CBI conference, a big increase in funding for scientific research and development, is this another...
Image copyright PA Image caption After her CBI speech, Mrs May went on a tour of the Wellcome Genome Campus in Cambridge Prime Minister Theresa May has unveiled plans to invest an extra £2bn a year in science by 2020. The promised money will be for emerging fields of research in which the UK excels, such as robotics, artificial intelligence and biotech. The investment is part of an industrial strategy the government is developing...
Image copyright Reuters Philip Hammond has a difficult trick to pull off this week. On the one hand - come clean: the government's not keeping its promises on the public finances. On the other hand - convince us: the government is serious about the public finances. The government was elected with three promises at the heart of its economic plans. Cap welfare spending. Reduce public sector debt as a proportion of the economy, starting last...
Image copyright PA Some experts are predicting a "quiet" Autumn Statement - but significant upheaval for family finances is already coming down the line. The freeze on major benefits, which continues until 2020, may bite harder as inflation is set to accelerate - driving up the cost of living. Tax changes are planned but are yet to be put in place. Chancellor Philip Hammond may decide to bring forward some of those moves and delay or reverse...
Image copyright Getty Images The Autumn Statement is the second of the two big economic statements made by the government every year - the first being the Budget which happens in the Spring. This year's Autumn Statement takes place on Wednesday, 23 November at about 12:30 GMT (after Prime Minister's Questions). What's the point of it? The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, will update MPs on the government's taxation and spending...
These are uneasy times for British businesses. While recent data has shown a robust economy, a slowdown in growth is being forecast for next year. Uncertainty over Brexit has weakened the pound, which has been great for exporters but has made imported goods and raw materials more expensive. The BBC has been speaking to businesses from across the UK, finding out how their bosses are feeling and what they would like to see from the Autumn Statement on Wednesday, 23 November. Optimism in Scunthorpe Image caption Shay Eddy's steel firm...
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