Harvard's HouseZero project is retrofitting a pre-1940s house in Cambridge to produce more energy than it uses, setting a new benchmark for sustainable building. The project demonstrates that existing structures can be transformed into ultra-efficient models using smart design and green technology.
A property owner in Pombal, Portugal, uncovered bone fragments during construction in 2017, leading to the excavation of a massive sauropod skeleton. The fossil, estimated at 82 feet long and nearly 40 feet tall, is remarkably well-preserved and may be the largest dinosaur ever found in Europe. Researchers from the University of Lisbon and Spanish institutions are studying the remains.
DC Marijuana Justice plans to distribute free cannabis to people getting vaccinated against COVID-19 in Washington, D.C., aiming to boost inoculation rates and push for federal legalization. The group will also provide information on contacting lawmakers to support cannabis reform.
Researchers at MIT have developed a concrete mixture infused with carbon black that functions as a supercapacitor, capable of storing electrical energy. While the current prototype can only power a small LED for 30 hours, the team envisions scaling it up to meet daily household energy needs, potentially transforming building foundations into energy reservoirs.
Columbia University researchers report the first compelling evidence of a moon orbiting a planet outside our solar system, a Jupiter-sized world 4,000 light-years away. The finding, based on data from NASA's Kepler and Hubble telescopes, suggests a large exomoon, though the team urges caution until further observations confirm it.
A new study in Nature Astronomy presents evidence that dark energy, long modeled as a constant vacuum energy, may instead be dynamic. Using high-precision measurements of baryonic acoustic oscillations, researchers, including a team from the University of Portsmouth, found statistical support for this idea. Future surveys like DESI could confirm the findings.
During the August 21 total solar eclipse, U.S. solar facilities from Oregon to South Carolina faced a multi-hour drop in sunlight. Data from over 300,000 systems showed panels recovered quickly, and grid operators used reserves and mild weather to avoid outages. The event highlighted the growing need for battery storage as solar adoption rises.
Beijing's municipal development and reform commission announced that coal use in the capital's plain areas will be nearly eliminated by 2020, with gross coal consumption capped at 5 million tonnes. The plan includes converting all coal-fired boilers to clean energy and boosting renewable energy to over 8 percent of total consumption.
Researchers at the University of Central Florida have developed a synthetic material that mimics photosynthesis, converting carbon dioxide into solar fuels using visible blue light. The breakthrough, published in the Journal of Materials Chemistry A, could lead to practical carbon capture and clean energy production.