Lithium ion batteries are an essential item in today’s technological age, but they are harmful to the environment. As a result, scientists are searching for alternative and more sustainable materials to develop batteries. Two unlikely, but promising materials are diamonds and durian fruit.

Filmmaker Fernando Livschitz created a stop-motion video while isolating at home in Buenos Aires using over 800 pieces of wood that depicts a silhouette seamlessly break dancing. The filmmaker used a real break dancer to develop the stop-motion video frame by frame.

The grandson of famed oceanographer Jacques-Yves Cousteau plans to build a large underwater research station in the Caribbean that would allow up to 12 researchers to stay below the surface for months. It will take approximately $135 million to construct the facility, and it could make a big difference for deep-sea exploration.

In the Czech Republic, an artist 3D-printed a house in two days. It is expected to last 100 years and can be positioned on land or float on water.

As airport design shifts, replacing contact points with smart technology, experts predict this could be the beginning of the end of long security lines and maze-like gridlock. 

Scientists have found antibodies that could successfully block infection from the Covid-19 virus. These unique ‘nanobodies’ are found only in llamas and other camelids—likely due to a genetic mutation.

Sculptor Jason deCaires Taylor has created a collection of underwater sculptures installed in the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. The collection includes a sculpture rising out of the water that changes color according to the ocean’s temperature.

A new fragrance by natural flavors company Omega Ingredients reportedly replicates the odor of outer space. What does space smell like? According to astronauts, it has a sweet, metallic scent. 

Lyft recently announced its daring plan to use only electric vehicles by 2030. The company also committed to increasing equity in transportation for vulnerable communities. Other leading companies may be inspired to follow suit.

When technology and design collide, there are often amazing outcomes. For the architecture and engineering firm edg, one such result of technology-driven design is the Synthesis 3D collection. This portfolio of cast-concrete furniture and wall paneling was developed with, and named after, edg’s own 3D printing software, which has vast ­­­­­­­­design and customization capabilities, as the new collection makes abundantly evident.

Startup company Virgin Hyperloop One is developing a fast and sustainable transportation system that could be available to the public by 2030. Imagine being able to travel at the speed of airplanes in driverless levitating pods? 

Scientists discovered a way to enable human cells to go into an active camouflage state, morphing into transparent forms. How did they do it? They got the idea from a squid protein. This could be a new key to understanding genetics.

In Camémbaro, Mexico, the Nopal plant has a lot of potential as a biofuel source—it doesn’t need much water or additional land space, and it’s already used to power industrial buildings. In the near future, it could also power cars.

SpinLaunch is developing a 100+ yard-wide centrifuge that could propel rockets into orbit by rapidly spinning and launching them into the air. If all goes well, the technique could change the nature of space travel. 

Apple is developing technology that will be able to generate group selfies, a lost pastime in the age of social distancing, by combining individual selfies into one photo.

Startup company Module has developed affordable modular homes that can expand by stacking additional floors. What’s more? They’re energy efficient too.

A pasta producer near Naples, Italy, is testing a mix of hydrogen and natural gas as fuel in an effort to reduce carbon emissions, making use of boilers that also provide heat to dry and sterilize noodles. 

Design firm LPA created a California office space that consumes an estimated 70 percent less energy than one of comparable size, type, and location. How? A mix of smart lighting and space planning for starters. 

Adidas and Allbirds, the sneaker startup, are joining forces to design a performance shoe with the lowest carbon footprint ever. 

A new book by Julia Watson, Lo—TEK. Design by Radical Indigenism, sheds light on a design movement based on indigenous philosophy and vernacular architecture to build a more sustainable future. Think aqueducts and bridges made of living tree roots. 

Afghanistan's all-girls robotics team, the Afghan Dreamers, found a way to build emergency ventilators out of car parts, arming healthcare workers with much needed equipment during the pandemic. 

Even NASA's technology experiences glitches now and then. About a decade ago, its Spirit rover got stuck in a sand trap on Mars, unable to wriggle free. But engineers at the Georgia Institute of Technology developed a series of motions that could help future rovers blaze ahead, even in challenging terrain. 

LEDs have become the gold standard of energy efficient lighting, but lighting researchers estimate that manufacturing them actually releases more than double the amount of carbon dioxide than manufacturing more conventional lighting. 

Some scientists are turning to ultraviolent germicidal irradiation, similar to bringing the power of sunlight indoors, to zap pathogens out of the air in public spaces in hopes of curbing the spread of coronavirus infections. 

Lizards may offer leads on evolution, a new study shows, drawing on data in countries struck by hurricanes that suggests cataclysmic weather can reshape entire species.

Container ships transporting goods from one corner of the world to another emit large amounts of carbon and greenhouse gases as they glide through the sea, but now the industry is working to change that with cleaner fuel. 

Design professors share tips and tricks for creating your own face mask at home. 

Two Italian engineers—founders of a company that makes items such as earthquake sensors and silicone bandages—take their country's ventilator valve shortage into their own hands.