Although we already wrote about lotus biomimicry for water-repelling surfaces, in this article we’re going to write about a surface with similar properties. Engineering researchers have created what they say is a “nearly perfect hydrophobic interface” by mimicking spiders. By using plastic to reproduce the shape and patterns of the minute hairs that grow on… »

GreenSpur Inc., a design/build firm specializing in carbon-neutral building, and TriCon Construction, which specializes in air sealing and insulating, have worked together to retrofit a Civil War-era home on Capitol Hill to match the LEED Platinum-level standards. Renovating the residence at 19 Fourth St. NE (which dates to 1852) required working in a difficult physical… »

Bloom Energy Corporation, a Silicon Valley-based company committed to changing the way people generate and consume energy, announced today the availability of the Bloom Energy Server, a patented solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology that provides a cleaner, more reliable, and more affordable alternative to both today’s electric grid as well as traditional renewable energy… »

Researchers have managed to transform sugars found in fast growing trees and grasses into plastic. Although there are already plastics on the market made from natural materials like corn, these do not biodegrade quickly. The new discovery would not only cut down on the use of oil (usually used to make plastic) but potentially enable… »

Care-O-bot is a research initiative of German researchers which came to its 3rd iteration. The exciting news is that the folks from the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA in Stuttgart are going to give away the platform to other researchers to play with. According to the announcement, a small number of robots… »

Despite all the stories about the “greenest Olympic games” related to the XXI Olympic & Paralympic Winter Games 2010, we have to admit we like the implementation of the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Center (VCECE) expansion which was lead by Seattle based architecture firm LMN architects. During the Olympics the center will serve as the… »

Although it isnt’t hard to teach a child to play some tune on the piano or strum the guitar, teaching classical music notation is a bit more difficult in most cases. The Noteput table concept from designers Jonas Heuer and Jürgen Graef attempts to make learning music theory fun, and also more effective, by making… »

Amateur athletes, professional athletes and people whose joints have just worn out endure health problems, since humans are unable to regenerate cartilage once they are adults and often have to live with painful joints or osteoarthritis. Luckily, Northwestern University researchers are the first to design a bioactive nanomaterial that promotes the growth of new cartilage… »