Wires have a lot going for them when it comes to moving electric power around, but they have their drawbacks too. Who, after all, hasn’t tired of having to plug in and unplug their phone and other rechargeable gizmos? It’s a nuisance.

The building of the world’s largest bioreactors to produce cultivated meat has been announced, with the potential to supply tens of thousands of shops and restaurants. Experts said the move could be a “gamechanger” for the nascent industry. The US company Good Meat said the bioreactors would grow more than 13,000 tonnes of chicken and beef a year. It will use cells taken from cell banks or eggs, so the meat will not require the slaughter of any livestock.

Water scarcity is a major problem for much of the world’s population, but with the right equipment drinking water can be wrung out of thin air. Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have now demonstrated a low-cost gel film that can pull many liters of water per day out of even very dry air.

Trying to attach a million-dollar, 60-ton wind turbine blade to its base is challenging in any circumstance — getting the angle wrong by even a fraction of a degree could affect the machine’s ability to generate power. Now imagine trying to do it in the middle of the North Sea, one of the world’s windiest spots, with waves swelling around you. It’s like tying a thread to a kite at the beach and then trying to put it through the eye of a needle.

Researchers have developed a low-cost device that can selectively capture carbon dioxide gas while it charges. Then, when it discharges, the CO2 can be released in a controlled way and collected to be reused or disposed of responsibly.

A team including Professor Niall Mangan and researchers from Princeton University used computer modeling to identify the necessary features to support enhanced carbon fixation by an organelle called the pyrenoid, found in green algae, providing a blueprint for engineering this structure into crop plants.

Close to where the college rowing teams of Britain’s second-oldest university practise their strokes along the River Cam, a grey shipping container sits outside a business unit waiting to be dispatched to Abu Dhabi. Inside is a piece of equipment devised by a firm called Levidian Nanosystems. In a deal announced on May 16th with Zero Carbon Ventures, a firm in the United Arab Emirates, Levidian will ship 500 more such units to the region over the next five years.

Scientists may have found the answer to smaller and faster chips that could usher in the future of processors, and that answer might be using silicon-28 nanowires. Although the technology was initially dismissed as not very effective, further research and tweaks showed that the material may be able to conduct heat up to 150% more efficiently.

There’s a nightmarish scene in Guillermo del Toro’s 2006 movie Pan’s Labyrinth in which we are confronted by a sinister humanoid creature called the Pale Man. With no eyes in his monstrous, hairless head, the Pale Man, who resembles an eyeless Voldemort, sees with the aid of eyeballs embedded in the palms of his hands. Using these ocular-augmented appendages, which he holds up in front of his eyeless face like glasses, the Pale Man is able to visualize and move through his surroundings.

Plant-based dairy alternatives have been around for decades. But now, one California company is making real dairy without the cows.

In 2016, a bizarre-looking plane, covered with more than 17,000 solar panels, showed the world a glimpse of the future of flight. With the wingspan of a Boeing 747, but weighing only as much as an SUV, it circumnavigated the Earth without using a drop of fuel.

When you hear the word “nanomedicine,” it might call to mind scenarios like those in the 1966 movie “Fantastic Voyage.” The film portrays a medical team shrunken down to ride a microscopic robotic ship through a man’s body to clear a blood clot in his brain.

A new Apple patent has suggested that a future iPad or version of iPadOS could include the ability to transform the tablet into a macOS-like user experience when it's attached to an external keyboard. The patent, first reported by Patently Apple, is wide-ranging in its potential implementation. Apple regularly patents dozens of ideas, and only very few ever see the light of day. Nonetheless, this patent describes a base device, such as a keyboard that includes keys and a trackpad, that could be coupled with a computing device, such as an ‌iPad‌, to deliver what seems like a macOS similar experience with an Apple Pencil.

Ten years ago, when Benjamin Choi was in third grade, he watched a “60 Minutes” documentary about a mind-controlled prosthesis. Researchers implanted tiny sensors into the motor cortex of the brain of a patient who moved a robotic arm using only her thoughts. Choi was fascinated by the concept, likening it to something out of a Star Wars movie.

Rocket Lab has taken a huge step towards making its Electron orbital launch vehicle a reusable rocket. The company has successfully captured Electron’s first stage mid-air with a helicopter for the first time upon its return to Earth after deploying 34 satellites to orbit.

Electric vehicles are infinitely better for the environment than gas-powered ones but they have yet to be widely adopted. One of the issues holding back this shift is the fact that electric vehicles take a long time to charge.

Why is plastic bad for the environment? It is one of those seemingly necessary evils: It’s as lightweight as it is durable, and it’s in pretty much everything. Plus, unlike other popular materials (think steel and glass), it doesn’t cost very much money or energy to produce. That said, there’s a reason why coffee shops are puncturing their lids with paper straws, and grocery stores are piling up produce within the confines of...

Grand Rapids, Michigan — Researchers estimate more than 200 million Americans in all 50 states could have cancer-causing carcinogens in their drinking water. The toxic chemicals per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, called PFAS, have been virtually indestructible — but new technology aims to change that.

One of the inventors of CRISPR gene editing, a groundbreaking new method to engineer genetic code, believes we could use the same techniques to tackle some of the biggest issues facing humanity right now, including climate change.

Innovation prizes aren’t hard to come by. Last year Elon Musk announced $100 million to come up with ways to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The year before, Prince William and David Attenborough announced an annual £1 million Earthshot Prize for solutions to environmental problems. This year, no doubt, will herald another headline-grabbing announcement.