He concludes from the experiments that it should work really well as a fire retardant or insulation, as well as pulling moisture out of pretty much anything (including his finger!). Aerogel weighs only three times as much as air, but is even more effective than your everyday pink insulation. It may only be the world's coolest insulation material, but are you the world's coolest anything? Didn't think so. [Jason Wells via Crunchgear]
Talking about Lego, remember our Giz's Lego Go Miniman Go video contest with thousands of dollars in prizes, celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Lego minifig. Brothers Brick is also running the Go Miniman Go Photo Contest, so remember to visit them and participate. [Simon via BrothersBrick]
There have been many attempts to convince the average person that their energy consumption might be out of control, but the fact is, unless they see exactly how they're spending their money categorically, it won't sink in. Enter startup software company Greenbox, who hopes to corner the market on utility company software reporting. Created by the same guys who brought us the Flash application, they've already scored a pilot deal with Oklahoma Gas and Electric and hope to get the ball rolling on more utility companies soon.
When architect Mick Pearce set out to design and build an eco-friendly shopping center in Zimbabwe, he turned to the savannah for inspiration. The new Eastgate Centre is built without conventional air-conditioning and heating and yet it stays a comfortable temperature year round. The architects and engineers owe the revolutionary construction techniques to the lowly termite.
While you and your buddies were hacking away at the backyard seeing who could dig their way to China, the US and Soviet Union were playing the same game -- but in total seriousness. Just as the two countries were competing with one another in the space race, both were vying to be the first to travel in the other direction -- straight into the center of the Earth.
Before you turn to vinyl, laminate or even tile for your new floor, take a look at cork. It is renewable, attractive and easy to care for.
Canada's fresh water supply is not as abundant as once thought, according to a report by Environment Canada. The report suggests that the federal government take a larger role in managing the country's fresh water supplies. Canada has a fifth of the world's water supply, but only 0.5% of the world's population (33 million out of a total 6.6 billion people).
On a number of occasions, we've seen reports suggesting that pacemakers could be sent signals which could instruct them to do all sorts of unwanted things, including shut off completely. Thankfully, the University of Washington's Dr. Tamara Denning has heeded the warnings and created a possible solution. The so-called cloaking device would enable pacemakers to "resist any instructions that come from anyone other than the doctor," though it has yet to be put to the test. in the real world Now, making sure your doc has passed a sufficient amount of background checks is another matter entirely.
A new study out of the University of Copenhagen, as reported by CNN, found that five organically-grown foods contained no more nutrients than their conventionally-grown counterparts. The researchers studied five crops -- carrots, kale, peas, apples and potatoes.
