Polytechnic University of Milan

“Liquid-Desiccant Vapor Separation Reduces the Energy Requirements of Atmospheric Moisture Harvesting“ Getting clean water to communities in parched areas of the planet remains an ongoing challenge. Recent developments that harvest water from air have been proposed as a solution. However, the technology to do so consumes a lot of energy. But based on new modeling

Researchers at KTH Royal Institute of Technology have successfully tested a new material that can be used for cheap and large-scale production of hydrogen – a promising alternative to fossil fuel. Precious metals are the standard catalyst material used for extracting hydrogen from water. The problem is these materials – such as platinum, ruthenium and

Cellphones and other devices could soon be controlled with touchless gestures and charge themselves using ambient light, thanks to new LED arrays that can both emit and detect light. Made of tiny nanorods arrayed in a thin film, the LEDs could enable new interactive functions and multitasking devices. Researchers at the University of Illinois at

What are you supposed to do when an earthquake hits? If you answered “Go stand in a doorway,” you get a gold star… although “Get under a table” would also be correct. Doorways are structurally stronger than most other parts of a building, and are often the last thing left standing when a structure has

“Energy independence” is a concept that has become part of the political lexicon and touted as a panacea for a downturn economy. Recently, the concept has morphed into “energy security” which encompasses not only a domestic abundance of energy resources, but freedom from energy market manipulation. Still, there are numerous and conflicting definitions for energy security. Does

The Graphene Pavilion, organised by the Graphene Flagship and supported by the European Commission and GSMA, is returning to Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2019 with over 20 graphene-based prototypes, four of which are developed by the Graphene Flagship partner ICFO, based in Barcelona. These technologies aim to turn mobile phones into life saving devices. The first of ICFO’s

Real Steel or Dumb Metal?   Right from the start let’s agree that the argument of humans or robots is getting close to being a dead heat in some areas. With advances in artificial intelligence and complex software, many robots are close to performing some duties better than their human counterparts. For example, NASA and

Cover via Amazon Organic foods are exploding in popularity. But fears of biotechnology—and a widespread mistrust of science—won’t help efforts to create a truly sustainable agriculture. When delegates from 192 nations arrive in Copenhagen in December for the UN COP15 summit, they will confront a 181-page draft negotiation text, 2,000 bracketed passages still in dispute,

New technology converts exhaust heat into electricity for vehicles and other applications. Prof. Son’s team has developed liquid-like TE materials that can be painted on almost any surface. A new study, led by Professor Jae Sung Son of Materials Science and Engineering at UNIST has succeeded in developing a new technique that can be used to

A current focus in global health research is to make medical tests that are not just cheap, but virtually free. One such strategy is to start with paper – one of humanity’s oldest technologies – and build a device like a home-based pregnancy test that might work for malaria, diabetes or other diseases. A University