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Science

It's D-lightful, It's D-licious, It's D Vitamin...

By Abby Seiff Posted on 2.12.2009 0 Comments

The sunshine vitamin is looking brighter. This past week, scientists have found vitamin D can do more than form and maintain strong bones. According to new research, it may prevent diabetes, inhibit the growth of breast cancer cells and reduce the risk of children developing multiple sclerosis later in life. In addition, the vitamin has been linked to more muscle power in teen girls. With all these added benefits, looks like it’s time to load up on some D.

Science

Cheer Up!

By taylorhengen Posted on 1.27.2009 13 Comments

Overall, how would you say things are these days? Would you say that you are very happy, pretty happy, or not too happy? This is the question participants in the University of Chicago's General Social Survey have been answering since 1972. Recently, University of Pennsylvania economists Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers took this survey's data from 1972 through 2006 to see if people had gotten happier since the decade of bell bottoms and disco.

The Environment

Planet Fixers

By Paul Adams Posted on 1.28.2009 8 Comments

A Funnel For Sunlight

Solar panels convert the most light into electricity when the sun shines directly on them, but as soon as it wanes, so does efficiency. A new antireflective film coating could help panels collect sunshine at 96 percent efficiency from nearly any angle. Developed by scientists at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the film consists of seven layers of nanoscopic silicon and titanium-oxide rods arranged in increasing densities, with the topmost nearly as porous as air.

DIY

A DIY Proposal

By Paul Adams Posted on 1.23.2009 8 Comments

When I finally made peace with the realization that I actually wanted to marry my girlfriend, thoughts about the typical next steps made me cringe: backroom bargaining in the diamond district, endless visits to mall jewelry stores to try to learn about cuts and clarity, spending way too much money I'd rather spend on traveling or tools or meat. Fortunately, my nascent furniture-building hobby has accustomed my girlfriend to appreciating my lovingly flawed home creations, so I decided to go the same route with the ring.

The Environment

Making the Most of **it

By Abby Seiff Posted on 1.19.2009 19 Comments

In José Saramago’s novel Blindness, when an epidemic of sightlessness sweeps the city, among the foulest signs of civic breakdown is its inability to handle its own excrement. Human waste piles where it lands, left to the elements and not modern plumbing. To newly minted industrial designer Virginia Gardiner, we might as well be blind to our own waste. Her plumbing-free toilet project, the Gardiner CH4, makes us personally responsible for our intimate product—and makes it useful.