Category: Plants & Technology

This researcher’s guide is intended to help potential researchers plan experiments that would be exposed to the space environment, while externally attached to or deployed from the ISS. It covers all the pertinent aspects of the space environment, how to best translate ground research to flight results and lessons learned from previous experiments. It also details what power and data are available on the ISS in various external locations.

A method for making elastic high-capacity batteries from wood pulp was unveiled by researchers. Using nanocellulose broken down from tree fibres, a team produced an elastic, foam-like battery material that can withstand shock and stress.

If pollen can play a crucial part in solving a case like this, why isn’t it used more often?

Researchers have developed a new way to use plant oils like olive and linseed oil to create polyurethane, a plastic material used in everything from foam insulation panels to tires, hoses and sealants.

Researchers in China have taken inspiration from fish scales and skeleton flowers to make a transparent underwater surface that stays clean by repelling oil.

The ‘lotus effect’ and has inspired a range of hydrophobic and superhydrophobic materials.

I think there’s interest in developing a temperate-climate source of natural rubber

Construction crews may someday use a plant molecule called lignin in their asphalt and sealant mixtures to help roads and roofs hold up better under various weather conditions. It also could make them more environmentally friendly