Mother Nature Network

The 7 weirdest things made by 3-D printing 3-D printing offers...

Sun, 26 May 2013 20:50:39 -0400

The 7 weirdest things made by 3-D printing

3-D printing offers lots of DIY opportunities, but also models of dead kings’ faces and stem cells.

5 deodorant alternatives

Sun, 26 May 2013 18:40:14 -0400

5 deodorant alternatives

9 of the world’s most relaxing hot springs

Sun, 26 May 2013 16:30:11 -0400

9 of the world’s most relaxing hot springs

Who signed (and who didn’t) the safety accord for...

Sun, 26 May 2013 14:20:09 -0400

Who signed (and who didn’t) the safety accord for Bangladeshi garment workers?

Apparel manufacturers are split on whether they have signed a new safety agreement.

When buying chocolate becomes complicated Have you considered...

Sun, 26 May 2013 12:10:14 -0400

When buying chocolate becomes complicated

Have you considered the impact of your purchasing decisions?

Veggie burgers for Memorial Day: 10 recipes, countless...

Sun, 26 May 2013 12:00:33 -0400

Veggie burgers for Memorial Day: 10 recipes, countless benefits

These recipes provide healthier ways to partake in both National Hamburger Month and Memorial Day festivities.

unconsumption: Detritivores are creatures that consume...

Sat, 25 May 2013 20:50:32 -0400

unconsumption:

Detritivores are creatures that consume decaying matter. Detritivore designs use abundant waste products to make scalable technology solutions. Unlike loftier concepts of zero-waste design such as Cradle to Cradle, Detritivore design accepts that the world is already loaded with discarded and broken technology. Detritivore designers need not create a recyclable or even non-toxic product, since the materials already exist — we merely try to squeeze out whatever functionality objects may have left.

The Public Lab Spectrometry Kit is a detritivore design. It consumes waste products and uses them to search for other, more dangerous wastes. Pipe cutoffs, obsolete webcams, and optical discs are sufficient to make a functioning spectrometer. The central component, the diffraction grating, is made from CDs and DVDs, disposable media with extremely precise grooves. Long after the media written onto these discs decays into illegibility, they will still function as diffraction gratings, splitting light into a rainbow that can be quantified and used for material identification.

(via ‘Detritivore’ Design: How to Use Trash to Create Scalable Tech Solutions- Mathew Lippincott | Discard Studies)

Rescuing an injured bird the social media way After...

Sat, 25 May 2013 18:40:16 -0400

Rescuing an injured bird the social media way

After crowdsourcing very helpful advice from her friends and family on Facebook, our food blogger and her sons rescue a bird and take him to safety.

A milk crate-based storage stool Following a successful...

Sat, 25 May 2013 16:30:15 -0400

A milk crate-based storage stool

Following a successful Kickstarter campaign, Newark-based Combo Colab returns to the Designboom Mart at ICFF with a clever, milk crate-based stackable storage stool dubbed XTOOL.

Huge tortoise gets too close for comfort A videographer in the...

Sat, 25 May 2013 14:20:28 -0400

Huge tortoise gets too close for comfort

A videographer in the Galapagos Islands uses his tripod to record an up-close encounter with a tortoise. Check out the otherworldly video for World Turtle Day.

Watch the video.

Recipe: Grilled Veggie Pizza Combining fire-roasted vegetables...

Sat, 25 May 2013 12:10:25 -0400

Recipe: Grilled Veggie Pizza

Combining fire-roasted vegetables with lightly toasted focaccia bread turns a crowd-pleasing dish into a Mediterranean-style classic.

Greening your Memorial Day BBQ Memorial Day weekend means the...

Fri, 24 May 2013 20:50:12 -0400

Greening your Memorial Day BBQ

Memorial Day weekend means the unofficial start of summer and that means lighting up the grill. Here are some ways to green your BBQs all summer long.

5 fun backyard games for Memorial Day Break out the fun this...

Fri, 24 May 2013 18:40:07 -0400

5 fun backyard games for Memorial Day

Break out the fun this holiday weekend with these family friendly backyard games.

Photo

Fri, 24 May 2013 16:30:18 -0400

Here’s a handy guide to some of the snakes you may run...

Fri, 24 May 2013 14:20:22 -0400

Here’s a handy guide to some of the snakes you may run across while gardening and hiking this season.

There are plenty of works of literature set in real places. You...

Fri, 24 May 2013 12:10:21 -0400

There are plenty of works of literature set in real places. You can follow in the author’s footsteps, see what inspired them and blend your interpretation of the setting with what you see.

8 vacations based on books

What happened to abandoned ‘ghost ship’ Lyubov...

Thu, 23 May 2013 20:50:14 -0400

What happened to abandoned ‘ghost ship’ Lyubov Orlova?

The unlucky cruise ship may have finally sunk to the bottom of the ocean.

First look at sci-fi thriller ‘Europa Report’ The...

Thu, 23 May 2013 18:40:26 -0400

First look at sci-fi thriller ‘Europa Report’

The film is by turns moody, suspenseful and stunningly realistic in its portrayal of the extreme isolation astronauts would face on a years-long trip to Jupiter.

Could a calorie-restriction drug prevent brain aging? A study in...

Thu, 23 May 2013 16:30:24 -0400

Could a calorie-restriction drug prevent brain aging?

A study in mice is the first to show that the benefit of calorie restriction on cognitive function is linked with less degeneration of neurons.

Photos of the day: Moments of hope after the Oklahoma...

Thu, 23 May 2013 14:20:25 -0400

Photos of the day: Moments of hope after the Oklahoma tornado

une Simson embraces her cat, Sammi, after finding him in the wreckage of her home on May 21 in Moore, Okla. After a monstrous tornado tore through the suburbs of Oklahoma City earlier this week, residents are now returning home to pick up what remains of their lives. Entire neighborhoods were rendered unrecognizable by the powerful EF-5 tornado, which killed 24 people, 9 of them children.

See more photos.