A Cheaper, Faster and More Effective Solar Water Purifier

Researchers at the University of Buffalo have created what they believe could be a faster, cheaper and more efficient solar-powered water purifier. With some 850 million people without access to clean water, a product like this is a necessity. A reinvention, or modernization of ancient technology, the product “involves draping a sheet of carbon-dipped paper in an upside-down V. The paper’s bottom edges soak up …

Robot Chefs at Boston’s Spyce Restaurant

Billed as the world’s first restaurant featuring a robotic kitchen that cooks complex, customizable meals, Boston’s Spyce utilizes seven automated cooking pots in place of chefs. These devices can deliver complicated, primarily vegetarian, meals in roughly three minutes. The system was developed by MIT robotics engineers, including restaurant co-founder Michael Farid. His partner happens to be Michelin-starred chef Daniel Boulud. It’s worth noting that Spyce …

A Real Common Cold Cure, Perhaps

Hundreds of different viruses can trigger a cold. This has meant, for as long as we can remember, there’s been nothing truly effective at reducing its duration. Now, however, researchers at Imperial College London have developed a new chemical compound that approaches cold viruses differently. Their molecule makes the human cells inhospitable for viruses, by targeting them rather than the virus. There’s no timeline for …