NASA’s List of Plants That Best Filter Indoor Air

NASA’s 1989 Clean Air Study ascertained that certain plants act as an effective natural filter and remove organic pollutants from the air in enclosed spaces. To counter the effects of reduced ventilation in buildings at the time, and the lack of fresh air in this abodes, researchers documented the percentage of chemicals (like formaldehyde) that were naturally removed from sealed spaces within 24-hour periods by …

The World’s Biggest + Deepest Pool, Blue Abyss

Measuring 50m by 40m, with a 16-meter-wide shaft plunging to a depth of 50m, the research pool within Cornwall, England’s Blue Abyss aquatic center will be the biggest and deepest in the world. When it is completed in 2023, it will contain more than 42,000 cubic meters of water—and its salinity and temperature will be able to be controlled. Designed by British architect Robin Partington, …

Science Behind the Brightest Auroras

Though scientists have long understood the basic mechanism behind auroras (aka the northern lights or southern lights), a new paper published by Nature Communications offers “definitive evidence” on the spectacular physical process behind the brightest auroras. These colorful, undulating displays typically occur when particles charged by the Sun enter into Earth’s magnetosphere, collide with molecules and generate energy. However, physicists from the University of Iowa; …