A Structure For Ocean Self-Cleaning

Boyan Slat wants to rid the Pacific Ocean of half of its plastic waste by 2025. To do so, the 20-year-old and his nonprofit company Ocean Cleanup have designed a simple yet effective floating barrier that will allow the ocean to clean itself. Unlike nets—which sea life can become entangled in—the barriers will skim the surface of the water as ocean currents pass below it, …

Earbuds That Offer Superhuman Hearing

A hotly anticipated set of wireless earbuds called Here won’t even play your favorite songs. The soon-to-be-released tech gadget from SF-based Doppler Labs is instead meant to be a type of super-human volume control and sound equalizer for your everyday life. Users will be able to turn up the volume if they’re sitting in the nosebleeds at a concert or tune out specific sounds like …

Solar Impulse Sets Off On a Groundbreaking Flight

For the first time, an airplane powered purely by solar energy is making a five-day, five-night journey across the Pacific Ocean. The success of the flight will depend heavily upon the weather as sunshine is crucial to the airplane’s functionality and without it, the only option will be to ditch the aircraft in the Pacific. Two pilots, Andre Borschberg and Betrand Piccard, are taking turns …