New Portable Device Can Turn Saltwater Into Drinking Water

Only 0.5% of Earth’s 326 million trillion gallons of water is safe to drink. To make water more accessible and consumable, researchers at MIT developed a portable device that converts saltwater into drinking water with the touch of a button. The current prototype (which fits into a regular-sized suitcase) requires less power to operate than a cellphone charger, processes one liter of water per hour, …

Cindy Rucker Gallery’s Exhibition of Abortion Stories

This past weekend, the Lower East Side’s Cindy Rucker Gallery hosted a three-day exhibition focused on abortion stories, in response to reproductive freedom across the US being threatened. From emotional to pragmatic, the works vary in all ways but still center on the fundamental right to abortion. Shout Your Abortion (an initiative striving to normalize abortion through art and community) created a work called “Abortion …

Face Masks Can Be Recycled to Create Stronger Concrete

New research published in Materials Letters announced that scientists at Washington State University found a way to recycle face masks by incorporating them into concrete, creating a more durable material that is 50% stronger than the standard. As face masks generate plastic pollution and concrete engenders a carbon-intensive process, the study not only improves concrete’s design, it also addresses two sustainability issues. Researchers found that …