The Copenhagen International School building in Denmark, features 12,000 blue-hued but transparent solar panels with DSC technology. (Photo: ALEXANDER2323/Depositphotos)

Solar energy is the future. In an ideal world, solar panels line rooftops, and the Sun's energy is stored in advanced replenishing batteries. But what about all that sunlight that comes streaming in through our windows? Modern technology can harvest that too. Grätzel cells, or dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs), are a modern wonder. Looking like stained glass, these colorful windows harvest ambient light. This technology has taken a recent leap forward, as announced in Nature, to capture the entire visible light spectrum.

Researchers at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland have set about improving DSC technology. Standard DSC panels feature a photosensitized dye on a semiconductor. A chemical reaction transforms the visible light hitting the panel into energy that can be stored in a battery. DSC technology previously worked with direct sunlight only, but the Swiss researchers were able to create thin film solar panels with transparent photosensitizers. These are molecules that are activated by light and that capture light from the entire visible light spectrum.

“Our findings pave the way for facile access to high-performance DSCs and offer promising prospects for applications as power supply and battery replacement for low-power electronic devices that use ambient light as their energy source,” the authors of the study wrote. In the future, these new DSCs may adorn windows of skyscrapers or even homes as an affordable and versatile solar solution. The SwissTech Convention Center has already had DSC windows since 2012, while the Copenhagen International School in Denmark hosts a whopping 12,000 blue-tinted transparent solar panels. These panels provide half the energy the school needs.

Improving the technology further like the recent discoveries of the researchers will allow further expansion of the technology. Their new molecular design allows 30 percent of ambient solar energy to be harvested. A standard modern solar panel averages 20 percent. The more efficient, the better a solution DSCs will be for a climate-friendly future.

Grätzel cells, or dye-sensitized solar cells, are transparent, often colorful solar panel windows that produce energy.

 

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These new stained glass panels use ambient light to power entire buildings at a low cost.

How a dye-sensitized solar cell works. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)

h/t: [EuroNews]

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A kelp forest. (Photo: KGRIFF/Depositphotos)

Seaweed is not just for sushi. While in American grocery stores these oceanic greens are generally relegated to sushi rolls and salted snack packs, seaweed is likely to soon become a more regular feature in our diets. The aquatic plant life—already consumed widely across the world—is a burgeoning industry. Shifting to seaweed agriculture will help combat the climate crisis, fight food insecurity globally, and even uplift communities in need of jobs.

Paul Dobbins, director of seaweed and shellfish farming for WWF U.S., explained, “There is a lack of understanding about how [seaweed] is farmed. How do you create the seed? How do you design and engineer a farm? How do you process it? How do you market it?” The answer will in part depend on the environment, as seaweed can be grown everywhere from the deep cold waters off the coast of New England to warm shallows in Tanzania. Production has been increasing by about eight percent per year. Dobbins notes, “If it continues at that pace seaweed will surpass potato production by around 2051.”

Intensive seaweed farming is already common in Asia, but its expansion elsewhere offers much-needed jobs. Fishermen in the U.S. and Canada who have seen their livelihoods flounder in recent decades can shift their capital and focus to a more sustainable solution. In Zanzibar, Tanzania, 90% of seaweed farmers are women, who make soap and skincare products from the plants. The practice has been a boon to women entrepreneurs facing a shifting climate. While start-up costs and knowledge barriers remain, many organizations across the U.S. are trying to ease entry into this burgeoning field.

Aside from the job opportunities in the industry, seaweed cultivation has incredible potential to stymie climate change. Land-based mass agriculture is brutal on the environment. Fresh water use, methane emissions, and fertilizer run off are all harmful effects of agribusiness. However, seaweed is grown without the need for fresh water. It is also a carbon-negative plant. “Seaweed has all the features required to be classified as a blue carbon habitat and a massive carbon sink,” a recent study announced. One study even found that kelp could sink as much carbon as the Amazon rainforest. While seaweed cannot save the planet on its own, it is a promising step.

Seaweed can also serve as an important food source for those who are or will suffer from food insecurity. Resilient and nutritious, seaweed produces two to 11 times more biomass per unit than corn or wheat. “Seaweed has historically been assigned to the specialty food aisle and, as a result, has remained largely inaccessible to the public” in the United States, says Eliza Harrison, program manager for Ocean Rainforest, which grows seaweed for animal feed, food, and cosmetics. “By exploring alternative applications, such as meat replacement products, seaweed could be incorporated into more familiar foods—thereby increasing consumption within the U.S.”

“We don’t want to make the same mistakes we made in terrestrial farming,” cautions Dobbins. “There’s a lot going for seaweed, but we want to make sure it’s going to be done well.” Increasing access to knowledge and capital, as well as changing Western food habits, may take time. However, seaweed's increasing popularity in recent years should indicate a market ready for new, more sustainable—and arguably delicious—tastes.

Seaweed farming is a growing industry, but it is expected to be even more popular in the future.

Seaweed garden in Zanzibar, Tanzania. (Photo: OLEGDOROSHENKO/Depositphotos)

Seaweed can serve as a carbon sink, is a sustainable food source, and offers jobs for many.

Seaweed farming is an industry that boosts women. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)

h/t: [Yahoo Finance]

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Cirrhilabrus finifenmaa, or the Rose-Veiled Fairy Wrasse, a new species. (Photo: Yi-Kai Tea/California Academy of Sciences)

Untold wonders fill the seas. In 2022, a new wonder was revealed: an elusive rainbow-colored fish in the waters off the Maldives. The rose-veiled fairy wrasse—or Cirrhilabrus finifenmaa—darts along the reefs. Patterned in yellow, rose, and violet, the interesting creature is born female and becomes male as it ages. This shift in gender is accompanied by one in the vivid color of its scales. This special trait is just one example of gender fluidity in nature.

The rose-veiled fairy wrasse was first sighted in the 1990s by scientist John Ernest Randall. However, Randall believed the colorful fish was simply another color-changing species at a different age. It was not until 2022 that the species was scientifically described as distinct. “Finifenmaa” means rose in the local Dhivehi language. It acknowledges the Maldivian national flower, the pink rose. Researcher Ahmed Najeeb of the Maldives Marine Research Institute made history in the description of the fish, as the first local scientist to describe a species native to the region.

The rose-veiled fairy wrasse lives about 130–230 feet below the surface of the Indian Ocean. This region is known as the mesophotic, or twilight, zone. Divers with special breathing systems must descend to spot the brightly colored critters. Like other wrasse species, the fish are born female; and as they mature, they become males. They become more decadent and colorful as they change their gender. The Vibranium fairy wrasse (Cirrhilabrus wakanda, named in 2019 after the metal of Black Panther) begin life with vivid purple scales and, as their gender shifts, their heads turn bright yellow. Thankfully, Dr. Yi-Kai Tea, a fellow at the Australian Museum Research Institute in Sydney, tells The Guardian, “As far as we know, they are not under any immediate risk.”

The rose-veiled fairy wrasse begins life female and later becomes male, demonstrating fluidity of gender in nature.

The rose-veiled fairy wrasse off the coast of the Maldives. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)

h/t: [The Guardian]

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A slice of the El Ali meteorite, now housed in the University of Alberta's Meteorite Collection, contains two minerals never before seen on Earth. (Photo: University of Alberta)

Space is full of rocks. This “celestial debris” known as meteoroids hurtles through space, occasionally entering Earth's atmosphere where the materials begin to burn up. These “shooting stars” are meteors. Most are obliterated before they come close to the surface of Earth, but a few survive the fall. These rocks which hit Earth are known as meteorites, and they are a scientist's dream. Meteorites provide hints to the chemical composition of the universe. Excitingly, a meteorite which fell to Earth and landed in Somalia in 2020 has been revealed to contain two new minerals not found on our planet.

The meteorite in question is the ninth largest ever discovered at a whopping 15 tonne (16.5 U.S. ton). It was found near El Ali, a town in the Hiiraan region of Somalia. A 2.5-ounce piece of the space rock was taken as a scientific sample and sent to the University of Alberta. There it was analyzed by Chris Herd, a professor in the Department of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences and curator of the University of Alberta’s Meteorite Collection. Herd began to decipher the meteorites composition. “Whenever you find a new mineral, it means that the actual geological conditions, the chemistry of the rock, was different than what’s been found before,” he says. “That’s what makes this exciting: In this particular meteorite you have two officially described minerals that are new to science.”

Herd's results classified the meteorite as an “Iron, IAB complex” example, of which 350 have been discovered. Despite other similar meteorites being studied, this small slice of rock contained two previously unknown minerals. Minerals are elements or compounds which form the building blocks of rocks. Think of quartz or feldspar, which are both common minerals. Yet the two new minerals discovered are not naturally occurring on our planet. It usually takes a while to confirm whether a mineral in a meteorite is in fact new; however, these were easy to match given the fact that scientists have artificially synthesized them before. A third mineral is also possibly a new type, but more investigation is needed to confirm this.

Andrew Locock, head of the University’s Electron Microprobe Laboratory, aided Herd in identifying the new minerals. The compounds have been named elaliite and elkinstantonite. The former is named in honor of the town nearby the meteorite crash site, and the latter is in honor of Lindy Elkins-Tanton, vice president of the ASU Interplanetary Initiative, professor at Arizona State University’s School of Earth, and Space Exploration, and principal investigator of NASA’s upcoming Psyche mission. “Lindy has done a lot of work on how the cores of planets form, how these iron nickel cores form, and the closest analogue we have are iron meteorites. So it made sense to name a mineral after her and recognize her contributions to science,” Herd explains.

The meteorite may contain even more secrets of space; however, studying it in the future could be logistically tricky. The large rock has already been transported to China in search of a private sale, and a future owner may not want to take further samples. However, investigations will continue into this small piece and other meteorite materials held by the university. Herd says, “Whenever there’s a new material that’s known, material scientists are interested too because of the potential uses in a wide range of things in society.”

A meteorite which fell to Earth and landed in Somalia in 2020 has been revealed to contain two new minerals not found on our planet.

The Hoba meteorite in Namibia, the largest intact meteorite known. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0)

Want to learn more about meteorites?

h/t: [Interesting Engineering]

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READ: Meteorite Contains Two New Minerals Not Found on Earth

The late 14th-century diamond-set gold ring. (Photo: Noonans)

The UK is full of history, some of it buried just below a shallow layer of dirt. Amateur metal detectorists can stumble on antiquities, including hoards of ancient treasure. Some finds are more singular: an amateur roving the Dorset countryside with his metal detector discovered a 14th-century medieval gold and diamond wedding ring. The stunning band bears a unique inscription, and has recently sold at auction for an impressive $46,000.

David Board picked up metal detecting in the 1970s, but his early endeavors yielded nothing exciting. In 2019, he picked the hobby back up, exploring the countryside near Thorncombe, in the South West of England. His machine pinged on only the second day searching. He initially thought the object he unearthed was a metal candy wrapper but then decided it was scrap metal. Luckily, he saved it. “It was once I got home and washed it off that we realized it was a lot better than we thought,” he explained to CNN. Once the ring was examined by experts in medieval history, the true import of the discovery became clear.

In incredible condition, the ring features two entwined bands symbolizing marital union. An inverted diamond is set in the gold. The interior of the band carries an inscription in medieval French. It reads “ieo vos * tien * foi * tenes * le moy” which translates to “As I hold your faith, hold mine.” The perfect example of medieval love and chivalry, the ring likely belonged to Joan Brook, wife of local landed gentry Sir Thomas Brook. They married in 1388. Lady Joan—a wealthy widow of a cloth merchant—brought a lot of wealth to her marriage.

While this incredible piece of history may be a once-in-a-lifetime find for Board, he is still avidly pursuing fields in search of other wonders. In the UK, national laws govern the finding of certain treasures and help to ensure both rewards for finders as well as the protection of national heritage. Yet Board is still thrilled with his find: “There will probably never be another one like it. Back then, each ring was individual and unique, not mass produced like today. It's stunning.”

The ring went to auction at Noonan's in London in November 2022, fetching an impressive $46,000. It may be impossible to put a price on love, but this medieval love ring certainly fetched a pretty penny.

An amateur metal detectorist in the UK discovered a buried medieval gold and diamond wedding ring.

Photo: Noonans

The wedding ring dates to the 15th century and has a medieval French inscription which reads “I hold your faith, hold mine.”

Photo: Noonans

h/t: [CNN]

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READ: Metal Detectorist in the UK Finds a Medieval Diamond Wedding Ring

The 4.6-billion-year-old meteorite. (Photo: Natural History Museum)

Water is a scientific enigma. How did Earth develop its oceans? Do other planets have water? Space exploration may help answer these questions, but others come crashing to Earth in strokes of celestial inspiration. The Whinchcombe meteorite—a meteor that made it through Earth's atmosphere to land in Gloucestershire, England in 2021—is already providing answers. It contains extra-terrestrial water and organic compounds that shed light on the origin of Earth’s oceans.

The meteorite is a chunk of 4.6 billion-year-old space rock. It likely dislodged from an asteroid near Jupiter and traveled to Earth within the last million years. The crash landing on a Gloucestershire driveway was fiery, captured on camera by 16 cameras coordinated by the UK Fireball Alliance (UKFAll). Scientists were able to quickly recover and preserve the meteorite for study. Their findings have been published in Science Advances. The meteorite is, surprisingly, a rare CM carbonaceous chondrite. It contains approximately two percent carbon by weight and is the first of this type to fall in the UK.

Chemical analysis demonstrated the meteorite has a composition of 11% extra-terrestrial water. The hydrogen isotope ratio is similar to our Earth's water. There is no liquid in the rock, rather the water is bound in compounds formed near the origin of the solar system. The meteorite also contains extra-terrestrial amino acids. These prebiotic molecules are essential to life. These findings further reinforce the scientific belief that carbonaceous asteroids delivered some of the ingredients of life to Earth.

Dr. Luke Daly, of the Planetary Geoscience at the University of Glasgow and author of the paper, says in a statement, “One of the biggest questions asked of the scientific community is how did we get here? This analysis on the Winchcombe meteorite gives insight into how the Earth came to have water–the source of so much life. Researchers will continue to work on this specimen for years to come, unlocking more secrets into the origins of our solar system.”

Dr. Ashley King of the Natural History Museum and another author, adds, “The rapid retrieval and curation of Winchcombe make it one of the most pristine meteorites available for analysis, offering scientists a tantalizing glimpse back through time to the original composition of the solar system 4.6 billion-years-ago.”

The Winchcombe meteorite has revealed secrets to how the “starter” materials for Earth's oceans arrived on this planet.

A fragment of meteorite. (Photo: King et al./Science Advances)

While the celestial rock is 4.6 billion years old, it crashed into Earth in 2021 and was quickly recovered and preserved.

A fragment of the Winchcome meteorite. (Photo: Trustees of the Natural History Museum)

h/t: [Interesting Engineering]

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Photo: BIZOON/Depositphotos

Democracy is under a global threat. From the violent January 6 insurrection in the U.S. to democratic backsliding in Europe, participatory governments are at a critical historical point. As developed by the ancient Greeks, democracy requires participation from an informed citizenry to function properly. The Internet Archive has created a resource to help facilitate this political engagement. Democracy's Library is a repository of free, online, trustworthy sources published by democratic governments.

The Internet Archive has been preserving billions of web pages since 1996 through its Wayback Machine. As a member of the American Library Association, it has also expanded to host millions of free books, audio recordings, and videos. The site functions as an accessible, free repository of thousands of years of knowledge and culture. Its latest offering—Democracy's Library—is a collection of 500,000 documents and reports. They come from U.S. agencies such as the Bureau of Land Management and the Foreign Broadcast Information Service. Public Accounts of Canadian provinces are also available, as well as vast reservoirs of data. You can browse historic U.S. Congressional Hearings or Global Public Safety Codes.

The library has been created for a simple reason: “Because democracies need an educated citizenry to thrive.” In the age of internet disinformation, unreliable sources are a direct threat to this solid basis of government. “Governments have created an abundance of information and put it in the public domain, but it turns out the public can’t easily access it,” says Brewster Kahle, founder of the Internet Archive. Knowledge is power—and knowing what your government is doing and saying offers opportunities for democratic participation at the ballot.

For resources on identifying and avoiding fake news and misinformation, check out this handy infographic or this guide.

The Internet Archive has created Democracy's Library, a free, online database of over 500,000 documents by democratic governments and for democratic citizens.

Photo: WRANGEL/Depositphotos

h/t: [Open Culture]

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Photo: screenshot from Nant de Drance SA

Solar and wind energy are the future. But both of these renewable, sustainable energy sources are dependent on varying environmental conditions. Where does one store the extra energy produced by solar panels on a summer day or windmills churning as a breeze rips over the ocean? Traditional batteries require minerals that are dangerous and damaging to the Earth. While some researchers are pursuing experimental solutions, the “water battery” is a tried and true method for storing energy. An enormous Swiss water battery project—known as Nant de Drance—is at last operational. It is a glimpse into the future of energy storage.

For the past 14 years, construction crews have been working hard to complete this ambitious project. They began by hollowing out 11 miles of tunnels in the Swiss Alps connecting the reservoirs of Emosson and Vieux Emosson in Valais, Switzerland. Through these tunnels, they dragged building materials to construct an elegant arched dam to retain the upper body of water. Inside, they installed powerful turbines. After years of hard work, the system—Nant de Drance—is now operational. When in use to generate power, the turbines produce 900 MW of power, enough to power 900,000 homes.

So, how does the water battery work? When excess energy needs to be stored, that energy is used to pump water from the lower to the upper reservoir. This is like charging a battery. The water then remains at the top of the system until the energy is needed, where it can store 20 million kWh of energy. The water is then channeled back down, passing through the massive turbines. They spin to “harvest” the stored energy. Simple physics is therefore a powerful solution to the storage problems of renewable energy.

This technology has been used for centuries in Switzerland. You can also find water batteries in other countries, like the U.S. and China. Despite the technological leaps forward in other battery technology, the classic water battery might just be the best—and arguably most beautiful—solution to energy storage problems.

These two reservoirs in the Swiss Alps form a “water battery” which can store 20 million kWh of energy.

Aerial view of the above-ground portions of the “water battery.” (Photo: screenshot from Nant de Drance SA)

The “battery” can store excess energy produced during more active periods of wind and solar harvesting.

Building the dam to create the top reservoir. (Photo: screenshot from Nant de Drance SA)

By releasing water from on high and channeling it through underground turbines, the energy can be released to meet higher demand.

How the water battery stores and releases energy. (Photo: screenshot from Nant de Drance SA)

This project took 14 years to complete and only recently became operational.

However, the technology of water batteries is a well-established one.

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Photo: Yamagata University

Etched into the pampas in the Peruvian coastal plain are countless figures which can only be seen from the air above. Various animals and humans frolic across the grasslands. These drawings—known as the Nazca Lines—are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Carved into the landscape between 500 BCE and 500 CE, the total number of known geoglyphs keeps increasing as researchers discover new designs. A team from Yamagata University discovered 168 new glyphs in the region through field surveys in 2019 and 2020, according to a recent announcement.

The geoglyphs were created by ancient peoples who scooped the darker stones of the surface up to reveal the light sand beneath. Most of the etchings are less than 30 feet in diameter. The smaller ones can be seen from vantage points on the ground. The Yamagata University team used aerial photography and drones to capture a bird's-eye view of the plains. By examining their footage, the researchers were able to spot the new figures. These include birds, snakes, cats, and orca whales. In total, the geoglyphs—now numbering a total of 358—cover over 170 square miles.

Mystery still surrounds the Nazca Lines. They come in three varieties: straight lines, geometric designs, and pictorial representations. The latter include a spider, hummingbird, cactus plant, monkey, whale, llama, duck, flower, tree, lizard, and dog. The Nazca culture, and possibly their predecessors the Chavin and Paracas cultures, are thought to have created the etchings. The dryness of the region has kept the drawings safe from erosion over the years. However, one of the researchers Professor Masato Sakai told Reuters, “Some geoglyphs are in danger of being destroyed due to the recent expansion of mining-related workshops in the archaeological park.” Thankfully, a national park was established in 2017 by the Peruvian government, which protects many of these historic artworks.

Researchers from Yamagata University have discovered 168 new geoglyphs on the pampas in Peru.

Photo: Yamagata University

This brings the total number of the ancient Nazca Lines—etchings of shapes and animals—up to 358.

Photo: Yamagata University

h/t: [Colossal, Unilad]

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Paper is a special medium. From sketch artists to book printers, paper goods are the backbone of arts and culture. Some episodes in paper history are legendary—including the Heidelberg letterpress. Between 1923 and 1985, the Original Heidelberg Platen Press was used around the world to churn out newspapers and other printed goods. In homage to this storied machine, Korean paper artist Lee Ji-hee created a full-size replica of the letterpress, crafted from carefully twisted, meshed, and rolled paper.

Ji-hee is no stranger to paper sculpture. She has sculpted an incredible paper train stretching eight meters (26.3 feet) in length; she even crafted a beautiful tablescape of flowers and cakes. To prepare for the challenge of the Heidelberg letterpress, Ji-hee studied the original model, including its trademark windmill paper feed. Through careful cutting and construction, she then recreated almost every detail with paper and corrugated cardboard in varying colors.

The project took Ji-hee three months to complete, and it was created it as a tribute to the long-flourishing printing industry on Chungmuri and Euljiro Streets in Seoul, South Korea. The work was part of the Urban Development project in Seoul, where the artist's office is located in the printing quarter of the city. This is fitting, as Korean printing history is far more ancient than in Europe. Hundreds of years before Gutenberg printed Bibles in Europe, Korean woodblock printers were creating magnificent Buddhist texts.

To see more of Ji-hee's contributions to the long history of paper-based art and culture, check out her Behance and Instagram.

Between 1923 and 1985, the Original Heidelberg Platen Press was used around the world to churn out newspapers and other printed goods.

In homage to this storied machine, Korean paper artist Lee Ji-hee created a full-size replica of the letterpress, crafted from carefully twisted, meshed, and rolled paper.

The project took Ji-hee three months to complete.

Check out more of Ji-hee's paper sculpture.

Lee Ji-hee: Behance | Instagram

My Modern Met granted permission to use photos by Lee Ji-hee.

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READ: Artist Faithfully Recreates a Full-Scale Model of the Heidelberg Letterpress Out of Paper