BY: ERIC ZDANCEWICZ Follow Eric on Instagram In 1956, the space now occupied by Nathan Phillips Square was a parking lot. The city was still in its infancy, having only reached a population of one million four years earlier. The…
Innovation
This new way of growing brain cells may cure Alzheimer’s, Autism and other mental illnesses.
BY: DANIKA MOIR Scientists have just recently discovered a new way to grow brain cells that has the potential to cure brain-related diseases. Using adult skin cells, scientists can turn the skin cells into stem cells, which form into neurons.…
A new App lets you borrow dogs to hang out with, and even get paid for it
BY: ROB HOFFMAN The enduring relationship between humans and dogs isn’t without reason—according to numerous studies, owning a dog noticeably elevates physical and mental health. According to the international journal Health & Place, “Dog ownership produces considerable health benefit and…
Amazing new eye drops could be the simple and painless cure to cataracts
BY: ZOE MELNYK The solution for deteriorating vision from cataracts used to require a difficult surgery that many people in the world don’t have access to. Now, it might be as simple as using a new eye drop. Cataracts are…
The Lotus Belle tent will let you escape the rent trap for forest luxury
BY: EDITORS The feeling of tentatively stepping out of a dew-damp sleeping bag into daybreak, then stretching a spine like a twisted slinky is all-too-familiar for anyone who has ever slept in a tent on uneven ground. That’s why New…
Arctic zombie plants are coming back from cryogenically frozen death to haunt the living
BY: DAVID LAO The northern reaches of the Canadian Arctic, a barren, beautiful land freezing with life and surprising diversity. There exists a multitude of species up in the North – seals, polar bears, narwhals, House Stark. There is, however,…
Japanese art-form is home to the most bizarre “un-useless” products you never knew you needed
BY: ERIC ZDANCEWICZ Follow Eric on Instagram Japan has long been an exporter of the most amazing creations to bless American culture. Aside from the music, food and zen philosophies, Japanese art has deeply influenced cultures around the globe, beginning…
A new self-sustaining eco-garden is controlled by a swipe on your phone screen
BY: ROB HOFFMAN Instead of compulsively checking your Facebook notifications, why not monitor and control the health of a garden that will supply you and your family or roommates with daily organic, homegrown meals? Aquaponics is a gardening system that…
New, paper-thin solar cells could bring electricity to 1.3 billion people in developing countries
BY: DANIKA MOIR By the end of the 1970s, it cost $40 for one watt of solar energy. By 2013, the price was drastically decreased to just $0.74 per watt. For those citizens in developing countries who wish to have…
This sustainable tiny home is designed to be controlled by an app on your smartphone
BY: JESSICA BEUKER Getting on board with the tiny house movement doesn’t mean going off the grid; in fact, Intel just unveiled their latest creation – combining the simplicity of tiny houses with the blossoming technology of today. The 210-square…
Prefab concept home could mean an affordable, 100% off-grid living space
BY: ROB HOFFMAN The increasing demand for self-sustaining, compact and off-grid prefab homes has spurred a sort of architectural race for designers competing to supply the most efficient, aesthetically pleasing and functional tiny-home models. The Chamfer Home, which basically resembles…
Architects have designed a stunning green residence complete with waterfalls and cloud forests.
BY: JESSICA BEUKER Singapore-based Ingehoven Architects and A61 have designed a new series of residential towers for the Marina Bay area – a 360-hectare extension of the adjacent central business district. The design, known as Marina One, will boast lush…
Household problems will no longer be a pain in the ass thanks to the Uber of home repairs
BY: JESSICA BEUKER Living in an old rented apartment comes with a myriad of household issues. The bathtub drain is clogged, the washing machine is leaking, the porch doors are broken and won’t close, the fridge stopped cooling, a water…
Diseases caused by lack of sunlight inspired this architect to design a window to save lives
BY: TYLER FYFE North American and European cities are getting denser and taller, casting shadows that stretch entire city blocks. That’s why Argentinian architect, Aldana Ferrer Garcia created an extending window for houses and apartments on the not-so-sunny side of…
A 9th grader developed a $12 machine that produces renewable energy from ocean currents
BY: EDITORS Oceans cover over 70 percent of the earth’s surface. So when 15-year-old Hannah Herbst learned that her pen pal from Ethiopia was deprived of basic energy supply, she started thinking. If the ocean had the power to capsize…
NASA is working on a passenger plane that could travel between NYC and Tokyo in 2 hours
BY: ROB HOFFMAN New railway and aircraft technologies never fail to capture the imagination—and the future is bright, with bullet-trains that connect LA to Las Vegas in 80 minutes, and now a new rocket plane that turns an 18 hour…
In 2016 packages could be delivered by a fleet of autonomous robots that roam the streets
BY: DAVID LAO “What a time to be alive.” Words associated with the growing modernity of our age, our advancement as the human race as well as the progress we’ve accomplished—it’s also the name of Drake and Future’s newest mixtape.…
This program fights two problems at once by paying homeless people to clean the city
BY: JESSICA BEUKER An innovative program is changing the way we see the homeless—particularly the idea that unemployment is a matter of personal choice. A Winnipeg-based program called Mission: Off the Streets (MOST), is giving homeless people the opportunities that…
Portable wood-stove collapses small enough to fit in your backpack to heat tents, vans and tiny homes
BY: EDITORS Let’s face it, we are not all Bear Grylls. When the wind is as sharp as a knife, not all of us have the skills, or the willpower, to take refuge inside the carcass of some large land…
The “Indiana Jones of alcohol” is resurrecting long-lost beers with the help of this brewery
BY TREVOR HEWITT Humans love getting drunk – in fact, we’ve been doing it for around 12,000 years. Now Patrick McGovern, one of the foremost authorities on early beer and the ancient art of getting wasted, is taking our infatuation…