Filter
Most of us take water for granted. If we want a drink, we turn a tap or twist a cap and there it is. But if you find yourself off the beaten track in triple-digit heat without it, locating some can mean the difference between life and death. Finding a pool of water in the shade of a rock may seem like a godsend, but then the question of waterborne diseases raises its head. That’s where the NDūR Survival Straw comes in. Read More
Camelbak All Clear Bottle zaps bacteria with UV rays
When you're dealing with the impurities of your local city water supply, a Brita filter should be enough to give you clean-tasting water. But when you're dealing with the impurities lingering in a raw, untreated stream in the woods, you'll need something stronger. This solution from Camelbak - the All Clear bottle - gives you an integrated UV purifier designed to kill all those nasty microorganisms that just live to wring your intestines out. Read More
An air purifier is typically set to clean a set number of square feet in a house or building, say 100 square feet (9 sq m). That means nearby rooms don't benefit, and you may even wonder about the perimeter of the room in which you have the purifier, and whether air particles in that area are being cleaned. The Rydis H800, a robot air purifier from Moneual, addresses these concerns by roaming the house in search of dirty air to clean and purify. Read More
If you’ve ever so much as stepped into a chicken or swine barn, you’ll know that they can be very, very smelly places. When vented outdoors, the air from these buildings does more than just make the area stink – it can actually be a major source of air pollution and greenhouse gases. Fortunately, however, researchers from North Carolina State University and West Virginia University have created a system that not only helps clean the air going out of the barns, but it heats up the air coming in from outside. Read More
The Espro Press takes a new approach to coffee-making
Coffee lovers Chris Mclean (design engineer) and Bruce Constantine (engineer/ entrepreneur) have spent the last two years developing a precision coffee brewer dubbed Espro Press. The product is similar to classical french presses, however Espro Press features a two-stage micro-filter that reportedly preserves coffee flavors and prevents sediments or muddiness in the coffee. Read More
Protexo aims to help asthmatics breathe easier while sleeping
Asthmatics have it hard enough when they’re awake, having to periodically use their inhalers, or remove themselves from situations that could trigger an attack. For some of them, however, their symptoms get even worse when they go to bed, preventing them from getting a good night’s sleep. Airsonett, a Swedish medical tech company, is attempting make life easier for those people. It has created a device called the Protexo, which it claims should be of great assistance to night-time asthma sufferers. Read More
The skin of a banana has been used to great comic effects in numerous slapstick routines for many years. It's also good for the skin and is a traditional cure for warts. You can polish shoes and silver with it. You can make wine with it and it's even been known to find itself being dried, wrapped in paper and smoked. Now, research published in the journal of the American Chemical Society claims that mashed up peel can remove heavy metals from river water. Read More
Joining products like the Life Straw, the Bobble and the Katadyn Vario in the portable water filtration market, the Revolve filter bottle is designed to remove up to 99.99% of all contaminants found in tap water and one filter will produce the equivalent of 800 single use 16 oz bottles of water. Read More
Researchers have discovered that activated carbon cloth is very effective at filtering harmful compounds out of air and liquids. The material was first developed in the 1980s, to protect British soldiers from chemical attacks. It is still in use today, in chemical, biological and radiological warfare suits for the military. This recent study, however, indicates that it could have a number of other uses. Read More
Electrified nano filter could mean cheap drinking water
Yi Cui, an Assistant Professor of Material Science and Engineering at Stanford University, has invented quite the water filter. It’s inexpensive, is very resistant to clogging, and uses much less electricity than systems that require the water to be pumped through them. It also kills bacteria, as opposed to just trapping them, which is all that many existing systems do. Read More