Orbital sustainability with space junk tow truck
Maybe I need a new job title. Imagine being head of the Space Debris Office? Or, Space Janitor?
Colonel microbrewery built with recycled materials opens in Lebanon
While many Muslims don’t drink alcohol, the people of Batroun, Lebanon love their beer. At least according to Jamil al-Haddad, the visionary behind Colonel beer and a new microbrewery built out of recycled materials.
Blowing Horn harvests wind energy with a multi-rotor turbine
Are you tired of seeing the same old giant wind turbines in a field or offshore? And do you worry about their impact on migrating birds? Hooman Tahvildar Akbary from Iran has a solution that is both super efficient and beautiful.
Segway-like device allows quadriplegics to ‘walk’ upright again
Sometimes, design really does change lives. Dr. Amit Goffer previously designed ReWalk, a device that gives paraplegics paralyzed from the waste down mobility again. But 90 percent of handicapped people are unable to use it. In order to give quadriplegics a similar new lease on life, the Israeli designer made a few modifications with UPnRIDE.
OAXIS: solar-powered hydroponic food belt proposed for the Arabian Peninsula
Most Gulf countries import up to 90 percent of their food, which neither bodes well for food security no climate change – since the food that is brought in from Europe and elsewhere has a lot of what are called “food miles.” True to their name, Forward Thinking Architecture proposes a solar-powered hydroponic food belt as […]
Water rights of Ireland and Jordan
Here is a cautionary tale of two very different countries which once shared a similar water use philosophy and usage patterns. The right photo is in Jordan’s Wadi-Rum desert. The forest on the left is in Ireland.
Farmer swears his billygoat produces milk
A farmer in Al Ain, the very green, flowery emirate bordering Dubai, claims that after three years of impregnating legions of nannies on his farm, his billy goat suddenly sprouted udders. And then produced milk. Mr. Nasser Al Alwi paid about $820 for his billy goat at a livestock show in the United Arab Emirates. It has […]
Arab souk in Amman is treasure chests for do-it-yourselfer! Here’s my journey
Turn a sow’s ear into a silk purse (or silk scarves into a brilliant curtain) with upcycled materials sourced from your local souk. Make this patchwork curtain in under an hour and for about $10 – a little more work could turn it into a shower curtain or duvet cover. Get jiggy with junk! Here […]
Walk with fish on the Turkish Riviera
Not everyone who visits Antalya wants to go scuba diving to see the extraordinary Mediterranean marine life, but now they can still catch a glimpse of what lives under the sea’s surface thanks to a beautiful new aquarium on the Turkish Riviera.
HopOn for instant mobile payments by bus
In any city in the world, we have all had the experience of catching a bus, subway or train only to find we don’t the right change or the right card that needs to be refilled at some Kafka-esque office we’re never going to find. An Israeli startup is stepping in and solving this problem […]
Israel fish research to help aquaponics and fish farming?
Zoology researchers Roi Holzman and Victor China at Tel Aviv University weren’t the first to notice that more than 90 percent of fish larvae die in the wild, and that more than 99 percent of fish won’t live to reach maturity. They are the first however, they believe, to explain why this is happening –– […]
Why Gaza needs hydroponics and aquaponics for food security
The fighting in Gaza has forced farmers and herders to abandon their lands and has paralysed fishing activities, bringing local food production to a halt and severely affecting livelihoods, the United Nation’s FAO warned last week.
Ebola virus, out of control in Africa, may be in Saudi Arabia
The deadly Ebola virus is spreading rapidly in West Africa and the main concern is its spread from its point of origin and be carried possibly to other countries, including the Middle East.
Turkish artist Erdal Inci clones himself (digitally!)
Turkish photographer Erdal Inci has created a series of GIF “selfies”, digitally manipulating images of himself whilst engaged in simple action so that he becomes, in effect, an army of street performers. Mesmerizing visuals and a brilliant way to keep production costs down. Like a carefully choreographed colony of ants, watch him/them stumble across a […]
Turbo.roo the chihuahua puppy gets a 3D-printed wheelchair
Turbo.roo is a sweet little chihuahua who was born with just two front legs. The breeder gave up the puppy after realizing that he would need a great deal of special care, so a vet in Indianapolis adopted him.