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One of the ways that scientists propose that we tackle the problem of global warming is to actively remove greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, from the atmosphere. To be an effective compliment to reducing our CO2 output from transport and industry, carbon sequestration will have to be done on a massive scale, meaning that the materials used in the process will need to be plentiful. One of those materials, magnesite, readily absorbs CO2, but there are both practical and economic limits keeping industry from mining the mineral in quantities large enough to be effective. However, researchers in Canada have discovered a way to quickly produce the mineral artificially.read more

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A professor of solid and structural mechanics at the University of Trento in Italy has come up with a way of combining natural spider silk and artificial graphene-based nanoparticles to produce a lightweight material three times stronger than steel. What’s more, this material is spun naturally by the spiders themselves, bypassing the need for problematic manufacturing processes.
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In a recent interview with Russian News Service TASS, cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov discussed the presence of microbes that were found on the outside of the hull of the International Space Station, that were not present after the launch of the ISS’s modules. According to Shkaplerov, "it turns out that somehow these swabs reveal bacteria that were absent during the launch of the ISS module."

"That is, they have come from outer space and settled along the external surface."
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