Fossil fuels have long been primary contributors to global warming and environmental destruction since the industrial revolution. One of the largest consumers of fossil fuels remains the automobile industry, with drivers releasing a whopping 4.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide into the air per vehicle annually. Metrics like this are what have demanded for the...

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The large quantities of consumable plastics used in day-to-day life science research does not go unseen. It is estimated that scientific research consumes approximately 5.5 million metric tonnes of plastic globally per year. Additionally, it is estimated that the pharmaceutical industry generates nearly 55% more toxic carbon emissions than the automotive industry, of which the...

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Additive manufacturing is the industrial production name for what’s more widely known as “3D printing”. While 3D printing may sound like some cutting-edge technology that only geeks or niched industry professionals will use, the idea behind it is quite simple. Essentially, 3D printing involves using a computer-aided-design (CAD) software to virtually slice a design into...

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Pollution is a growing problem around the globe and only increasing as industries rise to face the challenge of a booming population. Pollution from factories, oil spills, and heavy metal contamination can linger in the environment, leading to potentially catastrophic effects. These contaminants can leach into ground water and contaminate agricultural soil. Degradation of agricultural...

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Since the first industrial revolution in the mid-1700’s where breakthroughs in science and engineering led to the unprecedented rise in production output, the abrupt growth that societies experienced allowed for larger population capacities and an increased quality of life. For a large part of history, this endless need to progress has caused a reckless craving...

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Without realizing it, artificial chemicals have become the backbone of modern society. From plastic to cosmetics to pharmaceutical industries, chemical-producing sectors are making significant impacts on the current world, culturally and physically. However, with the boom of these industries, the daily manufacturing processes and the waste produced from them have also caused major pollution and...

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In the 1980s, the United Nations defined sustainability as “attempting to meet the existing needs without comprising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.” We collectively as a society need to make large-scale changes in how we live to ensure that our planet remains healthy. Understandably, it can be a daunting task to...

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Biodegradable synthetic polymers have been widely used in biomedical applications, such as in gene delivery, tissue engineering, diagnosis, medical devices, antibacterial/antifouling biomaterials, and as drug carriers. Their utility can be attributed to several factors, including their chemical and mechanical properties, smart responsiveness to diverse external stimuli and their improved processibility, functionality and degradability over other...

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Climate change, driven by human activities such as burning fossil fuels, threatens the natural bal­ance of our home on Earth. Already affecting the vast majority of regions around the globe, we have observed long-term shifts in weather and tem­peratures outside the range of natural variations of the solar cycle. From ris­ing sea levels to intense...

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In 1764, James Watts sat by a Newcomen Steam Engine and wondered—why waste all that steam with no direction? That question sparked the idea and the eventual invention of the separate condenser which fueled the first industrial revolution, creating the blueprint to the modern steam engines we use today. The first Industrial revolution began with...

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