Consumer

HEADLINES ARCHIVE

  • Survey Reveals That People are Willing to Pay to Improve Water Quality

    The study, "Water quality improvements elicit consistent willingness-to-pay for the enhancement of forested watershed ecosystem services," was published in Ecosystem Services.

  • The Reason Why Seats in Most Airplanes are Blue

    Afraid of flying? Most airlines may be relying on some not-so-obvious strategies to keep you calm. One such strategy: the color scheme of the airplane.

  • Consumers to Pay Bottle Deposit in the UK

    In a bid to fight pollution, Britain announced this week that it plans to charge consumers a deposit on single-use drink containers sold in England.

  • Dendrite Mitigating Silicone Anode in Lithium Batteries Found to Improve Safety and Extend Life

    Arizona State University (ASU) and Rice University researchers have developed a way to stop dendrites from forming in high energy density lithium metal batteries.

  • Artificial Meteor Showers Will Soon be for Sale

    Consumers will soon be able to purchase an artificial meteor shower thanks to a private Japanese-based space company.

  • Pothole Detection Using Embedded Self-powered Wireless Sensors

    Reporting potholes on roadways to the proper authorities may no longer be the responsibility of drivers if a joint project involving University at Buffalo computer scientists and researchers from China's Chang'an University comes to pass.

  • Apple Proposes New Emojis for Disabled People

    Acknowledging that people with disabilities are underrepresented in the emoji universe, Apple is proposing a handful of new emojis that will "speak to the life experiences of those with disabilities."

  • The Boring Company to Sell Life-Sized, Lego-Like Bricks

    In a scheme meant to help fund its ongoing underground tunneling projects, The Boring Company will soon be selling life-sized, ‘Lego-like blocks,’ according to a recent announcement from Elon Musk.

  • Law Enforcement Uses Fingerprints of Dead People to Unlock iPhones

    Ever wonder how law enforcement gains access to the contents of a victim’s fingerprint-protected iPhone once that person is deceased?

  • Pfannenberg USA Launches Newly Redesigned, Modern and Easy-to-Navigate Website

    Past and future customers will love all the updates that the new site provides.

  • Study Finds That Floating Island of Plastic Debris in the Pacific Larger Than Previously Feared

    According to a report published this week, an island of plastic waste floating in the Pacific has become so big it now rivals the size of France, Spain and Germany combined.

  • A Redesigned Electric Fat Bike

    VoltBike's new electric commuter fat bike features 26 by 4 in. Kenda Krusade tires and an integrated Panasonic 48 V 16 Ah lithium-ion battery, Tektro Novella hydraulic disc brakes and a seven-speed Shimano Acera derailleur.

  • Phoenix Airport to Expand People Mover System

    The $305 million agreement covers a 2.5-mile extension, two new stations, an expansion of the system's maintenance facility and 24 additional driverless vehicles.

  • Five Innovations That Could Change How Affordable Water Is Produced

    A $1.75 million XPRIZE aims to develop technologies that can pull 2,000 liters of water a day from the atmosphere using renewable energy, at a cost of two cents a liter. Here's what five finalist teams are proposing.

  • Fingerprint Drug Testing Study Reveals 1 in 10 People Have Traces of Class A Drugs on Their Fingerprints

    Researchers from the University of Surrey who previously developed a fingerprint test to identify drug users have now developed a method for distinguishing between cocaine and heroin users and those merely exposed to the drugs via environmental factors.

  • Achieving a Good Night's Sleep with Technology

    Technology, like mobile devices and other small screens, has earned a reputation for interfering with and disrupting sleep, leading experts to recommend turning the devices off an hour before going to bed. Yet, there are a number of technological solutions for achieving a restful night of sleep despite the attached stigma, according to expert Cary Brown, a researcher in the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine.

  • Technology Changing the Face of Gift-giving

    Online gift giving has given rise to more gift giving, according to a study conducted by René Kizilcec, Cornell University assistant professor of information science.

  • Starbucks to Commit $10 Million to Develop Greener Coffee Cup

    In a bid to create a coffee cup that is fully recyclable and compostable, coffee giant Starbucks is committing $10 million to the effort.

  • Affordable and Low-Tech Solutions to Improve Water Quality in Water Tanks Developed

    Researchers from Michigan Tech’s Civil and Environmental Engineering Department are focusing on developing new solutions to simplify the water purification process that are cheap, low tech, improve water quality and remove micropollutants while using renewable materials.

  • Lufthansa Prepares to Launch Biometric Boarding Passes in the US

    The program, which was successfully trialed in Los Angeles, will use a special camera to photograph travelers’ faces instead of requiring a boarding pass or barcode from travelers’ phones and will upload those images to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

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