Startup Plans Largest Ocean Geoengineering Plant (5 minute read)
Californian startup Ebb Carbon plans to use seawater to remove tons of carbon dioxide from the air. Its pilot carbon dioxide removal plant, codenamed Project Macoma, could start operations as soon as this year. It will pump hundreds of thousands of liters of seawater every day, splitting the water into acidic and alkaline streams using an electrochemical process. The alkaline outflow mixes with carbon dioxide in ambient seawater to create bicarbonate, a stable way to store carbon. While the impact of the plant will be small, the process, if scaled up, could help mitigate the effects of climate change.
It's hearty, it's meaty, it's mold (5 minute read)
One of the most promising sources of alternative foods is fungi, which contain nutritious proteins, fats, antioxidants, and flavor molecules. Scientists are exploring the many possibilities for new flavors and textures that can be made by modifying genes already present in fungi, as opposed to introducing genes from wildly different species. Researchers have modified a fungus called koji mold, usually used in East Asia to ferment starches, to be more meat-like, offering an alternative route for creating meat substitutes. The approach can create meat substitutes without the complex ingredients lists, costs, and technical difficulties of cultured meat.