Important Innovations Collection

World 1st: Breathable Oxygen Extracted on Mars                                        Source:  NASA - MOXIE MOXIE Science Rover Did the Job NASA's Mars Mission has achieved another world first.  It has extracted breathable, pure oxygen from the thin Martian atmosphere.  This extraordinary feat was accomplished by a piece of technology onboard the Perserance rover.  MOXIE, a small science rover that is the size of a toaster - extracted and converted carbon dioxide into oxygen.  MOXIE stands for Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment. Impressive Technology MOXIE uses electrolysis to separate molecules of oxygen from molecules of carbon dioxide, using extreme heat.  95% of the Martian atmosphere is composed of carbon dioxide.  The initial oxygen created was small:  about enough to provide ten minutes worth of oxygen to an as...

New Light Therapy "Highly Effective" for Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Source:  MGH Much More Effective Than Current Treatments Carbon monoxide (CO) is a toxic, colorless, odorless gas produced by cars, trucks, fires and explosions.  Every year in the US, more than 50,000 people with CO poisoning are admitted to emergency rooms.  Now researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital have invented a new light therapy that removes CO from the victim's blood.  It's proven to be much more effective than current oxygen therapy treatments. Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Carbon monoxide poisoning is frequently deadly.  It occurs when inhaled CO, for instance from a running car in a contained space, displaces oxygen from the blood's hemoglobin.  That compromises the body's ability to deliver oxygen. Light Therapy It's known that visible light can break the molecular bond between CO and hemoglobin.  Knowing that, the MGH team have combined photo...

Amazon Fires are Global Environmental Emergency Source:  Amazon Rain Forest Fire Image Global Environmental Concern About the "Lungs of the World" The Amazon Rain Forest is called "the lungs of the world" and it's on fire. The fires in the Amazon are an unprecedented international environmental crisis.  The Amazon Rain Forest, which is the world's largest, is engulfed in tens of thousands of raging fires.  In Brazil alone, there have been 74,000 fires in the Amazon this year.  The Amazon Rain Forest covers parts of nine countries, but Brazil is key.  Importantly, the Amazon produces 20% of the oxygen on Earth.   Brazil  May Call in Its Army to Combat the Fires The situation is so severe that French President Emmanuel Macron is calling for it to be included on the agenda at the G-7 Meeting in Biarritz.  In reaction, the President of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro, whose environmental policies are under attack, has just announced he may c...