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From scientific discoveries to activist wins, here are the latest news stories showcasing the people taking on climate change and nature loss.

🍃 Designing in harmony with nature

Biomimicry is a design philosophy that involves borrowing from nature’s tried-and-tested playbook, allowing engineers and designers to create new technologies that are in harmony with the natural world. From a bacteria-resistant surface technology inspired by shark skin, to a pigment that mimics the cell structure of the African Marble Berry plant, innovations following the principles of biomimicry are springing up. It’s about time we start learning from a designer with billions of years of experience.

✈️ A quick fix for aviation emissions

Reducing airplane contrails – those cloud-like white lines in the sky – could be a ‘silver bullet’ when it comes to cutting the emissions of the aviation industry. Contrails make up 35-50% of flying’s climate impact, but we could almost immediately halve that by simply rerouting a tiny percentage of flights. Policy-makers are starting to wake up to this disproportionately damaging issue, and flights leaving the EU need to report on these non-CO2 emissions from the start of this month.

🍄 The fungi-fuelled battery

Swiss researchers have found a way to harness fungi to power a 3D-printed, biodegradable battery that eats itself at the end of its life. Living fungi cells are mixed into the printing ink, and as they feed, they turn nutrients into energy, part of which can be captured in the form of electricity. While they only provide a small amount of energy, these batteries highlight the overlooked and underresearched potential of fungi.

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