Show Notes 19 September 2025
Story 1: Researchers building RoboBalls to explore other planets
Source: The Purdue Exponent, a student-run newspaper serving the Purdue community in West Lafayette, Indiana Story by Dean Murray

• Link: https://www.purdueexponent.org/news/national/researchers-building-roboballs-to-explore-other-planets/article_2c06a5ae-3b24-5834-bfc8-9f7df72e299c.html
• See the school’s website for the project: https://rad.engr.tamu.edu/roboball-i/
• See the school’s video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKRN0EEJ5VE
• See video here: https://www.facebook.com/reel/637417789106125
• And see video posted on this article from MSN: https://www.msn.com/en-gb/video/news/researchers-working-on-swarm-of-roboballs-to-send-to-other-planets/vi-AA1LSgsN?t=72

Story 2: This paint sweats to cool off buildings. No energy required.
Source: Anthropocene Magazine

• Link: https://www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2025/06/new-paint-sweats-to-cool-off-buildings/
• See research paper here: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adt3372
• See also: https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/lifestyle-buzz/researchers-develop-extraordinary-paint-that-can-sweat-to-keep-buildings-cool-a-practical-and-long-term-solution/ar-AA1L7zL9

Story 3: Biochar from Human Waste Offers a Circular Solution to Fertilizer Shortages - Excrement contains nutrients needed for crop growth and a new source of them could cut farming’s huge CO2 output
Source: The Guardian

• Link: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/aug/11/biochar-from-human-waste-could-solve-global-fertiliser-shortages-study-finds
• See research paper here: https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.2503668122
• image source: https://biochartoday.com/news/biochar-from-human-waste-offers-a-circular-solution-to-fertilizer-shortages/

Story 4: WiFi signals can measure heart rate — no wearables needed
Source: University of California, Santa Cruz

• Link: https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/wifi-signals-can-measure-heart-rate-no-wearables-needed
• See research paper here: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/11096342

Honorable Mentions
Story: California’s first solar-covered canal is now fully online
Source: Canary Media [Clean energy journalism for a cooler tomorrow] Story by Maria Gallucci

• Link: https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/solar/california-first-canal-array-project-nexus

Story: 3D-printed electronics can dissolve in water for quick recycling
Source: NewScientist.com Story by Jeremy Hsu

• Link: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2493756-3d-printed-electronics-can-dissolve-in-water-for-quick-recycling/

Story: Ice-cooled buildings could ease strain on power grid
Source: TechXplore.com Story by Lesley Henton

• Link: https://techxplore.com/news/2025-08-ice-cooled-ease-strain-power.html

Story: Novel backpack enhances stability for people with ataxia
Source: MedicalXpress.com Story from Radboud University

• Link: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-08-backpack-stability-people-ataxia.html