Science

All things related to science & technology, from Germany and beyond

A green way of coloring denims blue

April 22, 2025 • 03:00 PM

A new research study led by the University of California, Berkeley engineering Professor John Dueber has shown that indigo dye, widely used in denim to give its trademark color can be produced using "green" technology.

The current chemical process for dyeing jeans is "environmentally hazardous, not only from the chemicals required for indigo synthesis but also in the excess of a chemical to dissolve indigo to enable dyeing," says Dueber.

Indigo dyeing is an ancient technique widely used nowadays...

Swarms of robots go with the flow to reveal the mysteries of the ocean

April 22, 2025 • 03:00 PM

About 70% of Earth's surface is covered by oceans. Yet, they remain mysterious: we have more detailed maps of the surface of other planets than of the sea floor, and we know even less about the mechanisms ticking inside the intricate oceanic system. An interdisciplinary team of researchers from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Scripps Institute of Oceanography showed that swarms of small, autonomous robot probes could peer into the waters, shedding light on the interaction between...